Legislative Update: MCGA testifies in front of Ag Committee, tax-related bills take shape
Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) President Brian Thalmann had the opportunity to testify in front of the Minnesota Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Housing Policy Tuesday to discuss agricultural innovation.
The goal of the testimony was to encourage funding for the Agriculture Research, Education, Extension and Technology Transfer (AGREET) Program, and an increase in the use of Clean Water Funds for on-the-ground implementation practices.
To underline the importance of both priorities, Thalmann discussed the mission of the state’s corn growers to become the most environmentally responsible and sustainable corn farmers in the nation. He detailed the investment already made by MCGA to reach this goal.
Thalmann discussed the tremendous work that has been accomplished through the Innovation Grant Program, which funds farmer-led research projects focused on preventing nitrogen and phosphorous loss on the farm. To date, the state’s corn farmers invested nearly $400,000 in 40 projects led by farmers.
Thalmann also detailed MCGA’s $4 million investment in research at respected institutions like the University of Minnesota to address water quality, nitrogen management and other important challenges corn farmers face. The state’s corn farmers have invested $1 million since 2013 in cover crop research alone, assessing the role of cover crops in reducing nutrient loss and increased corn productivity.
Finally, committee members learned about the success of the Nitrogen Smart program, which has helped farmers become more efficient in their nitrogen use. Thalmann shared how farmers who completed the course have reduced applied nitrogen by 2.2 million pounds while maintaining yields.
In other news from the Capitol:
In last week’s legislative update, we updated readers on agreed to committee deadlines for bills moving through the House and the Senate. Yesterday, Governor Walz, Senate Majority Leader Gazelka and House Speaker Hortman held a joint press conference to announce an additional set of deadlines that aims to bring a more orderly end to the legislative session.
The deadlines set clear benchmarks for joint budget targets, final conference committee reports and passage of final bills. Session Daily has more information on the additional joint deadlines. This is a positive sign of cooperation among the House, Senate and the Governor, and hopefully results in better end of session outcomes that will benefit Minnesotans.
Last week the House Taxes committee heard three bills (HF 515, HF 235, and HF 518) that would provide federal conformity for Section 179 Small Business Expensing and Section 168 Bonus Depreciation. All three bills were laid over for possible inclusion in the Omnibus Tax bill later this session.
MN Farm Bureau, MN Farmers Union and the MN Chamber of Commerce testified in support of all three bills (Video from the hearing is available here). The bill’s authors and Taxes Committee Chair Paul Marquart each emphasized the current difficulties in the farm economy and encourage state legislators to take steps to help aid farmers, including providing tax relief and simplicity. We will keep you posted as the House and Senate continue to hear tax-related bills that would be beneficial to Minnesota famers.
Follow along with the MCGA blog, and on Twitter (@mncorn) and Facebook (@MinnesotaCorn) as MCGA continues to advocate for increased research funding and other priorities for the state’s corn growers.
