Minnesota State Senator Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) is proposing a property tax credit to encourage farmers to implement conservation practices that protect water quality in southeastern Minnesota, where environmental groups and the federal Environmental Protection Agency have stoked fears about nitrate levels in groundwater.
Senate File 4241 would provide a $5 per acre tax credit for agricultural and rural vacant land enrolled in the state’s Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program. It would apply in eight counties: Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Wabasha, and Winona. The bipartisan bill received a hearing Thursday in the Senate Taxes Committee.
Sen. Drazkowski testified that the credit is a “small carrot” to incentivize farmer participation in a muli-phase solution after the Environmental Protection Agency pressured the state to do more about nitrates contaminating drinking water drawn from private wells in the Karst region.
“Farmers care deeply about the environment and have done a better job at protecting water than at any time in history,” Sen. Drazkowski said. “The state has developed an unreasonable set of requirements for Minnesota farmers based on fear-mongering by a group of environmental activists. That’s wrong. I think it is more important to reward farmers for doing the right thing. This bill signals to farmers that we trust what you are doing and we want to be partners in this process.”
The voluntary certification program, run by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, guides farmers on implementing approved practices to prevent erosion and runoff over a 10-year period. The bill is supported by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association, Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Farmers Union, Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, Minnesota Cattlemen’s Association, and the Minnesota Pork Producers Association.
The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a larger tax bill later this session.
WATCH THE HEARING:
Downloadable link. (Drazkowski bill begins at 1:47:58)
Youtube link: https://youtu.be/7vqrZj-38Lc?t=6830