The Minnesota legislative session is at the halfway point. The topic of nitrates in groundwater, especially in southeastern Minnesota, has dominated the conversation in the agriculture and environment committees. Minnesota Farm Bureau Public Policy Director Pierce Bennett emphasizes farmers have taken steps to reduce the risk, including cover crops and conservation tillage. Voluntary, incentive-based options are advocated. “We don’t believe a one-size-fits-all regulatory framework is going to be as helpful as a flexible voluntary framework.” The nitrate debate has been focused on an eight-to-ten-county area in southeastern Minnesota, but Bennett said there is always the potential to expand statewide.
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