The biggest difference between the Minnesota House and Senate versions of the supplemental ag budget bill is their stance on the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council. The House version lets AFREC sunset this year. The Senate version allows AFREC to be extended for 10 years. Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen is hopeful that the Senate language will prevail. “A lot of people think that AFREC leads to more fertilizer use, wherein a lot of cases it leads to less fertilizer use and more targeted fertilizer use.” Petersen says the other major difference between the House and the Senate versions is the allocation of money for nitrate issues in southeast Minnesota.
