Informational hearing held on $5-per-acre tax credit proposal for Ag Water Quality Certification in Southeast Minnesota

Representative Jacobs presented House File 363 to the committee in an informational hearing. The bill would authorize a $5-per-acre property tax credit for acres in an eight-county Southeast Minnesota area that are enrolled in the Ag Water Quality Certification Program; Representative Jacobs said the bill would be amended at the tax committee stage to draw funding from the Clean Water Fund.

Brad Redlin, manager of conservation services at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, described the Ag Water Quality Certification Program as a voluntary, whole-farm risk‑assessment process administered by accredited certifiers. Redlin said a certified farm receives a comprehensive review, follows best management practices including the 4R fertilizer principles, and has a 10‑year certification period with periodic reviews. He said the department maps and tracks implemented practices and can report on outcomes.

Stu Lohrey, government relations director for the Minnesota Farmers Union, told the committee the program is “boots on the ground,” takes a holistic approach, and that certified farms have shown reductions in nitrate loss in departmental studies. Members asked whether a $5-per-acre credit would produce measurable water-quality improvements; Redlin responded that the tax credit alone is not an environmental action, and that other states do not have comparable certification programs tied to credits. Representative Hansen questioned the evidence that a $5 per acre credit would change outcomes; witnesses said the credit is meant as a modest incentive to increase enrollment.

The committee treated the hearing as informational; the bill remains under the jurisdiction of the tax committee. Committee members also discussed how the bill would apply to farms already certified and the potential amendment to use Clean Water Fund dollars for the credit.