Bill would increase agricultural commodity checkoff funds

The Agriculture Committee heard testimony Feb. 7 on two bills that would increase checkoff funds for wheat and corn commodities.

LB905, introduced by Holdrege Sen. Tom Carlson, would amend the Nebraska Wheat Board’s current excise tax levy of 1.25 cents per bushel of wheat to be 0.5 percent of the net market value of wheat sold through commercial channels in Nebraska. The board could increase the excise tax by 0.75 percent of net market value.

The bill also would allow gifts, grants and other noncheckoff revenues to be remitted to the Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization and Marketing Fund and would remove a restriction that limits wheat research contracts to one year.

The bill would allow Nebraska to increase its education, research and promotional efforts for wheat commodities, Carlson said.

“This is a way for growers to come together and make a decision on how they want to fund and promote their crop,” he said.

Larry Flohr, chairman of the Nebraska Wheat Board, testified in support of the bill, saying switching to a percent basis would help the board’s efforts. Wheat checkoff rates have not changed since 1989, Flohr said, but promotion costs have since increased considerably.

Dayton Christensen, president of the Nebraska Wheat Growers Association, also testified in support of the bill, saying budget constraints have limited wheat research projects. The change would enable the board to extend research projects at the University of Nebraska in areas of agronomic performance, Christensen said.

John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, testified in opposition to the bill. Permitting the board to receive noncheckoff revenues would allow special interests to have more of a financial influence on the state’s agricultural economy, he said.

LB1057, also introduced by Carlson, would increase the current fee limit of 0.4 cents per bushel of corn to 0.5 cents per bushel levied by the Nebraska Corn Board. The fee could not exceed 1.0 cent per bushel under the bill.

The bill also would allow noncheckoff revenues to be remitted to the Corn Development, Utilization and Marketing Fund.

Carlson said the wealth and the future of Nebraska’s agriculture relies heavily on corn production. Farmers must produce corn using limited resources, he said, so they need to invest in research to find new and innovative ways to do it.

Alan Tiemann, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board, testified in support of the bill, saying Nebraska has been lacking in corn research and foreign market development. Nebraska ranks third in corn production but last in corn checkoff rates, he said, so the state is missing many promotional opportunities.

John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmer’s Union, testified in opposition to the bill, saying he has concerns about giving authority of an excise tax to an unelected board.

The committee took no immediate action on either bill.