{"id":35593,"date":"2024-02-16T11:03:25","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T17:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=35593"},"modified":"2024-02-16T11:03:25","modified_gmt":"2024-02-16T17:03:25","slug":"incentives-for-reducing-synthetic-fertilizer-use-discussed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/?p=35593","title":{"rendered":"Incentives for reducing synthetic fertilizer use discussed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nebraska farmers could receive incentives for reducing their synthetic, commercial fertilizer use and incorporating innovative technology into their farming practices under a bill considered Feb. 13 by the Agriculture Committee.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.
Sen. Teresa Ibach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LB1368, introduced by Sumner Sen. Teresa Ibach, would adopt the Nitrogen Reduction Incentive Act, which would implement a program to incentivize farmers to switch from synthetic fertilizers to sustainable alternatives, such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria.<\/p>\n

The state Department of Natural Resources would administer the program, in collaboration with the state\u2019s natural resources districts, and would provide an annual per-acre incentive to qualified farmers who verify a reduction in commercial fertilizer rates of either 25 pounds per acre for nitrogen or 15% by incorporating a qualifying product into the farm\u2019s nutrient plans.<\/p>\n

The bill states legislative intent to appropriate $5 million in general funds in fiscal year 2024-25 to the department to fund the program and incentives would be capped at $5 million annually. The incentive program would terminate Dec. 31, 2029.<\/p>\n

Ibach said the aim of the bill is to encourage and assist farmers in adopting \u201cefficient and sustainable practices\u201d that reduce nitrate contamination of groundwater.<\/p>\n

\u201cLB1368 isn\u2019t just about protecting and enhancing our natural resources, which is paramount,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s also about retention to ensure our good life remains for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the bill, the department would be responsible for:
\n\u25cf reviewing the necessary commercial fertilizer reduction rate for the program biennially to determine if higher reduction targets are necessary;
\n\u25cf collaborating with natural resources districts to add any new technology to the program as it becomes available;
\n\u25cf identifying geographically beneficial target areas while keeping the program open to all farmers in the state;
\n\u25cf consulting with farmers and commercial entities in the agriculture industry to determine a per-acre payment rate tied to the commercial rate reduction; and
\n\u25cf reviewing the per-acre payment rate based on inflation or emerging technology in renewing years.<\/p>\n

Representing the Nebraska Association of Natural Resources Districts, Lyndon Vogt testified in support of the bill. He said NRDs educate producers and farmers on best practices when utilizing fertilizer, such as proper timing, placement and amount. NRDs need additional assistance, however, to convince producers to adopt new practices, he said, which can be accomplished through either incentivization or regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, regulations are much more expensive than incentives and, once implemented, regulations seldom go away,\u201d Vogt said. \u201cFinancial incentives will be imperative to getting producers to change their current practices and help protect our water quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of the Full Value Agriculture initiative through the Aksarben Foundation, Hank Robinson supported the bill. Reducing the use of artificial fertilizer in corn production will help decrease its carbon intensity, he said, which increases the inventory available for producers to leverage price supports and negotiations with the ethanol industry.<\/p>\n

Katie Torpy testified in favor of the measure on behalf of The Nature Conservancy. Many farmers in the state are advised by agronomists to apply fertilizer at a rate that will result in the highest yield, she said, which often leads to using more fertilizer than necessary, causing excess fertilizer runoff in fresh water. The bill would help farmers financially who are considering changing their operations, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany farmers are transitioning away from pure yield optimization and require technical and financial assistance,\u201d Torpy said. \u201cBecause current practices are deeply ingrained into Nebraska farm culture, such assistance is critical in mitigating the risk associated with this operational change.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nebraska farmers could receive incentives for reducing their synthetic, commercial fertilizer use and incorporating innovative technology into their farming practices under a bill considered Feb. 13 by the Agriculture Committee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35553,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[283],"class_list":["post-35593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","tag-sen-teresa-ibach"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LB1368Ibach2-13-24a.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35593"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35596,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35593\/revisions\/35596"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/update.legislature.ne.gov\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}