SB 715

Grazing coordinator

The bill provides funding for one full-time equivalent GPR position in the

Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to serve as a coordinator

for managed grazing initiatives in this state. The bill provides $64,800 in fiscal year

2019-20 for the position, and $86,400 in fiscal year 2020-21. Under the bill, the new

position would convene a stakeholder working group to develop a state grazing plan,

serve as the primary point of contact for assistance on effective grazing strategies,

identify new technologies and best practices in grazing that are best suited for the

state, and leverage federal funding to promote effective grazing practices and assist

producers in implementing those practices.

Water stewardship certification

The bill creates a grant program for DATCP to provide grants to reimburse the

costs for agricultural producers to apply for a certification of water stewardship from

the Alliance for Water Stewardship. The grants must be made to the party that pays

those costs and may be made only after the certification is provided. Before awarding

a grant, DATCP must enter into a memorandum of understanding with the party

that pays the certification costs. The bill requires DATCP, in prioritizing these grant

awards, to be guided by an agricultural producer's overall impact to water quality.

A grant may reimburse up to 50 percent of costs and may not exceed $10,000. The

bill creates a new $250,000 continuing general fund appropriation for this purpose.

Cover crop rebates

The bill authorizes DATCP to cooperate with the Risk Management Agency of

the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide rebates in the amount of $5 per acre

of a cover crop planted for crop insurance premiums paid for those acres. Under the

bill, DATCP determines the cover crops for which crop insurance premium rebates

are provided, and a person must plant cover crops before submitting an application

to DATCP for a crop insurance premium rebate. Also, under the bill, a crop insurance

premium rebate may not be provided for the planting of a cover crop on an acre for

which funding for planting a cover crop is available from a producer-led watershed

protection grant, the soil and water resource management program, the federal

Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or the federal Conservation

Stewardship Program. The bill creates a new $200,000 continuing general fund

appropriation for this purpose.

Producer-led watershed protection grants

Under current law, DATCP administers a program to provide watershed

protection grants to producer-led groups made up of farmers located in one

watershed. This bill allows grants under the program to be awarded to producer-led

groups that are made up of farmers located in adjacent watersheds. The bill also

creates a new $250,000 annual general fund appropriation for the producer-led

watershed protection grants.