SB 326

This bill creates a nutrient loss reduction grant program, under which the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection may award grants to farmers for the purpose of purchasing enhanced efficiency fertilizer products, implementing variable rate technology, or preparing a nutrient management plan. Under the bill, an “enhanced efficiency fertilizer product” is a controlled-release or slow-release fertilizer formulation or a product, added to fertilizer, that includes a urease inhibitor or a nitrification inhibitor. “Variable rate technology” is defined under the bill as the practice of testing soil in sections of six acres or less using georeferenced data points and applying fertilizer at a prescribed rate for each section depending on the results of the soil samples. A “nutrient management plan” is a plan for using commercial fertilizer, manure, or organic byproducts in a manner that reduces nutrient loss.

Under the bill, if a grant will be used for purchasing and using an enhanced efficiency fertilizer product, the grant amount may not exceed the lesser of $7 per acre or 50 percent of the cost of the product. If a grant will be used for implementing variable rate technology, the grant amount may not exceed the lesser of $8 per acre or 50 percent of the cost of soil sampling. If a grant will be used for preparing a nutrient management plan, the grant may not exceed the lesser of $2 per acre or 50 percent of the cost of preparing the plan. In addition, a grant recipient may not receive more than $20,000 in any given year under the grant program.

The bill allows an applicant to receive a grant that covers multiple allowable activities in a single year. The bill also allows an agricultural retailer (a person that supplies resources, materials, and products to farmers) to submit an application for a grant on behalf of a farmer. Finally, the bill allows DATCP to request certain information and materials from a grant applicant or recipient, including land and field information, receipts and invoices, and an attestation that the applicant is not receiving any other funding or incentives for the activities funded by the grant.