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Minnesota Department of Ag open to tweaking Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is reexamining how it approaches soil classifications in the Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule.

Commissioner Dave Frederickson says during the draft rule process, farmers provided valuable feedback.

“We learned a lot in that process (and) certainly heard a lot.  In northwestern Minnesota we were really focused on the beach ridge of Lake Agassiz , and our tool actually looked much beyond that and didn’t consider the fact that there’s 150 feet of blue and yellow clay below about five to six feet of either sandy loam, and course soil below that.”

The Rule contains two parts: fall and frozen soil fertilizer restriction, and following nitrogen fertilizer Best Management Practices.

Soil hydrology and geology information will be used to identify vulnerable groundwater areas.

“We probably looked a little bit too carefully with the tool we utilized, and we basically didn’t look much beyond five feet.  And that measures the conductivity of the soil as it relates to water moving through it.”

The Nitrogen Fertilizer Rule is expected to be adopted in the fall of 2018.