Very soon, possibly on March 8th, the Illinois Senate Agriculture Committee will debate Amendment #1 to SB 2010, a bill amending the Illinois Fertilizer Act. IFCA initiated this legislation with the support of the grower organizations including Illinois Farm Bureau and Illinois Corn Growers Association, and working closely with the Illinois Department of Agriculture on the language.
Since September, the IFCA and other ag groups have been meeting with Illinois EPA, Illinois Dept of Ag and environmental groups to address the pressure IEPA is under (from USEPA) to set restrictive water quality standards for nitrogen and phosphorus in Illinois streams. The Illinois agriculture organizations have developed a long-term strategy to address water quality issues stemming from nutrient use, with the goal of implementing this strategy using voluntary adoption of nitrogen and phosphorus management systems that assure improvements in crop production and also address the potential sources of nutrient loss from the ag sector. We are seeking the opportunity to address N and P losses voluntarily, without a regulatory approach, such as a restriction on fall fertilizer applications which some have suggested.
SB 2010 provides a funding mechanism for Illinois agriculture to begin implementing this strategy. It seeks to privatize the Fertilizer Research & Education Council (funded by a fertilizer tonnage fee) to protect these funds from being swept, as they have been. It also enhances the funding levels by allowing the industry organizations who serve on the research council to recommend adequate annual tonnage fees (from 0 to a maximum of $3.00 per ton) to be collected to fund the strategic nutrient projects and conduct the research and education necessary to assure adoption of these practices. All fertilizer distributors who make the final sale of fertilizer to the farmer will collect the tonnage assessment from growers, and will also be licensed as fertilizer distributors rather than custom blenders. Distributors will pay an annual $100 per year license fee to the IDA to fund the fertilizer inspection and quality assurance programs, which are jeopardized by continued budget cuts at IDA. The legislation will also ensure that no unit of government other than the State Dept of Agriculture can regulate the use of fertilizer in this state. IFCA is coordinating efforts in Springfield to seek passage of SB 2010. It is a very proactive, aggressive approach to secure the future of our industry by creating a structure in which the industry, in partnership with our universities and other like-minded groups, supports new on-farm research, education, and implementation of nutrient stewardship programs to demonstrate our commitment to securing a future that includes fall application of nitrogen fertilizers and better overall management of nitrogen and phosphorus in a systematic approach.
The IFCA leadership sees the challenges on the horizon for our members. We have watched while the ag industry in Florida and the Chesapeake Bay region struggle with USEPA stepping in to dictate how nutrients will be managed in their state, in a regulatory approach rather than one that looks to agriculture for voluntary and meaningful solutions. IFCA takes our leadership and visionary responsibilities seriously. SB 2010 will include higher fertilizer tonnage fees to support this vision; the farm organizations are aware of this as well and see the need to embrace this strategy. Given the situation of our state budget, it is up to those of us in Illinois agriculture to create and control our own destiny and reap the rewards of this investment, rather than sit on the sidelines and turn our future over to those outside of agriculture who have other objectives.
In the next few days, IFCA will contact members who have Senators on the Ag Committee to ask you to indicate your support for this legislation. If the bill passes Senate Ag Committee, watch for an action request to all Illinois Senators. In the meantime we have posted a fact sheet on SB 2010 on the IFCA website under "Legislation." Thank you for your support and please contact Jean Payne if you have questions.
