Governor Dennis Daugaard vetoed a bill Wednesday that would increase the commercial fertilizer inspection fee. Daugaard calls the increased fee a tax, but supporters of the bill believe ag research needs more funding. The legislature meets Monday to consider all vetoes. SDPB’s Cassie Bartlett Reports.
Senate Bill 115 proposes the increased fertilizer inspection fee to go toward fertilizer-related research and to create a Nutrient Research Education Council. Senator Jason Frerichs was one of the bill’s prime sponsors. He says South Dakota needs to keep its nutrient research more updated to be relevant in the ag industry.
“The importance for increased funding for SDSU ag research is first and foremost from the standpoint that we need those recommendations updated on a regular basis—it’s been over 7 years since they last produced the fertilizer recommendation. Agriculture is an industry that rapidly changes each year, and it would only be fitting to have our research meet those expectations,” Frerichs says.
Frerichs says ag producers have asked for this increase, and he sees the importance of the non-biased research that’s conducted at SDSU. He says he expects members of the House and Senate to meet the two-thirds vote requirement needed to override the governor’s veto. For South Dakota Public Broadcasting, I’m Cassie Bartlett.