The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is rolling out a state-wide Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan and it’s not being received well by state lawmakers and farmers. Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Dave Frederickson says there is a statute on the books that has not been implemented.

He says they’ve been holding listening sessions to gather input on this plan and they’ve learned a lot.

Frederickson says they’ll use the information from the sessions to formalize a final plan later this year.

He says the soils in northwest and southeast Minnesota are unique, but farmers there are doing a good job of managing their nitrogen fertilizer programs. As a result, he’s hopeful they can come up with a workable plan.