Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts was joined by a group of farmers, ranchers and commodity organizations on the second day of Husker Harvest Days to address some key issues facing Nebraska agriculture, including property taxes, trade and regulations.

It's a time of low commodity prices, tight margins and tough management decisions in the ag sector. Ask just about any farmer or rancher in the state, and property tax is a huge factor when it comes to his or her bottom line, and property tax relief has been a priority for several commodity organizations in the state in recent legislative sessions.

MORE WORK TO DO: Speaking to a crowd at Husker Harvest Days, Gov. Pete Ricketts noted that while steps have been taken in recent legislative sessions to ease the burden of property taxes, there is still more work to be done. "As governor, I want to address tax relief in every legislative session," he said.

Speaking to a crowd at the HHD show grounds, Ricketts noted some recent accomplishments to help ease this burden — including delivering $408 million in tax relief to all property owners in the state through the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund, and the passage of LB958 and LB959 during the 2016 legislative session. While LB958 tightens spending limits on local governments and limits the aggregate growth on ag land valuations to 3% per year in Nebraska, LB959 includes changes in provisions relating to budgets, levy authority and school funding  — 65% of property taxes in the state go toward funding local school districts.

However, Ricketts added, "We know we've got more work to do," adding, "As governor, I want to address tax relief in every legislative session.”

Easing the property tax burden

Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson noted today's agricultural environment is a "different environment than it was a few years ago.

A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT: Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson noted today's agricultural environment is much more different than it was a few years ago. "We probably haven't seen the worst of it yet," he said. "In 2016, net farm incomes are projected to decline 12% over 2015, and about 44% over what we had in 2013."

"We probably haven't seen the worst of it yet," Nelson said. "In 2016, net farm incomes are projected to decline 12% over 2015, and about 44% over what we had in 2013."

The primary challenge at the moment is property taxes, Nelson said. "Today we have a situation where we have property taxes in many areas on a per acre basis higher than the individual cost of seed and fertilizer," he said. "It has become an extraordinarily significant cost to farmers and ranchers."

In the coming legislative session, Nelson said the goals of Nebraska Farm Bureau include property tax relief for all Nebraskans, adequately funding the state's school systems, controlling spending at all levels of government and rebalancing the tax system in a way that doesn't increase the overall tax burden for all Nebraskans.

INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Barb Cooksley, Nebraska Cattlemen president, noted the benefits Nebraska beef producers could realize from the passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. "Every day without TPP we lose over $400,000 to Japan alone.”

And Ricketts added property tax relief continues to be a goal of his administration in the coming legislative session. "In our next session, we're going to continue to address some of those issues with regard to property taxes and look at valuations in particular and see if we can find additional ideas that we might able to find the support for," Ricketts added. "When we come up with a bill, it's got to be something we can get out of revenue committee and through three rounds of voting.

"As we look at the makeup of the Legislature, you have fewer and fewer senators that come from that agricultural background," Ricketts said. "So that means we're going to have to find some compromise by pulling in urban senators to be able to get something passed."

International trade means expanded markets

One way to add value to Nebraska agricultural commodities is to expand market through international trade. Ricketts noted one opportunity to expand trade is through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries, provided it gets passed by Congress.

"It would take our tariffs on beef going into Japan from 38.5% down to 9%. That will help us be more competitive with local products; it will help offset some of the effects of the strong dollar; and it will help expand our trade," Ricketts said. "We want to encourage our federal delegation and all of our U.S. senators to sign that deal when it comes up."

Barb Cooksley, 2016 Nebraska Cattlemen president, noted the important role trade plays for Nebraska cattle producers, and how they would benefit from the passage of the TPP.

"Every day without TPP we lose over $400,000 to Japan alone. We have the beef; the world wants it. Cattlemen and women need TPP to ensure fair access to these markets," Cooksley said. "In fact, Nebraska Cattlemen believes in TPP so much that after the elections we're going to head back to capitol hill and respectfully demand that this at least be taken up for a vote."

Farmers push back on EPA's atrazine proposal

At the press event, Nebraska corn and soybean growers also addressed the burden of regulations — specifically, EPA's recent proposed rule that would reduce the aquatic level of concern for atrazine down to 3.4 parts per billion — a two-thirds drop from the current level of 10, although scientific evidence points to a safe aquatic life level of concern at 25 ppb or more, according to the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, which has said the rule would lead to a de facto ban on the use of atrazine in the Corn Belt.

Larry Mussack, a farmer from Decatur and current president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, said the proposed rule would "set a bad precedent for future regulation of herbicide use by the EPA," not to mention increase the already heavy economic burden on producers.

"[Atrazine] has been proven safe by over 7,000 scientific studies, including EPA's own scientific advisory council," Mussack said. "Most recently atrazine has been used by corn farmers with over 70 different combinations or tank mixes. That has allowed farmers to go from previous conservation tillage practices to more efficient minimum tillage and no tillage. If we don't have access to atrazine, the initial cost could range from $29 to $59 per acre."

Mussack encouraged growers to submit comments on the proposal before the comment period ends on Oct. 4, and offered some words of encouragement on agriculture's economic situation: "We are facing challenging times in agriculture," he said. "Farmers are resilient. Farmers are innovative. This has happened before. Prices have been down; costs have been up. We'll get through this. We're innovative, we can make this work."