Nebraska2026Did Not Pass

LB1028

Livestock Waste Management Plan Rules

Last scannedAug 25, 2026, 3:18 AM

In one sentence

This bill requires large animal feeding operations to register and update their waste plans, plant cover crops after applying waste unless perennial plants exist, and create grass buffers near waterways.

Requires large concentrated animal feeding operations to register a nutrient management plan with the department.
Mandates that these facilities update their registered plan every year.
Makes the plans and supporting documents available for anyone to see on the department's website.
Requires planting cover crops after applying livestock waste unless the field already has perennial plants.
States that the entity using the plan must pay for establishing and maintaining these cover crops.
Encourages entities to use regenerative agricultural practices when reasonably possible, such as minimizing tillage and increasing biodiversity.
Requires a thirty-foot grass buffer between waste application areas and running waterways.
States that the entity using the plan must pay for establishing and maintaining these buffers.
Requires annual compensation from the implementing entity to landowners for production losses on buffered acres, with prices determined by the department.

Large concentrated animal feeding operations as defined by federal regulations existing on January 1, 2026
Entities implementing nutrient management plans on farmland
Landowners who own land where grass buffers are created

The bill was indefinitely postponed on April 17, 2026, so it did not become law.
The specific dollar amounts for compensating landowners are determined by the department but are not listed in this text.

Plain language

Nutrient Management Plan: A plan registered with the department that guides how livestock waste or litter is applied.
Cover Crops: Plants grown after applying waste to protect soil, required unless perennial plants are already present.
Perennial-Grass Buffer: A minimum thirty-foot strip of grass placed between farmland where waste is applied and running waterways.

Official record

Source attached

Provide requirements for nutrient management plans and the application of livestock waste or litter

Official activity