District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett, R-Albert Lea, will host a listening session at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the City Center in Blooming Prairie to hear feedback from constituents, farmers and other members of the agriculture community about Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed buffer plan, which would institute a 50-foot buffer zone around “all of Minnesota’s waters, regardless of their classification or designation.”

Bennett has invited Dayton, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr, and Board of Water and Soil Resources Executive Director John Jaschke to attend the meeting to present details of their proposal, and give farmers a chance to offer input and feedback.

“Farmers all agree on the importance of water conservation and being good stewards of the environment,” Bennett said. “However, I have heard concerns from farmers in our community about the proposed 50-foot buffer. I want to give farmers a chance to hear directly from the governor or his administration about the proposal that would perhaps put their concerns to rest, and give farmers and the ag community a chance to weigh in to see if we can find some common ground, or a compromise to move forward.”

The meeting is open to the public and free to attend.