Land Stewardship Project Capitol Update
April 6, 2007

Sustainable & Organic Ag Package Included in House Funding Bills but with Lower Funding Levels Than in the Senate
This legislative package would dramatically increase state funding for sustainable and organic agriculture programs at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The Minnesota Senate passed the package with adequate funding.  While the House did include funding for the package, it was not nearly at the level we requested or that the Senate did. However, House leadership can fix this in conference committees.  Overview of funding:

Take Action
Calls are needed to Speaker of the House Margaret Kelliher and House Majority Leader Tony Sertich.  Let them know you want Minnesota to be a national leader in promoting organic and sustainable agriculture and that means adequately funding these programs.  

Message: "The Minnesota House does not provide adequate funding for sustainable and organic agriculture.  The Senate provides almost $2 million dollars more for sustainable ag in their Ag Omnibus Finance and Higher Ed Omnibus Finance Bills.  The House Ag Finance Bill comes up particularly short by allocating only $130,000 of new money to these programs.  In contrast, the Senate allocates over $1 million to sustainable ag in their Ag Omnibus finance bill.  This should be fixed in conference committee, if not sooner."

Details on the funding levels for the sustainable and organic ag package
These bills have been incorporated into Ag and Higher Ed Omnibus Finance bills as indicated below:

SF 1027/ HF 844: The "Minnesota Grows Organic" initiative would provide $1.1 million dollars annually to the University of Minnesota for organic research and outreach. The money funds faculty and staff at the St. Paul campus, as well as outreach centers, graduate assistantships and equipment to meet the research and outreach needs of organic farmers. 

SF 1026/ HF 845: Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture's (MISA) Alternative Livestock Program funded at $150,000 a year. Housed at the U of M, MISA's Alternative Livestock Program has been a leader in providing research and information to farmers raising livestock on grass or in deep-bedded straw systems. 

SF1038/ HF 710: Minnesota Department of Agriculture's Energy and Sustainable Ag Grant Program funded at $250,000 a year for two years.  This program provides grants for sustainable and organic farmers to conduct on-farm demonstration projects and research. The results are then published annually in the Greenbook. This program creates innovative farmer-driven solutions and facilitates farmer-to-farmer education.

SF 1039/ HF 846: Minnesota Department of Agriculture's organic cost-share program funded at $275,000 a year for two years.  This bill provides cost-share of up to $500 a year to organic farmers and processors towards the cost of annual organic certification.

Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture funded at $1 million a year to do research into perennial crops to be used for the next generation of cellulosic biofuels.

 **Thanks to Chair of the Higher Ed Finance Committee, Rep. Tom Rukavina, for making sure this provision for MISA was included in his bill.**

Sen. Dille Introduces Legislation that Undermines Local Control; Calls Needed
Sen. Steve Dille's Senate File 1402 attempts to press local units of government into adopting the "state's livestock production policy." This livestock production policy was created by Sen. Dille in 2004 and focuses on more livestock, not more family farmers.  Sen. Dille is once again trying to tell residents of counties and townships that he knows what is best for them when it comes to livestock. The bill also dictates to counties and township how they must go about preserving farmland and open spaces.  Preserving farmland and open space is critical for rural Minnesota but detailed requirements imposed from the top down aren't the appropriate way to address a complicated issue that varies from one area of the state to the next.

The good news is that the legislation is on hold for now, but calls are needed to make sure it doesn't move forward.  The State and Local Government Operations Committee heard the bill on March 26. LSP, along with Minnesota Farmers Union, the Minnesota Association of Townships and the Association of Minnesota Counties, testified in opposition to the bill. Committee members had received a flood of calls from LSP members and others asking them to oppose the bill. The committee forwarded the bill to the Senate Ag Policy committee without recommendation with the understanding it would come back to their committee again.     

Take Action
Calls are needed to Sen. Jim Vickerman, Chair of the Ag Policy Committee, at 651-296-5650.

Here is the message to Sen. Vickerman:  "I am a township and/or county resident and am opposed to Senate File 1402.  You should not hear this bill or any other bills that weaken our township and county rights. The bill wants to make consideration of the ‘state's livestock production policy’ mandatory for local units of government.  Local units of government should create their own livestock production policy in consultation with local residents and in accordance with the state's environmental protections laws.  Also, I agree with the stated goal of the bill of preserving open spaces and farmland but this is a complicated issue that is not best addressed by uniform state-imposed prescriptions.  Local residents need to be encouraged and trusted to implement policies specific to their communities."

For More Information
Bobby King, e-mail: bking@landstewardshipproject.org; office phone: 612-722-6377; cell phone: 507-450-7258

Paul Sobocinski, e-mail: sobopaul@redred.com; cell phone: 507-430-1509

Check LSP’s Action Alerts at www.landstewardshipproject.org/news-alerts.html.