As we pass a key date in the 2025 Minnesota legislative calendar, several initiatives supported by the Land Stewardship Project remain alive and are moving through the committee process. In order to be considered as part of an omnibus bill, the majority of proposed legislation had to be heard in both the House and Senate by April 4. LSP initiatives related to farm to institution food connections and soil health/water quality have met those criteria. Our bill focused on the farmland down payment assistance program did not make the deadline, but we are continuing to work with leadership on how it might be a part of the larger agriculture omnibus bill.
Below is a rundown of where things stand as of today (April 8) on LSP’s legislative priorities.
Getting Food from Farms to Kids
In recent years, the potential for schools, early childcare centers, and other institutions to be key markets for farmers producing food for direct sales has become clearer than ever. A critical resource for farm to institution connections has been the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School & Early Care Program. This program has been bolstered in recent years with legislative funding that has created a statewide coordinator and provided resources to help schools and early care settings procure and handle locally produced food. However, demand for the program’s resources far outstrips supply. In 2023, when Minnesota had an infusion of federal funds, there were $5.3 million in requests for the program; it is currently funded at $1.29 million per year.
That’s why LSP and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (our “Farm to Kids” campaign co-lead), have championed legislation — House File 1795 and Senate File 1559 — that was originally crafted to leverage federal funding Minnesota was set to receive due to a cooperative agreement signed between the USDA and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). This agreement would have brought into the state a combined $18 million for the Local Food for Schools Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. Unfortunately, USDA cancelled those funds in March 2025, which required us to pivot our ask to legislators and instead request that they support increasing state funding for the program.
The bills are being led by Rep. Nathan Nelson (R) in the House and Senator Heather Gustafson (DFL) in the Senate. They have great bipartisan support from co-authors and other lawmakers have proven receptive to supporting the bill during committee hearings. This legislation would continue funding the MDA’s farm to institution coordinator position, which has proven critical to making local food connections. At this time, both the House and Senate have included an increase in funding for the program in their respective chamber’s overall agriculture omnibus bill. The House has added $1 million to the program and the Senate has added $150,000, although each chamber has a different budget target amount that they are working from. The House has allocated $17 million in addition to base funding for the agriculture budget, whereas the Senate was given a negative budget target and must cut $313,000 from its budget.
Public support for local food marketing is more critical than ever, now that the USDA has cancelled funding for such initiatives. For example, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA) has proven to be a highly effective way to get farmers paid a fair price for food that is then given to food shelves in their community.
As a result, LSP and our allies are supporting legislation that would develop a state-funded version of the LFPA. The legislation — House File 2102 and Senate File 2430 — would emphasize making purchases from emerging farmers. During testimony related to the legislation, lawmakers heard from Arlene Jones, executive director of Sprout Food Hub in Little Falls, Minn., as well as Amanda Nigon-Crowley, the executive director of the Village Agricultural Co-op in Rochester, Minn. Both groups have received LFPA funding. In addition, Jane Windsperger, a farmer in Kanabec County, talked about the positive impacts of such a program during House and Senate hearings. The House has included a $1 million pilot for a state LFPA program and the Senate is providing $250,000.
Land Access
An initiative developed to assist beginning farmers with purchasing farmland — the Minnesota Down Payment Assistance Program — has been overwhelmed with applications since it was established in 2022. A bill being proposed during the 2025 legislative session would improve the program by allowing farmers up to a year (the stipulation is currently six months) to purchase land with awarded funds. And as a result of skyrocketing land prices, LSP and its allies are pushing for legislation that would increase the grant award from $15,000 to $25,000 per successful applicant.
Proposed legislation would also launch an MDA initiative to conduct a study and create a state action plan working with relevant stakeholders. This initiative would identify policy initiatives that would increase land ownership opportunities for beginning food and fiber producers. Unfortunately, this legislation, which was being spearheaded by Sen. Judy Seeberger (DFL) and Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL), did not get a hearing in time to meet the April 4 deadline and thus cannot move ahead as a standalone bill. However, we are working to amend the overall agriculture bill to include these provisions; currently the House bill does include provisions to increase the award amount from $15,000 to $20,000.
Soil Health & Water Quality
During recent legislative sessions, LSP and our allies have pushed successfully for initiatives that support farmers who are adopting practices that build healthy, resilient soil. The 2025 session shows some promise for continuing such support. For example:
- Legislation that would provide continued funding for the popular Soil Health Financial Assistance Program has bipartisan support. This legislation, being led by Sen. Heather Gustafson (DFL) and Rep. Nathan Nelson (R) — Senate File 882 and House File 985 — provides farmers financial resources for purchasing the kind of equipment they need to build healthy soil in an economically viable manner.
- The MDA’s AGRI Livestock Investment Grant Program has long provided funding for farmers looking to add or update their livestock infrastructure and equipment. Climate Land Leaders, an LSP ally, is pushing for legislation — House File 1796 and Senate File 2147 — to help especially beginning farmers purchase equipment that could support practices such as managed rotational grazing. In an attempt to make more resources available to small and medium-sized farmers, the legislation would provide a cost-share level of 50% for the first $20,000 in infrastructure costs; the cost-share level would be 20% for projects that cost between $20,000 and $200,000.
- In response to extensive nitrate pollution of groundwater in southeastern Minnesota, the Legislature in 2024 provided funding for landowners who are seeking ways to access clean drinking water via reverse osmosis systems or the digging of new wells, for example. House File 821 and Senate File 1183 would continue this program.
- For the past few years, southeastern Minnesota’s Olmsted County has been implementing a program that pays farmers to grow cover crops, small grains, and forages, as well as utilize rotational grazing. Notably, this program doesn’t just reward farmers for putting in practices — it pays for results. The Olmsted County Groundwater Protection and Soil Health Program is seen as a model for taking a proactive, holistic approach to keeping nitrates and other pollutants out of groundwater. There are a couple of bills — House File 452 and Senate File 909; House File 2916 and Senate File 2845 — being proposed that would widen this program to Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) throughout southeastern Minnesota. House File 2916, which would pull funding from the House Agriculture Committee to fund the program, was heard last week in committee and Skip Langer, the district manager for the Olmsted County SWCD, testified in favor of the legislation. Also testifying was Kevin Connely, who is part of a key group of farmers that helped spark the Olmsted County program.
- A longstanding priority for LSP is continued funding for research and development of perennial grains and winter annuals through the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative. Crops like Kernza and winter camelina show promise for diversifying and adding winter cover to Minnesota’s agricultural lands while building soil profitably. This legislative session, we are joining our allies in pushing for continued support of this key initiative.
By the way, you can sign our petition encouraging lawmakers to support soil legislation here.
LSP Members Step Up
During the 2025 legislative session, LSP members and allies have shown leadership by reaching out to their Representatives and Senators directly via phone calls and e-mails, as well as in-person. After the 2025 Family Farm Breakfast at the Capitol, dozens of members walked across the street from Christ Lutheran Church to meet with lawmakers and talk about their priorities. In addition, several members and allies have testified at key committee hearings.
For example, just last week LSP farmer-members Joan Olson and Cindy VanDerPol spoke before the House Agriculture Committee about the importance of supporting farm to institution local food connections. LSP member Ryan Schicker, who works for the Lac Qui Parle SWCD, also testified in favor of the Soil Health Financial Assistance Grant Program during a Senate hearing. Farmer and Farm Beginnings graduate Tessa Parks testified in favor of directing more Livestock Investment Grant Program funding to beginning farmers and regenerative practices. In February, Hannah Bernhardt, a farmer who also graduated from Farm Beginnings, testified before the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee about the impacts of the federal funding freeze and how this relates to state agriculture programs. Earlier that month, LSP members Aimee Haag and Laura Cullip testified during an informational state Senate hearing on getting locally produced food to kids.
It’s difficult to overemphasize how critical it is for lawmakers to hear from their constituents who are impacted directly by public policy. If you would like more information on how you can make your voice heard, contact me via e-mail.
What’s Next?
Make no mistake: an issue looming large over this legislative session is concerns about a budget shortfall, a problem made worse by recent federal cuts and freezes, as well as increased uncertainty over a trade war being sparked by tariffs. The House and Senate, as well as Gov. Tim Walz, have all released the budget targets they would like to operate under when considering legislation. Having the House and Senate working under different budget targets when it comes to funding agricultural proposals further complicates things. Typically, the House and Senate would be working from the same number when they craft their budgets in committee — however, this is anything but a “typical” legislative session.
For major appropriation and finance bills to stay alive, they need to be presented in a committee by April 10. After that deadline, we will have a better picture of what bills are still alive and what proposed details will be included before lawmakers head into conference committees to reconcile their differences and hammer out legislation that can be sent to the Governor’s desk.
The regular session of this year’s Legislature faces a May 19 deadline for adjournment, so to say the least, we have a lot of work ahead of us between now and then. LSP will continue working with our allies to usher our priorities through the committee process. Check LSP’s blog page and action alerts page for updates and ways to take action.
LSP government relations director Laura Schreiber can be reached via e-mail.