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Minnesota Legislative Leadership Squanders Opportunity to Fully Support Farmers, Food Systems & the Land in Ag Budget 

With 24 Hours Left in the Regular Session, Rural Support Could Still Pass 

May 21, 2022

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. — As the agriculture budget emerged from a House-Senate conference committee Friday evening, it appeared legislative leaders had squandered a major opportunity to invest in an economically and ecologically sustainable rural Minnesota, according to the Land Stewardship Project (LSP).

“This was the state’s chance to help farmers build the kind of agricultural systems that are good for Main Street economies while helping fight climate change and protecting our water,” said LSP policy manager Amanda Koehler. “Unfortunately, we’ve missed a huge opportunity to use the $9.25 billion budget surplus as an investment in a resilient Minnesota. This ridiculously low budget doesn’t meet the full needs of farmers, the farm and food system or rural communities.”

The total agriculture budget amounts to $15 million, a fraction of the $70 million and $60 million Governor Tim Walz and the House had proposed, respectively. The original budget proposals included substantial support for key LSP-backed proposals related to soil health, local meat processing, regional food systems, emerging farmers, and other initiatives that support small and medium-sized farmers.

Some initiatives were completely zeroed out: the budget provides no money for small meat processing training grants, the farm-to-school program, farm business management tuition assistance, farmers’ markets, and other initiatives.

“Given that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how vulnerable our food system is, it is particularly shocking that legislative leaders chose to ignore ways to fortify it at this key time,” said LSP policy organizer Laura Schreiber.

There was some good news in the agriculture budget that will be passed on to the Governor. There is $500,000 for soil health financial assistance grants and $650,000 for the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative and continuous living cover supply chain development. The House proposal had included $6.725 million and $15.5 million for these initiatives, respectively. The Legislature is also directing the state to develop a soil health action plan and set acreage goals for the adoption of soil health practices.

Furthermore, an additional $650,000 was included for the AGRI Meat, Poultry, Egg and Dairy Processing grants, as well as $827,000 for emerging farmers and the Good Acre’s Local Emergency Assistance Farm Fund (LEAFF) program. The House proposal had included $3 million and $5.6 million for these programs, respectively. LSP organizers said they were disappointed that funding does not match the scale of the challenges facing the state, but are looking forward to working with the organization’s members across Minnesota in coming months to build upon this budget during the next legislative session.

“We’d like to recognize, in particular, the work Representative Samantha Vang did to get support for emerging and small and mid-sized farmers through her down payment assistance program proposal,” said Schreiber. “Additionally, Representative Todd Lippert was a major player in pushing through soil health initiatives.”

LSP also applauded the fact that, after nine months of deliberation, lawmakers were finally able to agree on much-needed $18.4 million in drought relief for the state’s farmers.

As the 2022 session of the Minnesota Legislature races toward its adjournment on Sunday at midnight, there are still opportunities for lawmakers to support farmers, rural communities and land stewardship via other bills that are being hammered out in conference committees. For example, the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Bill included $5 million for soil health, the House Taxes Bill included $44 million for Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and there is the possibility of $10 million for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program in a bonding bill.

“It remains to be seen whether the Legislature can take some last-minute opportunities to build a food and farm system that benefits our economy, our water and the climate,” said Koehler. “If it doesn’t, we will be paying the price for years to come.”

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Category: News Releases
Tags: 100% Soil Healthy Campaign • emerging farmers • local meat processing • Minnesota Legislature • regional food systems • soil health

Contact

Amanda Koehler, LSP policy manager, e-mail, 612-400-6355

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May 2025

Thursday May 15

5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
MN Women in Conservation
Thursday May 15
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
MN Women in Conservation
42652 County Rd 7, Belview, MN 56214, USA

NOTE: REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT
 
Come out and play with MNWiC and Renville County Soil and Water Conservation District. Tour Iverson Tree Farm, learn from other women land stewards, and meet local Master Gardeners and conservation professionals who can help with your own land dreams.
 
For details and to register, click here.
 
 

Saturday May 17

11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Community Plant & Seed Swap
Saturday May 17
11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Community Plant & Seed Swap
Lift Bridge Brewing, 1900 Tower Dr W, Stillwater, MN 55082, USA

Lift Bridge Brewing Co. and Sustainable Farming Association are partnering to host a free seed and plant swap and fundraiser at Lift Bridge’s taproom in Stillwater. Vendor opportunities available. 
 
Details here.

Tuesday May 20

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Webinar on Agrivoltaics: Sheep Solar Grazing Producer Panel
Tuesday May 20
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Webinar on Agrivoltaics: Sheep Solar Grazing Producer Panel
Zoom Virtual

Participants will hear from sheep producers about their experiences, along with the benefits and challenges of grazing sheep under solar panels. This webinar is part of a series about cattle and sheep solar grazing and growing forages or grain crops under solar panels.
 
For details and to register, click here.

Thursday May 29

9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Thursday May 29
9:00 am – 12:30 pm
Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing for Sustainable Farmers
Zoom Online

Storytelling for Sales: Digital Marketing Best Practices to Get Your Farm’s Next Customer is designed to help farmers grow their customer base by sharpening their storytelling and digital marketing skills—whether they’re selling through farmers’ markets, CSAs, or direct-to-retail. This Greener Pastures and Meet the Minnesota Makers workshop will cover how websites and social media can actually convert viewers into buyers to creating content that builds community loyalty.

This workshop is also designed for ag educators, professionals, and partner organizational staff who support farmers directly and want to be well-versed on the marketing best practices to support direct-to-consumer farms. 

For details and to register, click here.

Saturday May 31

10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
Saturday May 31
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Multi-species Pasture Walk
872 320th Ave, Frederic, WI 54837, USA

The NW Wisconsin Graziers Network, River Country RC&Dand UW-Madison Extension invite you to a multi-species pasture walk hosted by JohnsonFamily Pastures LLC. The farm is located five miles east of Frederic in PolkCounty. This educational event willemphasize direct marketing, multi-species grazing, part-time family agricultureand silvopasture development. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

TheJohnson Family Pastures farm is home to Chris and Tamara Johnson and their twochildren. They raise grass-fed beef, silvopastured goats, and recently raised anumber of other species. The farm consists of about 160 acres of gently rollingpastures, silvopasture, and forest. Use of both temporary polybraid fencing andhigh tensile permanent fences allow for rotational grazing of small ruminants andout-wintering of beef cattle. Use of long-term farm transition strategies, cost-shareprograms, silvopasture development with goats, regenerative grazing, cattlehandling facility and bale grazing will be discussed along with answering anyand all questions from pasture walk participants.

An extensive and diversified direct marketing programhas been developed by Tamara and Chris that has included farmer markets, e-maillists, newsletters, website ordering, on-farm freezer storage, and other strategiesand tools to support direct sales and services for their customers.  Come and learn all about their successfulapproach.

For more information,contact Chris Johnson at 920-960-4475 or Lynn Johnson 715-225-9882 at NW Graziers.

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