State Priorities

Infrastructure:

• Regional block grants for food systems infrastructure investments with local/regional decision-making. 

• Farm viability funds including technical assistance and infrastructure investments.  

• Market development and staff capacity funds for Food Hubs and Farmers’ Market aggregation projects. 

• Rural grocery and food cooperative brick and mortar investments which enable and encourage purchasing of Minnesota-grown products. 

• Promotion of local and regional markets through increased data collection and reporting. 

Emerging Farmers:

• Dedicate funds to support land access, including: creation of easements for farmland preservation, cost-share for land purchases, and supporting land transfer costs. 

• Further invest in agricultural land preservation, including the development of the MDA FarmLink program, the Minnesota Agricultural Land Preservation Program, and other strategies to preserve, protect, and sustain our state’s agricultural assets. 

• Continue to support Emerging Farmers with dedicated funds for technical assistance, land access navigators, farm advocates, and capital investments that support the next generation of farmers.  

• Increased funding for the AGRI grant programs which encourage, support, and promote novel agriculture including urban, sustainable and organic production. 

Climate & Ecosystem

• Incentivize and promote agricultural practices that support soil health, including the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Program, organic farming practices, and other sustainable agriculture practices that protect, build, and regenerate soil.

• Increased investment in the Forever Green Initiative to develop and commercialize crops that create continuous living cover. 

• Incentivize cropping and pasture systems that promote water retention and mitigation by attaching drought relief funding to initiatives that reflect long-term soil stewardship, such as: perennial grains, cover crops, and no till agriculture. 

• Encourage, fund, and develop on-farm renewable energy infrastructure to power farms using wind and solar energy, including agrivoltaics and other practices that diversify farm revenue and helps attain the state’s green energy goals. 

• Prioritize funding for farms that improve environmental conditions including soil health, water quality, and biodiversity. This includes but is not limited to the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Program. 

Nutrition & Agriculture

• Continue to support Farm to School funding, including equipment grants for schools to process farmgate products, and expand to early care environments. 

• Increase SNAP income eligibility from 165% to 200% of the federal poverty limit and pair with continued funding of the Market Bucks program to support SNAP participants to spend dollars with Minnesota farms. 

• Encourage Farm to Institution pipeline that create stable, mid-sized markets for farmers. This includes: culinary training for institutional chefs, state procurement policies of Minnesota-Grown products, supporting market development including anchor institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes.  

• Provide funding to food banks and food shelves to purchase products from emerging farms at market price.