Goggin: Senate Passes Bipartisan Rural Development, Farmers-Focused Agriculture Bill

Today the Minnesota Senate passed a comprehensive agriculture budget bill to support agriculture, rural development, and rural COVID-19 recovery. The legislation is focused on helping Minnesota farmers while spurring innovation in the agriculture industry and provides resources for broadband expansion throughout the state. 

“Those of us who live outside the metro understand that a thriving agriculture economy is critical to our overall success as a state,” said Senator Mike Goggin (R-Red Wing). “This bill provides support to farmers in the fields, not bureaucracy or administration, so we can continue to recover from Covid and strengthen our ag communities.”

The bill includes provisions championed by Senator Goggin:

  • Funding for the Farm-to-School program, to provide healthy, locally-grown foods to schools and daycares.
  • Funding for mental health outreach on farms and additional mental health services, including the 24-hour crisis hotline.
  • Funding for meat, poultry, egg, and milk processing facilities to modernize or expand their operations.
  • Funding to promote agriculture businesses in southern Minnesota.

The legislation helps our agricultural community recover from the pandemic by strengthening our Ag sector supply chains and invests in helping more meat processing facilities expand and grow. Ultimately these investments will provide more jobs, improve our processing efficiency, and provide more purchasing options for consumers. The Senate Agriculture Budget gives historic funding to the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant program at $40 million over the next two fiscal years. This funding will develop permanent broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas. This significant funding from the legislature matches the critical need that has become apparent in the wake of Covid-19. 

Furthermore, the bill provides a $3.5 million grant to improve biofuel infrastructure by helping gas stations to sell higher blends of biofuels. This investment helps Minnesota continue to lead the nation in pioneering clean homegrown fuels, like E-15. Additionally, the budget includes grants for farm safety equipment and allows the creation of a grain storage facility safety curriculum.