HF 3942

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/19/2024 02:11pm

A bill for an act
relating to agriculture; modifying a previous appropriation; amending Laws 2023,
chapter 43, article 1, section 2, subdivision 4.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Laws 2023, chapter 43, article 1, section 2, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4. Agriculture, Bioenergy, and Bioproduct Advancement

deleted text begin 37,809,000 deleted text end new text begin 54,434,000 new text end

deleted text begin 33,809,000 deleted text end new text begin 50,434,000 new text end

(a) $10,702,000 the first year and $10,702,000
the second year are for the agriculture
research, education, extension, and technology
transfer program under Minnesota Statutes,
section 41A.14. Except as provided below,
the appropriation each year is for transfer to
the agriculture research, education, extension,
and technology transfer account under
Minnesota Statutes, section 41A.14,
subdivision 3, and the commissioner shall
transfer funds each year to the Board of
Regents of the University of Minnesota for
purposes of Minnesota Statutes, section
41A.14. To the extent practicable, money
expended under Minnesota Statutes, section
41A.14, subdivision 1, clauses (1) and (2),
must supplement and not supplant existing
sources and levels of funding. The
commissioner may use up to one percent of
this appropriation for costs incurred to
administer the program.

Of the amount appropriated for the agriculture
research, education, extension, and technology
transfer grant program under Minnesota
Statutes, section 41A.14:

(1) $600,000 the first year and $600,000 the
second year are for the Minnesota Agricultural
Experiment Station's agriculture rapid
response fund under Minnesota Statutes,
section 41A.14, subdivision 1, clause (2);

(2) up to $1,000,000 the first year and up to
$1,000,000 the second year are for research
on avian influenza, salmonella, and other
turkey-related diseases and disease prevention
measures;

(3) $2,250,000 the first year and $2,250,000
the second year are for grants to the Minnesota
Agricultural Education Leadership Council to
enhance agricultural education with priority
given to Farm Business Management
challenge grants;

(4) $450,000 the first year is for the cultivated
wild rice breeding project at the North Central
Research and Outreach Center to include a
tenure track/research associate plant breeder;

(5) $350,000 the first year and $350,000 the
second year are for potato breeding;

(6) $802,000 the first year and $802,000 the
second year are to fund the Forever Green
Initiative and protect the state's natural
resources while increasing the efficiency,
profitability, and productivity of Minnesota
farmers by incorporating perennial and
winter-annual crops into existing agricultural
practices. The base for the allocation under
this clause is $802,000 in fiscal year 2026 and
each year thereafter. By February 1 each year,
the dean of the College of Food, Agricultural
and Natural Resource Sciences must submit
a report to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over agriculture finance and policy
and higher education detailing uses of the
funds in this paragraph, including
administrative costs, and the achievements
these funds contributed to; and

(7) $350,000 each year is for farm-scale winter
greenhouse research and development
coordinated by University of Minnesota
Extension Regional Sustainable Development
Partnerships. The allocation in this clause is
onetime.

(b) The base for the agriculture research,
education, extension, and technology transfer
program is $10,352,000 in fiscal year 2026
and $10,352,000 in fiscal year 2027.

(c) deleted text begin $27,107,000 deleted text end new text begin $43,732,000 new text end the first year and
deleted text begin $23,107,000 deleted text end new text begin $39,732,000 new text end the second year are
for the agricultural growth, research, and
innovation program under Minnesota Statutes,
section 41A.12. Except as provided below,
the commissioner may allocate this
appropriation each year among the following
areas: facilitating the start-up, modernization,
improvement, or expansion of livestock
operations, including beginning and
transitioning livestock operations with
preference given to robotic dairy-milking
equipment; assisting value-added agricultural
businesses to begin or expand, to access new
markets, or to diversify, including aquaponics
systems, with preference given to hemp fiber
processing equipment; facilitating the start-up,
modernization, or expansion of other
beginning and transitioning farms, including
by providing loans under Minnesota Statutes,
section 41B.056; sustainable agriculture
on-farm research and demonstration; the
development or expansion of food hubs and
other alternative community-based food
distribution systems; enhancing renewable
energy infrastructure and use; crop research,
including basic and applied turf seed research;
Farm Business Management tuition assistance;
and good agricultural practices and good
handling practices certification assistance. The
commissioner may use up to 6.5 percent of
this appropriation for costs incurred to
administer the program.

Of the amount appropriated for the agricultural
growth, research, and innovation program
under Minnesota Statutes, section 41A.12:

(1) $1,000,000 the first year and $1,000,000
the second year are for distribution in equal
amounts to each of the state's county fairs to
preserve and promote Minnesota agriculture;

(2) $5,750,000 the first year and $5,750,000
the second year are for incentive payments
under Minnesota Statutes, sections 41A.16,
41A.17, 41A.18, and 41A.20. Notwithstanding
Minnesota Statutes, section 16A.28, the first
year appropriation is available until June 30,
2025, and the second year appropriation is
available until June 30, 2026. If this
appropriation exceeds the total amount for
which all producers are eligible in a fiscal
year, the balance of the appropriation is
available for other purposes under this
paragraph. The base under this clause is
$3,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 and each year
thereafter;

(3) deleted text begin $3,375,000 deleted text end new text begin $20,000,000 new text end the first year and
deleted text begin $3,375,000 deleted text end new text begin $20,000,000 new text end the second year are
for grants that enable retail petroleum
dispensers, fuel storage tanks, and other
equipment to dispense biofuels to the public
in accordance with the biofuel replacement
goals established under Minnesota Statutes,
section 239.7911. A retail petroleum dispenser
selling petroleum for use in spark ignition
engines for vehicle model years after 2000 is
eligible for grant money under this clause if
the retail petroleum dispenser has no more
than 10 retail petroleum dispensing sites and
each site is located in Minnesota. The grant
money must be used to replace or upgrade
equipment that does not have the ability to be
certified for E25. A grant award must not
exceed 65 percent of the cost of the
appropriate technology. A grant award must
not exceed deleted text begin $200,000 deleted text end new text begin $800,000 new text end per station.
The commissioner must cooperate with biofuel
stakeholders in the implementation of the grant
program. The commissioner, in cooperation
with any economic or community development
financial institution and any other entity with
which the commissioner contracts, must
submit a report on the biofuels infrastructure
financial assistance program by January 15 of
each year to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the legislative committees and
divisions with jurisdiction over agriculture
policy and finance. The annual report must
include but not be limited to a summary of the
following metrics: (i) the number and types
of projects financed; (ii) the amount of dollars
leveraged or matched per project; (iii) the
geographic distribution of financed projects;
(iv) any market expansion associated with
upgraded infrastructure; (v) the demographics
of the areas served; (vi) the costs of the
program; and (vii) the number of grants to
minority-owned or female-owned businesses.
The base under this clause is deleted text begin $3,000,000 deleted text end new text begin
$20,000,000 new text end for fiscal year 2026 and each year
thereafter;

(4) $1,250,000 the first year and $1,250,000
the second year are for grants to facilitate the
start-up, modernization, or expansion of meat,
poultry, egg, and milk processing facilities. A
grant award under this clause must not exceed
$200,000. Any unencumbered balance at the
end of the second year does not cancel until
June 30, 2026, and may be used for other
purposes under this paragraph. The base under
this clause is $250,000 in fiscal year 2026 and
each year thereafter;

(5) $1,150,000 the first year and $1,150,000
the second year are for providing more fruits,
vegetables, meat, poultry, grain, and dairy for
children in school and early childhood
education centers, including, at the
commissioner's discretion, providing grants
to reimburse schools and early childhood
education centers for purchasing equipment
and agricultural products. Of the amount
appropriated, $150,000 each year is for a
statewide coordinator of farm-to-institution
strategy and programming. The coordinator
must consult with relevant stakeholders and
provide technical assistance and training for
participating farmers and eligible grant
recipients. The base under this clause is
$1,294,000 in fiscal year 2026 and each year
thereafter;

(6) $4,000,000 the first year is for Dairy
Assistance, Investment, Relief Initiative
(DAIRI) grants and other forms of financial
assistance to Minnesota dairy farms that enroll
in coverage under a federal dairy risk
protection program and produced no more
than 16,000,000 pounds of milk in 2022. The
commissioner must make DAIRI payments
based on the amount of milk produced in
2022, up to 5,000,000 pounds per participating
farm, at a rate determined by the commissioner
within the limits of available funding. Any
unencumbered balance does not cancel at the
end of the first year and is available in the
second year. Any unencumbered balance at
the end of the second year does not cancel
until June 30, 2026, and may be used for other
purposes under this paragraph. The allocation
in this clause is onetime;

(7) $2,000,000 the first year and $2,000,000
the second year are for urban youth
agricultural education or urban agriculture
community development; and

(8) $1,000,000 the first year and $1,000,000
the second year are for the good food access
program under Minnesota Statutes, section
17.1017.

Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section
16A.28, any unencumbered balance does not
cancel at the end of the first year and is
available for the second year, and
appropriations encumbered under contract on
or before June 30, 2025, for agricultural
growth, research, and innovation grants are
available until June 30, 2028.

(d) The base for the agricultural growth,
research, and innovation program is
deleted text begin $16,294,000 deleted text end new text begin $33,294,000 new text end in fiscal year 2026
and each year thereafter and includes $200,000
each year for cooperative development grants.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end