1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to agriculture; creating an agriculture best management practices grant 
1.3 	program; appropriating money;proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
1.4 	Statutes, chapter 17.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. [17.1162] AGRICULTURE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES GRANT 
1.7 	PROGRAM.
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Establishment. The commissioner of agriculture must establish and 
1.9 	administer a grant program to support healthy soil management practices in accordance 
1.10 	with this section.
1.11 		Subd. 2.State healthy soil management plan. The commissioner must develop a 
1.12 	healthy soil management plan in consultation with the University of Minnesota, the United 
1.13 	States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Board of 
1.14 	Water and Soil Resources, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and nongovernmental 
1.15 	environmental and agricultural organizations. By December 31, 2023, and every two years 
1.16 	thereafter, the commissioner must report the plan to the governor and to the chairs and 
1.17 	ranking minority members of the house of representatives and senate committees and 
1.18 	divisions with jurisdiction over agriculture and the environment and natural resources. The 
1.19 	plan must include all of the following:
1.20 	(1) an assessment of the current state of healthy soil management practices statewide;
1.21 	(2) a statewide five- and ten-year goal for healthy soil management practice 
1.22 	implementation, denominated in acres;
2.1 	(3) an explanation of how the commissioner will make grant award decisions based on 
2.2 	the eligibility categories described in subdivision 3 and the priorities set forth in subdivision 
2.3 	4;
2.4 	(4) an explanation of how the commissioner will ensure a geographically fair distribution 
2.5 	of funding across a broad group of crop types, soil management practices, and farm sizes;
2.6 	(5) a strategy for leveraging other public and private sources of money to expand healthy 
2.7 	soil management practices in the state;
2.8 	(6) a summary of the operations of the program during the previous two-year period, 
2.9 	including a summary of state, federal, and private money spent, the total number of projects 
2.10 	and acres, and an estimate of carbon sequestered or carbon emissions reduced during that 
2.11 	period; and
2.12 	(7) any other matter that the commissioner deems relevant.
2.13 		Subd. 3.Eligible projects. The commissioner may award a grant under this section for 
2.14 	any project on agricultural land that will:
2.15 	(1) increase the quantity of organic carbon in soil through practices, including but not 
2.16 	limited to reduced tillage, cover cropping, manure management, precision agriculture, crop 
2.17 	rotations, and changes in grazing management;
2.18 	(2) integrate perennial vegetation into management of agricultural lands;
2.19 	(3) reduce nitrous oxide and methane emissions through changes to livestock, soil 
2.20 	management, or nutrient optimization;
2.21 	(4) increase the usage of precision agricultural practices;
2.22 	(5) enable the development of site-specific management plans; or
2.23 	(6) enable the purchase of equipment, technology, subscriptions, technical assistance, 
2.24 	seeds, seedlings, or amendments that will further any of the purposes in clauses (1) to (5).
2.25 		Subd. 4.Grant eligibility. Any land owner or lessee may apply for a grant under this 
2.26 	section.
2.27 		Subd. 5.Funding limitations. Every appropriation for the agriculture best management 
2.28 	practices grant program is subject to the following limitations:
2.29 	(1) the commissioner may award no more than ten percent of the appropriation to a 
2.30 	single recipient; and
3.1 	(2) the commissioner may use no more than five percent of the appropriation to cover 
3.2 	the costs of administering the program.

3.3 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 3.4 	$5,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner 
3.5 	of agriculture for the agriculture best management practices grant program under Minnesota 
3.6 	Statutes, section 17.1162. The base appropriation for fiscal year 2024 and later is $5,000,000.