1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to agriculture; appropriating money for plant-based food research and 
1.3 	development; requiring a report.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. PLANT-BASED FOOD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.
 1.6 	(a) The commissioner of agriculture must establish and administer a plant-based food 
1.7 	research and development pilot grant program to provide competitive grants to eligible 
1.8 	entities to support research and development projects to accelerate the scaleup and 
1.9 	commercialization of industry-advancing plant-based food products.
1.10 	(b) Eligible grant activities under this section include:
1.11 	(1) research to develop new crop varietals;
1.12 	(2) the development of plant protein processing innovations, including biological methods 
1.13 	such as fermentation and enzymatic treatment for improving protein enrichment and 
1.14 	functionality;
1.15 	(3) end food product formulation and manufacturing;
1.16 	(4) the design of processing equipment for use in alternative protein production;
1.17 	(5) coproduct valorization; and
1.18 	(6) the evaluation of existing agricultural processing byproducts as alternative protein 
1.19 	sources.
1.20 	(c) Grant applications must be submitted to the commissioner in the form prescribed by 
1.21 	the commissioner. To be eligible for a grant under this section, the applicant must provide 
2.1 	sufficient proof to the commissioner demonstrating that each state grant dollar will be 
2.2 	matched with a nonstate dollar. Acceptable matching funds include nonstate contributions 
2.3 	that an entity has received for a specific plant-based food research and development project 
2.4 	and that have not been used to match previous grants.

2.5 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; REPORT.
 2.6 	(a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
2.7 	commissioner of agriculture for purposes of section 1. This is a onetime appropriation and 
2.8 	is available until June 30, 2023.
2.9 	(b) No later than January 15, 2024, the commissioner of agriculture must report grant 
2.10 	activity and program outcomes to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agriculture 
2.11 	policy and finance.