as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 05/04/2021 08:04am
A bill for an act
relating to agriculture; appropriating money for plant-based food research and
development; requiring a report.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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(a) The commissioner of agriculture must establish and administer a plant-based food
research and development pilot grant program to provide competitive grants to eligible
entities to support research and development projects to accelerate the scaleup and
commercialization of industry-advancing plant-based food products.
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(b) Eligible grant activities under this section include:
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(1) research to develop new crop varietals;
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(2) the development of plant protein processing innovations, including biological methods
such as fermentation and enzymatic treatment for improving protein enrichment and
functionality;
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(3) end food product formulation and manufacturing;
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(4) the design of processing equipment for use in alternative protein production;
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(5) coproduct valorization; and
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(6) the evaluation of existing agricultural processing byproducts as alternative protein
sources.
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(c) Grant applications must be submitted to the commissioner in the form prescribed by
the commissioner. To be eligible for a grant under this section, the applicant must provide
sufficient proof to the commissioner demonstrating that each state grant dollar will be
matched with a nonstate dollar. Acceptable matching funds include nonstate contributions
that an entity has received for a specific plant-based food research and development project
and that have not been used to match previous grants.
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(a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of agriculture for purposes of section 1. This is a onetime appropriation and
is available until June 30, 2023.
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(b) No later than January 15, 2024, the commissioner of agriculture must report grant
activity and program outcomes to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over agriculture
policy and finance.
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