ST. PAUL — In a year when other committees are expected to cut costs in preparation for a projected budget deficit, the Minnesota Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee increased its funding budget by $17 million.
The full House passed the bill on April 24 with a vote of 130-3. It was the first omnibus bill to pass the Minnesota House this session.
Co-chairs on the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee are Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, and Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul. The two presented the bipartisan bill that allocates $172.3 million for 2026-27 to fund the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, and the Office of Broadband Development.
Anderson said the two sides worked together well to bring this bill forward.
“And although the ag budget is a pretty small piece of the overall state budget, this bill is going to do a lot of good for the ag industry here in the state of Minnesota,” Anderson said.
Hansen said the bill hits back against federal budget cuts.
“This budget has more funding for Local Food Purchasing and Farm to School programs, keeping Minnesotans fed and healthy while addressing the Trump/Musk cuts to the USDA,” said Hansen. “We won worker protections for farm, poultry, and dairy workers and secured retail testing for milk and poultry products to address bird flu. We also increased the Down Payment Assistance Grant program, renewing our support for small emerging farmers in a time when the economy is tilted towards big corporations.”
Anderson shared that ensuring the Board of Animal Health has the funding it needs to respond to any future livestock disease outbreaks was one of his priorities.
“They've had their hands full in recent years managing highly pathogenic bird flu, which has impacted our turkey and chicken flocks,” Anderson wrote following the passing of the bill. “Now that the virus has been found in dairy cattle as well, it’s more important than ever to protect our state’s livestock and poultry and the Board of Animal Health plays a key role in that mission.”
Anderson added that provisions not in the bill also represent victories. That includes Walz’s proposed increases on grain inspection fees, which he said would have driven up costs for grain elevators.
Next, the omnibus funding bill goes to a conference committee, which will work to reconcile differences between House and Senate ag bills before a vote takes place on final approval.