Today, the Minnesota Senate passed the Agriculture budget bill that will fund this sector for the next two years. This bill makes significant investments to Minnesota’s livestock and meat processing industries, provides services for farm transitions, farm safety grants and mental health funding, greater funding for farm-to-school programming, and provides many more resources for Minnesota’s agriculture community. 

“This agriculture budget bill is strong, helpful, and prioritizes the agricultural community that often goes forgotten,” Senator Bruce Anderson (R-Buffalo) said Monday. “I am especially pleased to see the mental health of farmers being brought to the attention of the legislature as this is a community that desperately needs new resources readily available. This bill will do right by the agricultural community and bring them into the conversation.”

Two bills co-authored by Senator Anderson were included in the budget bill. Funding for farm and agriculture mental health outreach, with the rising rates of mental health issues of farmers, was a top priority and contains $50,000 for both 2022 and 2023. Anderson also co-authored a provision to fully fund the Dairy Development and Profitability Enhancement program.