Yesterday the Senate passed the Agriculture and Rural Broadband budget bill, which provides significant funding for Minnesota’s agriculture industry and addresses the needs of rural broadband.

Notable items in the bill include:

• $100 million for the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program 
• $1.25 million per fiscal year increase for grants to facilitate the start-up, modernization, or expansion of meat, poultry, egg, and milk processing facilities
• $100,000 for grants or other forms of technical assistance to meat and poultry processors with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
• $222,000 in 2024 and $322,000 in 2025 for grants to meat and poultry processors with 100 or fewer full-time employees to pay for training and retention of employees
• $9.8 million per year, including base funds, to AGREETT for continued agriculture research and education

“Agriculture is the backbone of our state’s economy, and today’s bill takes a needed step towards supporting these important industries, but there’s still more work to do,” said Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville). “I’m disappointed that this bill did not include funding for fertilizer and soil health programs, which are the bloodline of Minnesota. Our farmers do so much to provide for our state, I believe we should be doing more to step up and support their industries.”