Today 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 cornerstone of our economy, and it’s important that we support the various industries within that sector,” said Senator Andrew Lang (R-Olivia). “Though today’s bill includes a number of good provisions, it’s missing a lot of important funding. This bill missed many key points: cottage foods expansion, the restoration of wild race cultivation provisions, grain indemnity changes, and funding for fertilizer and soil health programs. These industries generate over $112 billion in annual economic impact, and they support over 400,000 jobs – we need to provide better support and investments than what this bill offers.”