The U.S. House recently passed their version of a ‘skinny’ farm bill and the Minnesota legislature is less than two weeks from adjourning with significant work left on supplemental budget and policy bills. Despite the closely divided legislature, we’ve continued to make the case for reauthorizing Farmer-Lender Mediation, fully funding the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit (BFTC), expanding the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program, extending support for small meat processors and more.

Farm bill passes

On April 30, the U.S. House passed a new, ‘skinny’ farm bill by a 224-200 vote, with Minnesota’s delegation and the bulk of the body voting along party lines. The package reauthorizes or makes adjustments to farm bill provisions that could not be addressed in the reconciliation package, H.R. 1, which passed last July.

“Today’s House vote is the largest step in eight years towards delivering a farm bill for family farmers, ranchers, and rural America,” said NFU President Rob Larew in response to the vote, thanking Chairman Glen “GT” Thompson, R-Penn., for his work.

That said, in the statement and additional interviews, he acknowledged the bills shortcomings. After the months of negotiations, “the bill largely continues existing farm safety net programs that do not match the scale of the current economic crisis family farmers are facing.”

Beyond that, the bill maintains cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and makes new cuts to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). It also doesn’t include other Farmers Union priorities like Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) or initiatives to promote competition.

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., voted against the package stating that the bill “does nothing to resolve high input costs, lost markets, surging food prices or provide a single penny in economic assistance to struggling family farmers.”

Craig did celebrate Democrats work to remove a provision that would have shielded chemical companies from some legal liability.

Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., lauded the bill’s passage, sharing that he is “proud of the work my colleagues and I have put in to deliver the strong farm policy that farmers, producers, and rural communities need and deserve.” He cited expanded capacity for Farm Credit to lend to community institutions, updated loan limits, and expedited timelines for loan approval.

The bill still has a way to go before passage.

“We look forward to working with the Senate to strengthen this bill and deliver more effective safety nets for farmers and families,” Larew said in his statement.

At the state legislature

On the state level, an agriculture bill has yet to pass either body, though Sen. Aric Putnam’s, DFL-SD14, agriculture finance omnibus cleared a final committee stop and is likely to be heard on the Senate floor early next week as a standalone. As written about previously, the bill reauthorizes Minnesota Farmer-Lender Mediation, includes a fix for Down Payment Assistance, extends an appropriation for small meat processor training and retention grants, and makes fix for food shelves who are seeking to donate expired product.

“These are all no-cost ways the legislature can improve on agriculture programs and support farmers across the state,” said MFU President Gary Wertish in a letter to Senate Finance Committee members. “We hope it earns your full support.”

That said, if the bill does not pass this year, MDA will lose out on important funding. In the case of Down Payment Assistance, as much as $800,000 would be returned to the general fund without the fix.

As always, this is just a snapshot of our legislative work. If you have thoughts, questions or concerns, please reach out at stu@mfu.org or (320) 232-3047.