It’s hard to be a farmer right now. The challenges facing Minnesota farmers are not the typical challenges faced in the lead up to planting season. The high cost of fuel, equipment, and fertilizer – compounded by the Iran war and tariffs, low soybean prices, farm consolidation, limited access to healthcare and childcare, and the federal immigration crack down for farm workers. With this in mind, the Senate Agriculture Committee’s 2026 agenda set out to relieve some these challenges for Minnesota’s farm families.
PASSED
AURI Legal Cost (80k) (SF 3912 – Putnam):
The purpose and mission of the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) is to accelerate the expansion of the agricultural economy by empowering expanded uses and markets of agriculturally derived products. It accomplishes this by offering a unique mix of applied research and industry development, hands-on scientific assistance, and opportunities for creating or expanding industry networks.
AURI brought a case to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office once they became aware of another food company that was using AURI for their food products. AURI has legal fees associated with this copyright/intellectual property court challenge to defend AURI’s brand.
The $80k appropriation from the general fund is one-time and will cover AURI’s legal costs through the interim.
Egg Donation Bill (SF 3891 – Maye Quade):
Currently, food retailers – who collectively account for roughly 30% of all food donated to food banks and food shelves – are unable to donate eggs to hunger-relief organizations once they are past their quality assurance date and removed from store shelves, despite the fact that the FDA guidelines state that eggs are food-safe for 3-5 weeks past that date. This leaves them with no choice but to throw out or compost these perfectly safe, in-demand food products.
Senator Maye Quade’s bill allows eggs to be donated to and distributed by charitable food assistance programs past their quality assurance date under certain circumstances. This change will keep edible, nutritious food out of the waste stream and put it on tables of families struggling with tight budgets and food insecurity.
DAIRI Updates (SF 3832 – Kupec):
The Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program, administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), is a voluntary risk management tool for dairy producers. It offer financial assistance when the margin between the all-milk price and average feed cost falls below a coverage level chosen by the producer. By participating in DMC, dairy farmers can protect themselves against declines in milk prices and increases in feed costs, which ensures a predictable and stable income. The program includes both catastrophic coverage and additional, higher levels of coverage for an annual premium.
The DAIRI program, administered by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, provides financial assistance to small to medium sized dairy operations that participate in the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program based on the amount of milk produced in 2022.
Senator Kupec’s SF 3832 broadens the eligibility for grants under the DAIRI appropriation for new dairy farms that did not sell milk in 2022 or sold milk for only a portion of the year. For these farms, the payments would be based on the farm’s production history established in its DMC enrollment. This change will ensure that Minnesota’s newest farmers can participate in the program.
Veterinary Scope of Practice Updates (SF 4069 – Kupec):
The bill addresses shortages of veterinary professionals and was brought forward by the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine. The bill clarifies remote supervision authority; provides broader permission for livestock management tasks; and adds technician recordkeeping requirements. Additionally, the bill increases the size of the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine board from seven to nine.
Did NOT Pass:
Farmer-Lender Mediation Program Extension (SF 3583 – Putnam):
Requests for mediation have more than doubled for producers due to trade wars and low commodity prices. Rising defaults mean more farmers are asking mediators for help negotiating loan terms with lenders. The program is currently set to expire on June 30th, 2027. The extension in the Ag supplemental budget would’ve ensured that farmers had the opportunity to renegotiate, restructure, or resolve farm debt through the use of a trained neutral facilitator past 2027.
Down Payment Assistance Changes (SF 4586 – Putnam):
The cost of land is a major issue for farmers. The bill would’ve improved access to down payment assistance to farmers by changing grant awards to be no more than 30% of the purchase price, and would require recipients to verify income or investments of at least $1,000 each year for the first five years.
Meat Training Grants Extension:
Minnesota has made great strides to expand options for meat processing, including supporting the establishment of technical training programs, expanding inspection staff, providing grants for employee retention, and expanding options for grants and loans.
To continue this work, a provision was amended on to the Agriculture omnibus that would extend the previous appropriation for MDA’s Meat Processing Train and Retain Grant which offers funding to partner organizations to assist small to medium sized meat and poultry processors with hiring and training new employees. Unfortunately, the bill was not passed into law.
Paraquat Prohibition (SF 4160 – Hoffman):
The bill would’ve prohibited the sale and use of pesticides containing paraquat in Minnesota. Paraquat is a toxic herbicide that studies have linked to Parkinsons. Paraquat products are categorized as Restricted Use Pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), so they are restricted to commercial use and may only be used by trained certified applicators.
Cell Cultured Meat Labeling (SF 239 – Draheim):
Cell-cultured proteins, often called cell-cultured meat, are grown in a lab from a sample of animal cells. The Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have approved two companies — GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods — to sell cell-cultivated chicken in the U.S. The products are not on the market anywhere in the U.S. but were tested in restaurants in Washington, D.C., and in California.
The bill would’ve added a definition of cell-cultured food and would’ve required that retail food labels and menus clearly indicate if a product contained cell-cultured food.
Other Miscellaneous Provisions:
- Deer fencing changes.
- Appropriation for LFPA.
- Appropriation for wolf and elk depredation payments.
- Updates to seed potato certification processes and enforcement requirements.
- Updates to industrial hemp statutes by aligning with federal USDA changes and creates a license for growing and processing industrial hemp.
- Combining separate AGRI legislative reports into the annual report.
- Aligning prior appropriations with agency’s current organizational structure and operations.
- Technical clarifications to MDA’s special event food stand license.
- Updates to MDA’s retail food delegation.
- Updates to MDA’s Agroforestry loan program.
- Changes to noxious weeds, fertilizer, plant and soil amendments, and food handlers.