Land Stewardship Project Capitol Update

May 15, 2007
The official session of the 2007 Minnesota Legislature will adjourn Monday, May 21. Here’s where we stand on LSP’s legislative initiatives (LSP’s state legislative agenda for 2007 is at http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pr/07/policy_platform.pdf):

1) The Higher Ed Funding bill passed with a $1,550,000 yearly increase in funding for agriculture, but exact amounts for sustainable and organic programs are still under negotiation.

Appropriations for the University of Minnesota’s Extension Service and the College of Agriculture (referred to as the Ag Special) were increased by $1,550,000 per year as part of the Higher Ed Funding bill. There are no earmarks within this for any specific work, including LSP’s initiatives, but the University has indicted support for a funding level of $400,000 a year for an organics program and alternative livestock work at the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA). However, an analysis of the numbers makes a strong case for higher funding.

The Ag Special for the previous biennium was $50,625,000 a year (all numbers here are per year). The House position going into the conference committee was $51,775,000 of ongoing money for the Ag Special, a $1,150,000 increase in funding. This included ongoing funding of $500,000 for an organics program and $150,000 for alternative livestock work at MISA. The Senate position was $51,125,000 for the Ag Special, a $500,000 increase in funding. Including ongoing funding of $500,000 for an organic program and alternative livestock at MISA.

The Conference Committee adopted $52,175,000 of ongoing money for the Ag Special, a $1,550,000 increase and $400,000 beyond the House position. With this overall increase beyond the House position, it would seem that the allocation for the organics and sustainable ag programs should be funded at least at the House level of $500,000 for organics and $150,000 for alternative livestock work at MISA. Instead, the University is proposing to reduce it by almost 40 percent from the House position.

We are continuing to discuss this with the University and legislators. Our work was a large part of getting an overall increase in the Ag Special. What do you think is fair? We would like feedback from members on this. Contact LSP’s Bobby King at bking@landstewardshipporject.org or 612-722-6377.

2) The Ag Funding bill passed the Legislature and was signed by the Governor with inadequate increases in funding for sustainable and organic agriculture.

The Ag Finance Bill passed out of conference committee in the early morning hours of Monday, April 30. Going into the conference committee the Senate version had healthy funding increases for sustainable and organic agriculture. The House version, under the direction of Chairman Al Juhnke, had substantially less funding for these provisions. In the end, the House provision prevailed with only $130,000 of new money for two key sustainable and organic agriculture programs.

Organic Cost Share Program: This program reimburses organic farmers for a portion or their annual certification costs. The Senate proposed increasing the funding from $50,000 a year to $150,000 a year, the House proposes only $100,000 in annual funding. The House provision prevailed. Organic and sustainable farming groups had asked for $275,000 because of increased demand for the program. In the last year the funds for this program were used up within two months.

Energy and Sustainable Ag Grant Program/Greenbook Program: This program provides grants for sustainable and organic farmers to conduct on-farm demonstration projects and research. The results are then published annually in the Greenbook. This program creates innovative farmer-driven solutions and facilitates farmer-to-farmer education. The Senate proposed increasing the funding from the current $80,000 a year to $210,000 a year. The House proposes only $160,000 in annual funding. The House provision prevailed. Prior to 2003, the funding level for the Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program for a significant number of years had been in the $200,000-a-year range. Organic and sustainable farming groups had asked for $250,000.

In addition, Governor Pawlenty line-item vetoed key renewable energy provisions in the bill. Working with Clean Energy Minnesota, which LSP is a member of, Sen. Gary Kubly introduced a bill (S.F. 480) that created a comprehensive policy to move Minnesota towards producing renewable energy derived from perennial crops. Research done at the University of Minnesota has shown that perennial crops, including native prairie, can produce the most efficient energy output and provide additional environmental benefits in the form of wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, soil protection and providing a filter to clean up our waters. The Senate position had many of the provisions in Sen. Kubly’s bill. However, as Chair of the Conference Committee, Rep. Juhnke worked to block these initiatives. Only two were adopted: $350,000 for the University’s Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture to do critical research into perennial crops and a $1,000,000 revolving loan fund for farmers and seed producers to buy equipment to plant perennials and produce perennial seeds. However, the Governor vetoed these two provisions.

More information
For more information on the latest developments at the Minnesota Capitol, contact Bobby King at 612-722-6377 or bking@landstewardshipproject.org.