Minnesota House Passes 2025 Agriculture Conference Committee Report
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Today, the Minnesota House passed the conference committee report on HF 2446, the 2025 Agriculture Budget bill, on a vote of 130-4. The legislation, authored by Agriculture Committee co-chairs Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) and Rep. Paul Anderson (GOP-Starbuck), funds the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, and the Office of Broadband Development.
“DFLers were focused on passing an Ag budget that feeds kids and families, helps small farmers get ahead, and protects Minnesotans from bird flu. Our final negotiated budget does that,” said Rep. Rick Hansen. “Agriculture is changing, and this bill lays a foundation for the future by focusing on the culture in Agriculture, the people who make our food system work.”
The conference committee report maintains House DFLers priorities in the Agriculture budget, including funding increases for the Minnesota Local Food Purchase Assistance Program and Farm to School and Early Care Program, addressing rising food insecurity, attempting to fill gaps left by Elon Musk’s reckless cuts to the USDA, and providing local farmers stability as they face tariffs that will harm their bottom line. The budget increases the Down Payment Assistance Grant Program, ensuring emerging farmers have the support they need to enter a farming economy tilted towards the wealthy and big corporations.
The bill also includes DFL priorities for a comprehensive avian flu response. It increases worker protections for farm and meat processing workers and protects consumers by ensuring the testing of retail milk, poultry, and raw pet food.
Video and audio of Representative Hansen’s speech on the House Floor can be downloaded here. The full text of the conference committee report is available here.
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