The Farm Bill is a national piece of legislation passed once every five years. It has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods, how food is grown, and what kinds of foods are grown. The current farm bill was enacted into law in December 2018 and expires in 2023. If it is not reauthorized before September, it will revert to a previous version - this version doesn’t include a lot of important programs.
In Minnesota, we have a lot of representation on the Ag committee, who is primarily responsible for drafting farm bills:
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (MN Senators Klobuchar and Smith)
The House Committee on Agriculture (MN Reps. Craig and Fischbach)
To learn more about the Farm Bill, check out these links:
Farm Bill Resources
MinneAg is a Minnesota-focused network, and this legislative season will be involved in state-level advocacy. Check out our Events page to join us!
Here are some Minnesota-specific resources you might find useful:
Minnesota’s Agriculture Policy Statute
Who represents me? Find out here.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture Legislative Reports
