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Minnesota Senate passes ag budget bill

The Minnesota Senate passed its ag budget bill Wednesday.

Senate Ag Committee chair Aric Putnam tells Brownfield there was bipartisan support in his chamber for the legislation.

“But not as enthusiastic as the bill actually deserved. Unfortunately, a bunch of the minority just weren’t on the floor, and all of them voted against the bill which was too bad. But we still did get 44 votes total, so it’s successful, it’s done (and) looking pretty good.”

At the onset of conference committee negotiations, the Democrat reiterated his position that the House version is unrealistic.

“We cut our budget by $1.4 billion more than the House did, so I had a negative target. I had to make some cuts and move some stuff around in order to come up with a budget that would work for Minnesota agriculture. The House somehow must magically produced $17 million in brand new spending, the Republicans and the Democrats over there.”

Putnam says the final ag budget must include adequate funding for emergency preparedness and response related to highly pathogenic avian flu.

The 2025 Minnesota Legislative Session is scheduled to adjourn May 19th, and Putnam says he’s very confident an ag bill will get done.