News
Minnesota Legislators considering “Soil Healthy Farming” bill
Minnesota legislators are considering a bill that would incentivize practices that promote soil health.
Amanda Koehler with the Land Stewardship Project says their farmer-members helped write the “Soil Healthy Farming Bill” introduced in the House by Northfield Democrat Todd Lippert and Kent Eken of Twin Valley in the Senate.
“The bill has a few different parts. It sets goals for soil healthy farming in Minnesota, 50 percent of farmers by 2030, 100 percent of farmers by 2035, and 100 percent of acres by 2040.”
Coinciding with those goals, the bill provides farmers with accessible grants and direct payments for the adoption of rotational grazing, perennial cropping systems, cover cropping systems, or no-till.
“Right now we know that so many folks are leading the way on these issues in their communities (and) on their farms, but most people are struggling to make end’s meet. And we want to be able to help them get these practices on the landscape.”
The bill has passed in both the House Agriculture and House Judiciary and Civil Law Committees, and will next be heard in the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee.
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Please keep me informed as to when this bill might come up for a vote and what its particulars might be. Nurturing healthy soil often has the added benefit of working to combat climate change. I think this bill might be pointing us in the right direction.
Is there a house bill number on this topic yet?