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Minnesota Soybean Growers disappointed in new ag budget targets
The president of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association is disappointed with the latest ag budget targets.
Bob Worth, a Lincoln County farmer, tells Brownfield the Association was extremely happy with the first budget proposed by Governor Walz.
“But the second one, not so good. The Governor’s proposal was going to be like $72 million, which was a nice increase. But the actual came out and it was $48 million.”
Worth says agriculture is 30 percent of the GDP in Minnesota, and the biennium budget agreement between Governor Walz and DFL legislative leaders limits the Department of Agriculture’s ability to do the work it needs to do.
“And as we talked to the two Democratic people we visited with during our hill visit, we talked to them and they understood that they made a mistake and are going to be looking at that.”
Senate Agriculture Committee chair Aric Putnam is also disappointed with the latest budget targets but tells Brownfield he thinks the numbers “are pretty close” to final. He says his committee is trying to find creative ways to use money that wasn’t spent in previous years to fill in some gaps.
Bob Worth interview:
Aric Putnam interview:
I live in a farming community. Even though farmers benefit from many subsidies, it’s still important for those farmers that don’t benefit from subsidies to make sure that our farm families stay viable. Our communities benefit when farmers make money.