Subd. 4. Agriculture, Bioenergy, and Bioproduct Advancement

37,809,000

deleted text begin 33,809,000 deleted text end new text begin 34,959,000 new text end

(a) $10,702,000 the first year and $10,702,000
the second year are for the agriculture
research, education, extension, and technology
transfer program under Minnesota Statutes,
section 41A.14. Except as provided below,
the appropriation each year is for transfer to
the agriculture research, education, extension,
and technology transfer account under
Minnesota Statutes, section 41A.14,
subdivision 3, and the commissioner shall
transfer funds each year to the Board of
Regents of the University of Minnesota for
purposes of Minnesota Statutes, section
41A.14. To the extent practicable, money
expended under Minnesota Statutes, section
41A.14, subdivision 1, clauses (1) and (2),
must supplement and not supplant existing
sources and levels of funding. The
commissioner may use up to one percent of
this appropriation for costs incurred to
administer the program.

Of the amount appropriated for the agriculture
research, education, extension, and technology
transfer grant program under Minnesota
Statutes, section 41A.14:

(1) $600,000 the first year and $600,000 the
second year are for the Minnesota Agricultural
Experiment Station's agriculture rapid
response fund under Minnesota Statutes,
section 41A.14, subdivision 1, clause (2);

(2) up to $1,000,000 the first year and up to
$1,000,000 the second year are for research
on avian influenza, salmonella, and other
turkey-related diseases and disease prevention
measures;

(3) $2,250,000 the first year and $2,250,000
the second year are for grants to the Minnesota
Agricultural Education Leadership Council to
enhance agricultural education with priority
given to Farm Business Management
challenge grants;

(4) $450,000 the first year is for the cultivated
wild rice breeding project at the North Central
Research and Outreach Center to include a
tenure track/research associate plant breeder;

(5) $350,000 the first year and $350,000 the
second year are for potato breeding;

(6) $802,000 the first year and $802,000 the
second year are to fund the Forever Green
Initiative and protect the state's natural
resources while increasing the efficiency,
profitability, and productivity of Minnesota
farmers by incorporating perennial and
winter-annual crops into existing agricultural
practices. The base for the allocation under
this clause is $802,000 in fiscal year 2026 and
each year thereafter. By February 1 each year,
the dean of the College of Food, Agricultural
and Natural Resource Sciences must submit
a report to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over agriculture finance and policy
and higher education detailing uses of the
funds in this paragraph, including
administrative costs, and the achievements
these funds contributed to; and

(7) $350,000 each year is for farm-scale winter
greenhouse research and development
coordinated by University of Minnesota
Extension Regional Sustainable Development
Partnerships. The allocation in this clause is
onetime.

(b) The base for the agriculture research,
education, extension, and technology transfer
program is $10,352,000 in fiscal year 2026
and $10,352,000 in fiscal year 2027.

(c) $27,107,000 the first year and deleted text begin $23,107,000deleted text end new text begin
$24,257,000new text end the second year are for the
agricultural growth, research, and innovation
program under Minnesota Statutes, section
41A.12. Except as provided below, the
commissioner may allocate this appropriation
each year among the following areas:
facilitating the start-up, modernization,
improvement, or expansion of livestock
operations, including beginning and
transitioning livestock operations with
preference given to robotic dairy-milking
equipment; assisting value-added agricultural
businesses to begin or expand, to access new
markets, or to diversify, including aquaponics
systems, with preference given to hemp fiber
processing equipment; facilitating the start-up,
modernization, or expansion of other
beginning and transitioning farms, including
by providing loans under Minnesota Statutes,
section 41B.056; sustainable agriculture
on-farm research and demonstration; the
development or expansion of food hubs and
other alternative community-based food
distribution systems; enhancing renewable
energy infrastructure and use; crop research,
including basic and applied turf seed research;
Farm Business Management tuition assistance;
and good agricultural practices and good
handling practices certification assistance. The
commissioner may use up to 6.5 percent of
this appropriation for costs incurred to
administer the program.

Of the amount appropriated for the agricultural
growth, research, and innovation program
under Minnesota Statutes, section 41A.12:

(1) $1,000,000 the first year and $1,000,000
the second year are for distribution in equal
amounts to each of the state's county fairs to
preserve and promote Minnesota agriculture;

(2) $5,750,000 the first year and $5,750,000
the second year are for incentive payments
under Minnesota Statutes, sections 41A.16,
41A.17, 41A.18, and 41A.20. Notwithstanding
Minnesota Statutes, section 16A.28, the first
year appropriation is available until June 30,
2025, and the second year appropriation is
available until June 30, 2026. If this
appropriation exceeds the total amount for
which all producers are eligible in a fiscal
year, the balance of the appropriation is
available for other purposes under this
paragraph. The base under this clause is
$3,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 and each year
thereafter;

(3) $3,375,000 the first year and $3,375,000
the second year are for grants that enable retail
petroleum dispensers, fuel storage tanks, and
other equipment to dispense biofuels to the
public in accordance with the biofuel
replacement goals established under
Minnesota Statutes, section 239.7911. A retail
petroleum dispenser selling petroleum for use
in spark ignition engines for vehicle model
years after 2000 is eligible for grant money
under this clause if the retail petroleum
dispenser has