Companion measures, House File 701 and Senate File 1113 are being heard in Minnesota Legislative Committees this week. The measures are known as the Soil Healthy Farming Bills and were brought forward by farmer members of the Minnesota Land Stewardship Project. LSP Policy Organizer Amanda Koehler says the legislation incentivizes producers to implement soil health practices on their operations.

She says while Minnesota’s farmers have been becoming more sustainable, they still trail other states and this legislation is intended to help them catch up.

Koehler says they have four main soil healthy practices they’re calling for in the bills.

Koehler says the goal of the legislation is to have 50 percent of the state’s farmers implementing soil health practices by
2030, and ramping up to 100 percent by 2035.