Minnesota Governor Tim Walz released his budget and it contains several initiatives championed by Minnesota Farmers Union.  President Gary Wertish says a critical component is $10 million of drought relief split between rapid response grants and zero interest loans through the Rural Finance Authority’s Disaster Recovery Loan Program.

The administration is also proposing a total of $8.7 million to expand the state’s overall livestock processing capacity.   Wertish says the bump out in facilities, training and inspection services is critical.

And he says the Governor’s plan to invest $170 million to expand broadband access to all Minnesotans is a huge win for the state’s family farmers to run their business, telemedicine and education.

Wertish says the budget provisions that the Walz-Flanagan administration proposed are investments that will help family farmers emerge from the pandemic more resilient.  He says they look forward to more details and working with the legislature to get these proposals funded.