Grace Jacobson / News Director

The Minn. Senate passed an omnibus agriculture, broadband and rural development budget bill on Thursday.

The bill invests in Minn. farmers and supports statewide broadband access.

It passed with bipartisan support.

“We listened to the voices of Minnesota farmers,” said Sen. Aric Putnam (DFL), author of the bill. “We worked on what was best for Minnesotans not what was convenient for a political party.”

Some highlights of the omnibus budget bill, SF 1955, include:

• $100 million in fiscal year 2024 and 2025 to expand broadband access throughout the state.
• $10 million in fiscal year 2024 for a grain indemnity fund to protect Minn. farmers
• $8 million to create funding for urban youth agriculture education and urban agriculture community development grants.
• Over $2 million in soil health equipment grants to help famers make their farmland more resilient to extreme weather events, retain topsoil, build organic matter and promote water quality.
• $1 million to support emerging and beginning farmers with farm down payment assistance.