House committee lays over omnibus ag finance bill with biofertilizer pilot and broadband installer change

The House Committee on Agriculture Finance and Policy on Monday, March 10, laid over House File 1704 (DE3), an omnibus agriculture finance amendment that would increase the committee's net general fund appropriation by about $17,070,000 for fiscal years 2026-27 and includes new and one-time spending for meat inspection, county agricultural inspectors, livestock processing, and a biofertilizer incentive pilot.

The amendment matters because it would add operating increases for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI); replenish an agricultural emergency account and fund unpaid depredation claims for wolves and elk; and create a new per-acre incentive tied to reduced commercial nitrogen fertilizer use. The measure also contains a separate article that modifies requirements for broadband installers, a provision several broadband industry and labor witnesses said is necessary or contentious depending on their perspective.

Kent Savory, house fiscal analyst, walked members through a line-by-line spreadsheet showing changes from the base. He identified a committee net general fund impact of $17,070,000 in FY 2026-27 and $7,810,000 in FY 2028-29. Major items in the DE3 include a $2,000,000 one‑time appropriation for county agricultural inspectors; recurring increases for meat inspection and Board of Animal Health operating adjustments; $1,250,000 per year for a biofertilizer innovation and efficiency program in 2026-27 (with tail amounts noted in the spreadsheet); and designated carve-outs and allowable spending limits…