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Lawmakers press department on speed, transparency of Ag Innovation grant awards
Summary
House appropriators demanded more detail about how the Department of Agriculture awarded $10 million in Ag Innovation grants quickly and how the proposed additional funding would be prioritized and overseen.
Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee pressed Agriculture Secretary Redding about the department’s Ag Innovation Fund after members learned the department awarded the $10,000,000 first‑round program in under a year and is seeking an additional increase in the governor’s budget.
Representative Krupa noted the program is new and sizable, saying the budget proposes a $15,000,000 increase that includes $13,000,000 for innovation grants and $2,000,000 for a county‑based digester pilot. He asked how the department could review and score many applications so quickly and requested details about internal controls and transparency.
Redding said the department used an internal review team and existing grant‑making procedures—procurement and budget‑office checks—for competitive awards. “We handled this like we did many of the foreign bill, grant programs with an internal review team,” he said, describing eligibility principles including relevance, scalability and practical implementation. He added that award listings are posted online so the public can review what was funded.
Representative Webster, Representative Mostello and others asked whether the auditor general should review the program, pointing to a recent audit of a different agency’s grant practices. Redding said the department welcomed review and asserted “there is nothing to hide.”
Members pressed for more detail on who sits on the review panel. Redding said the innovation program review is conducted by a team inside the Department of Agriculture and that the State Conservation Commission is the administrator for innovation grants—“It’s a team, internal team, pretty broad in scope.”
The governor’s proposal to expand the program and add digesters will be considered during budget negotiations; members asked the department to provide written materials describing scoring, eligibility criteria and the documentation the department posts online so the committee can confirm transparency and stewardship of taxpayer funds.
