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Committee backs bill to restore beginning-farmer tax credit funding limits
Summary
Senate File 14-19 would remove the recent statutory cap on the Beginning Farmer Tax Credit funding and restore earlier levels to prevent eligible applicants being turned away; the committee adopted an author's amendment and passed-and-referred the bill to the Committee on Agriculture.
Senate File 14-19, a proposal to lift limits that have reduced available funding for Minnesota's Beginning Farmer Tax Credit, was advanced by the Taxes Committee on Wednesday and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
Sponsor Senator Putnam said the credit—created in 2017—helps beginning farmers form relationships with landowners and access capital through tax incentives tied to land rental/sales and farm business management enrollment. She described how a 2023 budget change reduced the annual appropriation from $6 million (with carryforward) to $4 million, leaving many applicants unserved. "According to our friends at MDA, close to 40% of the people who applied for this credit were not given that credit because we just didn't have enough resource in the space," Putnam said.
The committee adopted an A2 author's amendment (a date/technical change) and reviewed other textual changes that remove language about limiting priority because the sponsor's goal is to ensure the credit is not exhausted and priority rules would be moot. Testimony from beginning farmers detailed how the program facilitated business starts, helped negotiate leases and purchases, and provided educational support. Brad Kluver and Tessa Parks — both described as beginning farmers — said they relied on the credit for livestock purchases and farm business management training and that program uncertainty (applicants turned away last year) poses a barrier to future deals.
Action: Senator Putnam moved that the amended Senate File 14-19 be passed and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Broadband, Veterans and Rural Development; the motion was adopted by the committee and the bill was referred.
Sponsors and agricultural organizations urged restoring or removing the cap to avoid turning away eligible beginning farmers in subsequent application cycles and to strengthen succession and entry pathways into agriculture.
