The Minnesota Senate has reconfigured its committees. For agriculture, that means the finance and policy committees have merged. Chairman Torrey Westrom says there were redundancies with the previous system. “A bill might have policy and finance in it and it would go to two different committees made up of mostly the same members, this is a little more efficient.” With the state’s budget deficit, all spending will be scrutinized. Westrom says it will be important to focus on agriculture’s priorities. “New development of market of opportunities for farmers and strong broadband have to be part of our core mission.”
