The North Dakota House Agriculture Committee heard a bill considering the ag innovation fund on Friday. North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne testified at the hearing. “We got a pass out of the committee in support. The bill will take 20 percent of the legacy fund earnings and dedicate it to value-added projects. It has a ways to go and must be heard in the Senate and appropriations. Hopefully, we can hold dollar levels. We’ve been focusing on beef processing and that’s one of the things we’ve identified as a key issue. Of course, there’s been challenges regarding the concentration of livestock.” Watne said it’s essential to get more processing for beef producers in North Dakota. “If this bill passes, hopefully we’ll have capital we can access to get a processing plant in the state.”
