Conference Committees Meet in St. Paul

A Minnesota House-Senate conference committee reviewed its two versions of the omnibus agriculture bill on Friday. Legislative leaders have not provided the budget target so no action was taken. There is a $17.8 million difference between the two bills. House Agriculture Committee Co-Chair Paul Anderson finished the meeting by highlighting a difficult farm economy. “In 2024, we had the lowest median net farm income in the past 20 years and with input costs rising and commodity prices flat or falling, it’s a challenge out there for farmers to try to make ends meet.” Anderson said that is why it is so important for the Legislature to help agriculture flourish in the state. Side-by-side comparisons were also made to the omnibus environment and natural resources budget and policy bill. The biggest policy difference is a Republican proposal to reform the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency permitting procedures so the process could happen faster and be more efficient. Democrats said that can’t be done without impacting air, water and soil quality. Similar to the agriculture bill, no action was taken on the environment bill.