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| Date: | April 15, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Chris Van Guilder | | Contact Phone: | 651-296-1388 | | Contact Email: | christopher.vanguilder@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| GOVERNOR DAYTON SIGNS AGRICULTURE BUDGET BILL |
St. Paul – Governor Dayton signed the FY2012-13 Agriculture omnibus budget bill Friday morning, the first in a line of budget bills that compose overall state general fund spending for the next biennium. The bill passed out of conference committee earlier in the week, was agreed upon by both chambers on Thursday, and received the Governor’s signature less than 24 hours later.
The bill sets a general fund appropriation of $76,841,000 for the three major areas that compose the overall agriculture budget: the Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health, and the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute.
Senate Agriculture and Rural Economies Committee Chair Doug Magnus (R-Slayton) stated:
“Governor Dayton’s signature is a welcome sign to Minnesota’s agriculture community, one of the strongest in the nation. The solid bi-partisan support and passage of this bill is a credit to the farmers, producers, advocates and state agencies that helped put it together. This is a very positive way to begin the process of finalizing our overall state budget.
“With an agriculture budget secured for the next biennium, we can now move forward with Governor Dayton, the Department of Agriculture, and our colleagues in the House and Senate on policy issues that will continue to strengthen Minnesota’s agriculture economy.”
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