January is when we look ahead to the promise of a new year and when we reflect on the past year. Although we can’t shy away from the challenges farmers are facing coming into 2025, there still are many positives to point to in our ag sector.

Here’s a look at some of the many highlights from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in 2024:

Soil health. Minnesota is leading the way when it comes to improving our soil resources. We secured $2.375 million for soil health equipment grants statewide, along with an additional $495,000 available for grants to eight southeast Minnesota counties.

The MDA received more than $2 million in applications from the southeast counties and more than $10.6 million total requests statewide in 2024.

By improving our soil health, we can enhance our farmers’ income and, in the end, improve our access to healthy foods.

Sustainable aviation fuel. Companies across the country look to Minnesota and our food and ag sectors for investments and innovation. For instance, DG Fuels, a Washington, D.C.-based energy company, announced that it is building a $5 billion sustainable aviation fuel facility by Moorhead, bringing 650 jobs to the area.

Thanks to support from the ag community, we got the SAF tax credit of $1.50 per gallon that will continue to attract more business into the state.

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Trade. We continue to look at opening more international and domestic markets for our products. Year-to-date (January to September 2024), Minnesota food/ag exports were running about 3% ahead of 2023 levels. There are strong soybean meal exports to Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Taiwan. We have strong wheat exports to Indonesia, Italy, Japan and Morocco, and there are robust dry bean exports to Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

The MDA continues to make inroads in export markets with 2024 trade missions and trade shows to Canada, Morocco, Egypt, India, Taiwan and Japan. Possible 2025 trade missions include Taiwan, Southeast Asia and South America.

AGRI. Another cornerstone of our support for agriculture is the Agricultural Growth, Research and Innovation — or AGRI — Program.

AGRI supports the advancement of Minnesota’s agricultural and renewable energy industries, and we’ve made significant economic impacts by increasing productivity, improving efficiency and assisting the development of agricultural products. It is funded at about $27.5 million this current fiscal year, but that drops off next year.

We must continue to fund these grant programs that help farmers, businesses, nonprofits and many others boost our ag economy.

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Farm advocates.We also have safety nets in place, such as our farm advocates, who understand the needs of agricultural families and communities. They are trained and experienced in agricultural lending practices, mediation, lender negotiation, farm programs and more.

We were able to add two new farm advocates in 2024, both specializing in assisting emerging farmers. There are now 11 advocates across the state who will continue to help farmers and families when they need it the most.

Looking ahead

As we start the 2025 legislative session, I look forward to working with the ag community on another funding bill that will continue to invest in homegrown energy, soil health and other environmental best practices; expand markets for our agricultural sector around the world; and provide a safety net for those in need.

I wish you the best in the new year.