1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to agriculture; appropriating money for a farming incubator project.
1.3 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.4 	Section 1. APPROPRIATION; FARMING INCUBATOR PROJECT.
 1.5 	(a) $300,000 in fiscal year 2024 and $300,000 in fiscal year 2025 are appropriated from 
1.6 	the general fund to the commissioner of agriculture for a grant to the Women's Environmental 
1.7 	Institute for developing a farming incubator project for aspiring Black, Indigenous, and 
1.8 	People of Color farmers to develop organic and regenerative farming skills and practices, 
1.9 	including production and marketing, and provide more equitable access to affordable high 
1.10 	quality food and affordable access to organically certified land. The first grants must be 
1.11 	given to farmers referred by the Somali American Farmers Institute (SAFI) who are SAFI 
1.12 	members, partners, and allied Black, Indigenous, and People of Color farmers. One third 
1.13 	of the money received under this section must be used to serve communities outside the 
1.14 	seven-county metropolitan area. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 
1.15 	30, 2026.
1.16 	(b) Funding may be used for the following purposes:
1.17 	(1) to fund the Somali American Institute's administrative, outreach, and recruitment 
1.18 	costs, and to hire a farming incubator project coordinator;
1.19 	(2) to help develop and provide the additional farming infrastructure necessary at the 
1.20 	Women's Environmental Institute to support participating farmers,  including farming 
1.21 	production supplies, food processing equipment, and space needed by farming incubator 
1.22 	project participants;
2.1 	(3) to provide education and training classes and mentoring in regenerative organic 
2.2 	farming methods, including food safety practices, farm finance, budgeting, and marketing; 
2.3 	and
2.4 	(4) to provide direct grants to farmer participants to cover the farmer participants' costs 
2.5 	of land rental, seed purchase, composting, irrigation and other equipment supplies, marketing 
2.6 	expenses, travel to and from farming sites, and child care expenses related to the farming 
2.7 	incubator project.