1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; establishing the dairy 
  1.3             development program; appropriating money; proposing 
  1.4             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 17. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [17.110] [DAIRY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The commissioner of 
  1.8   agriculture shall establish a grant program to foster and 
  1.9   encourage the development of the state's dairy industry. 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBILITY.] (a) Grants may be made to farmers, 
  1.11  educational institutions, nonprofit organizations residing or 
  1.12  located in the state, or other appropriate entities, as 
  1.13  determined by the commissioner. 
  1.14     (b) Grants may be made for: 
  1.15     (1) on-farm dairy education, including dairy diagnostic 
  1.16  teams; 
  1.17     (2) dairy research and educational programs; 
  1.18     (3) programs to assist people entering dairy farming; 
  1.19     (4) programs to assist dairy farmers with farming 
  1.20  operations in transition; and 
  1.21     (5) dairy development and marketing programs. 
  1.22     Subd. 3.  [AWARDING OF GRANTS.] (a) Applications for grants 
  1.23  must be made to the commissioner of agriculture on forms 
  1.24  prescribed by the commissioner. 
  1.25     (b) The applications must be reviewed, ranked, and 
  2.1   recommended by a technical review panel appointed by the 
  2.2   commissioner.  The technical review panel shall consist of the 
  2.3   commissioner or the commissioner's designee, two resident dairy 
  2.4   farmers, two members of milk procurement organizations, two 
  2.5   representatives from post-secondary educational institutions, 
  2.6   and two members who are not affiliated with the groups 
  2.7   represented on the panel.  The commissioner or the 
  2.8   commissioner's designee shall chair the technical review panel. 
  2.9      (c) The technical review panel shall give priority to 
  2.10  applications that meet one or more of the following criteria: 
  2.11     (1) the promotion of small and mid-sized dairy farms that 
  2.12  are owned and operated by one or more farm families; 
  2.13     (2) the promotion of dairy farm profitability; 
  2.14     (3) the promotion of an improved quality of life for dairy 
  2.15  farm families; 
  2.16     (4) partial funding or in-kind support for the project from 
  2.17  other sources; 
  2.18     (5) the likelihood that the project will become partially 
  2.19  or completely self-sustaining; and 
  2.20     (6) the promotion of higher revenues for dairy producers. 
  2.21     Subd. 4.  [REPEALER.] This section is repealed on July 1, 
  2.22  2003. 
  2.23     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  2.24     $3,600,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  2.25  commissioner of agriculture for grants under section 1.  This 
  2.26  appropriation is available until June 30, 1999.