MDA grant supports infrastructure and equipment buys for beginning farmers
About a quarter of Minnesota’s farmers are considered “beginning farmers.” Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey told WTIP that the MDA defines a beginning farmer as someone with less than 10 years of farming experience.
The MDA recently announced that it awarded over $800,000 in funding to beginning farmers through a new grant aimed at supporting equipment and infrastructure investment. Grants of different sizes up to $20,000 went to 97 applicants across the state. Over half of Minnesota’s counties, including Cook County, are home to at least one grant recipient.
Bailey explained, some of those start-up costs can prove to be prohibitively expensive for new farmers still working to establish their business. He added that this particular grant included a cap on agriculture income of $100,000, meaning smaller-scale farmers were specifically targeted.
The application process for this grant was a competitive one. Over 1,1000 farmers applied, seeking funds for nearly $20 million worth of projects. The grants awarded fell into two categories, with those under $5,000 considered mini-grants, and those between $5,000 and $20,000 considered full grants. This grant did not include a match requirement to come from the applicants. Funded projects included a wide array of things, like fencing, irrigation and crop processing equipment, stock animal care materials, bee hives, and equipment for a Christmas tree farm.
While a lot of attention has been paid to preserving legacy family farms, MDA is also looking to support new independent farmers. Over the past decade, according to the US Department of Agriculture Census on Agriculture, the number of women and people of color getting started in farming has increased.
Bailey mentioned specifically the sharp decline in the number of Black farmers across the country over the past century, and added that in Minnesota only a small fraction of farms are owned by people of color. Grants that target beginning farmers operating on a small scale can help make entering the field more accessible.”How do we help people sort of get into agriculture and still be able to compete in a way to be able to add value to the state of Minnesota in terms of the economy?” he said. “We want people to have an opportunity to have a leg up when it comes to agriculture.”
Due to the popularity of the Grant, Bailey said the MDA hopes to make the program permanent, but that will depend on what funding is available through the state. In the short term, he said while they make a few changes to the next round, they are planning to offer the grant again.
WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with MDA Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey. Audio of that interview is below.
Kirsten Wisniewski July 1, 2025
