Farm & Rural Helpline

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is helping 19 Minnesota companies showcase their food products January 13-15 at the Winter Fancy Food Show (WFF) in San Francisco. The MDA’s Minnesota Pavilion is the largest pavilion at this business-to-business event (B2B) featuring 1,400 exhibitors from around the world, offering 80,000 specialty foods and beverages.

The MDA’s AGRI New Markets Program assists Minnesota food and beverage brands to expand their market reach and extend their budgets.  …

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now accepting applications for the competitive AGRI Value-Added Grant Program. The MDA anticipates awarding up to $2.5 million in this round of proposals.

The aim of the Value-Added Grant is to increase sales of Minnesota agricultural products by diversifying markets, increasing market access, and increasing food safety of value-added products through equipment purchases and facility improvements.

New or established for-profit businesses can apply for funding to support start-up, expansion, and updates; develop the processing…

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is encouraging residents who purchased wreathes, swags, boughs, and other evergreen decorations at several retailers to burn items, or bag and throw away items to stop the spread of the invasive insect elongate hemlock scale (EHS).

EHS is native to Asia and feeds on nutrients on the underside of conifer needles.

Earlier this week the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection issued a similar warning after finding EHS in greenery at several retail chains. The MDA then began inspecting similar retailers…