Michelle Medina, Director
Appointed January 2022
Michelle Medina has served as Director of Government Relations since January 2022. She spent more than six years working for the Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) organization in several capacities, most recently as Director of Programming. Medina holds degrees in Agricultural Education Leadership and Communication and Spanish Studies from the University of Minnesota and is a graduate of the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership (MARL) program.
The Government Relations office provides an essential link between the MDA and the state legislature, working with the Governor's Office, legislators, and department staff to shape and monitor agricultural policy. The Government Relations office and the Commissioners provide legislative recommendations on a wide variety of agricultural issues and work to implement policy working groups created by the legislature.
Legislative Reports
- AgBMP Loan Program Biennial Status Report 2023 – February 2024 (PDF)
- Ag Land Preservation 2022-2023 (PDF)
- Agricultural Chemical Response and Reimbursement Account (ACRRA) Annual Report Fiscal Year 2024 (PDF)
- Agricultural Emergency Account Annual Report FY 2024 (PDF)
- Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation Fiscal Year 2024 Legislative Report (PDF)
- Annual Rules Report 2024 (PDF)
- Biodiesel Annual Report 2025 (PDF)
- Biofuels Infrastructure Grant Program – January 2025 (PDF)
- Bioincentive Program Report to the Legislature – January 2025 (PDF)
- Clean Water Fund Legislative Report – January 2016 (PDF)
- Commissioner's Exemptions Report 2024 (PDF)
- Dairy Development and Profitability Enhancement Legislative Report FY 2024 / Work Plan FY 2026 (PDF)
- Dairy Research, Teaching, and Consumer Education Authority Annual Report – February 2021 (PDF)
- Developing Markets for Continuous Living Cover Grant Report – February 2025 (PDF)
- Down Payment Assistance Grant FY 2024 (PDF)
- Elk Damage Payments Fiscal Year 2023-2024 (PDF)
- Emerging Farmers Working Group – January 2025 (PDF)
- Hemp Licensing Data Report – January 2025 (PDF)
- Permitting Efficiency and Goal Report – February 2025 (PDF)
- Pesticide Management Plan Status Report 2023-2024 Biennium (PDF)
- Retail Biofuel Infrastructure Grant Program Report to the Legislature, 2017 (PDF)
- Rural Finance Authority Lending Projection – March 2025 (PDF)
- Soil Health Financial Assistance Program – January 2025 (PDF)
- Status of Organic Agriculture in Minnesota 2020 (PDF)
- Waste Pesticide Collection Program Report 2024 (PDF)
- Wolf Livestock Conflict Prevention Grants Fiscal Year 2020-2024 (PDF)
- Agricultural Drought Relief Program – January 2023 (PDF)
- Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program Report – January 2025 (PDF)
- Commercial Manure Applicator Manual Report – January 2016 (PDF)
- Farmer-Lender Mediation – Minimum Eligible Debt Recommendation Report – November 2022 (PDF)
- Farmer-Lender Mediation – Necessary Living Expenses Recommendation Report – November 2022 (PDF)
- Good Food Access Program Report – January 2025 (PDF)
- Green Fertilizer Grants Report – December 2024 (PDF)
- Meat Processing Vocational Training for Inmates – January 2017 (PDF)
- Nitrate in Groundwater – June 2016 (PDF)
- PFAs in Pesticides: Interim Report to the Legislature – February 2024 (PDF)
- PFAs in Pesticides: Final Report to the Legislature – February 2025 (PDF)
- Rural Finance Authority Drought Assistance – January 2025 (PDF)
- Soil Health Financial Assistance Pilot Program Report FY 2023 (PDF)
- Ag Innovation Campus Grants – February 2024 (PDF)
- AgBMP SSTS Grant FY21 Report (PDF)
- Agricultural Chemical Response & Reimbursement Account (ACRRA) Maximum Reimbursement Report – February 2022 (PDF)
- Albert Lea Regenerative Agriculture Development Park Project – February 2022 (PDF)
- Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Legislative Report – February 2024 (PDF)
- Cervidae Depredation on Minnesota Farms Report – February 2025 (PDF)
- Cooperative Financial Conditions Recommendations Report – January 2025 (PDF)
- Credit Market Legislative Report – February 2025 (PDF)
- Farmer-Lender Mediation Task Force Report – February 2017 (PDF)
- Grain Advisory Group Report: Recommendations for Financial Statements and Bonding Requirements – February 2024 (PDF)
- Grain Advisory Group Report: Recommendations for Grain Program Improvements – February 2023 (PDF)
- Grain Storage Facility Power Off Digital Application Grants - April 2021 (PDF)
- Hemp Extraction Framework Legislative Report – January 2020 (PDF)
- Inspections of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture – January 2018 (PDF)
- Meat Education and Training Grants - January 2025 (PDF)
- Meat Processing for Inmates (2016) (PDF)
- Minnesota Farm Safety
- Minnesota State Aquaculture Plan – March 2025 (PDF)
- Nursery Stock Labeled as Beneficial to Pollinators Report – March 2020 (PDF)
- Petroleum Replacement and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals and the Governor's Council on Biofuels - January 2021
- Statewide Cooperative Partnership for Local and Regional Markets – February 2023 (PDF)
- Status of Farm Safety in Minnesota Report to the Legislature – February 2017 (PDF)
- Status of Food Hubs in Minnesota (2016) (PDF)
- Urban Agriculture in Minnesota (2016) (PDF)
- Wild Rice Legislative Report – January 2024 (PDF)
Boards & Commissions
The State of Minnesota is committed to recruiting applicants from across Minnesota’s diverse communities to serve on Boards and Commissions. This includes but is not limited to Tribal Nations, communities in Greater Minnesota, Black communities and communities of color, as well as recruiting individuals with disabilities and veterans. These are the Boards and Commissions that relate to the agriculture sector:
- American Indian Advisory Council
- Board of Animal Health
- Board of Water and Soil Resources
- Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage
- Council for Asian Pacific Minnesotans
- Food Safety and Defense Task Force
- Good Food Access Program Advisory Committee
- LCCMR Trust Fund Citizen Selection Committee
- Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources
- Minnesota Agricultural Fertilizer Research & Education Council
- Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program Advisory Committee
- Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs
- Minnesota Biodiesel Task Force
- Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine
- Minnesota Environmental Quality Board
- Minnesota Forest Resources Council
- Minnesota Organic Advisory Task Force
- Minnesota Rural Finance Authority
- Noxious Weed Advisory Committee
- Pesticide Management Plan Committee
- Seed Program Advisory Committee
- State Advisory Council on Mental Health
All Minnesotans are encouraged to apply here: Open Positions Search (state.mn.us)
