The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is now seeking applications for the Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Crop Research Grant Program.
Crop Research Grant funding is intended to generate applied research that will improve agricultural product quality, quantity, or value within Minnesota’s crop industry. Projects must have near-term benefits (three to seven years) for Minnesota’s farmers and the state’s economy, and applications must include an outreach plan describing how results will be made available to the public.
Special consideration will be given to research on crops with limited access to other research funds, as well as projects with an outreach plan describing how activities or outcomes will meaningfully involve or inform farmers or rural communities with limited economic opportunities.
Any Minnesota organization, research entity, individual, or business with agricultural research capabilities is eligible to apply and receive funding.
The MDA will award roughly $1.2 million through this round of grants, with a maximum grant amount of $250,000 per proposal. Applications must be submitted by 4 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, October 29, 2024.
To access full program details and the online application, visit the MDA’s website.
Funding for the Crop Research Grant was established through the AGRI Program, which provides grants to farmers, agribusinesses, schools, and more throughout Minnesota to advance the state’s agricultural and renewable energy sectors.
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Media Contact
Logan Schumacher
651-201-6193
Logan.Schumacher@state.mn.us
We’ve partnered with three other agencies and organizations to offer free virtual suicide prevention trai
Food Licensing Modernization – Background
Licensing Modernization Listening Session
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is evaluating potential improvements to the MDA food licensing structure. As part of our consideration process, we have been gathering input from our partners, including a series of interviews conducted earlier this year.
We have used this input to develop a potential model for MDA food licensing in Minnesota. In this 90-minute meeting, we would like to share this model with you and and receive input before taking additional actions in 2025. After we present our potential food licensing model, an independent facilitator, The Improve Group (IG), will lead participants through activities to gather feedback. The session will include time to connect with other attendees who have similar interests. Registration is required.
Please contact Becky Stewart with any issues with Zoom registration.
Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event please contact Becky Stewart via email, phone 651-315-8917, or through the Minnesota Relay Service at 711 as soon as possible.
PRIVACY NOTICE: Please be aware that any information collected through feedback sessions is public data and as such must be released by the MDA to anyone who properly submits a request to see it, as required by Minnesota law. For more information, please visit the Minnesota Government Data Practices Law webpage. Keep this in mind when providing your responses. Individually identifiable information that could be released if formally requested includes: Session attendance, self-identified posts or questions posed in chat and poll responses.
Licensing Modernization Listening Session
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is evaluating potential improvements to the MDA food licensing structure. As part of our consideration process, we have been gathering input from our partners, including a series of interviews conducted earlier this year.
We have used this input to develop a potential model for MDA food licensing in Minnesota. In this 90-minute meeting, we would like to share this model with you and and receive input before taking additional actions in 2025. After we present our potential food licensing model, an independent facilitator, The Improve Group (IG), will lead participants through activities to gather feedback. The session will include time to connect with other attendees who have similar interests. Registration is required.
Please contact Becky Stewart with any issues with Zoom registration.
Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event please contact Becky Stewart via email, phone 651-315-8917, or through the Minnesota Relay Service at 711 as soon as possible.
PRIVACY NOTICE: Please be aware that any information collected through feedback sessions is public data and as such must be released by the MDA to anyone who properly submits a request to see it, as required by Minnesota law. For more information, please visit the Minnesota Government Data Practices Law webpage. Keep this in mind when providing your responses. Individually identifiable information that could be released if formally requested includes: Session attendance, self-identified posts or questions posed in chat and poll responses.
Licensing Modernization Listening Session
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is evaluating potential improvements to the MDA food licensing structure. As part of our consideration process, we have been gathering input from our partners, including a series of interviews conducted earlier this year.
We have used this input to develop a potential model for MDA food licensing in Minnesota. In this 90-minute meeting, we would like to share this model with you and and receive input before taking additional actions in 2025. After we present our potential food licensing model, an independent facilitator, The Improve Group (IG), will lead participants through activities to gather feedback. The session will include time to connect with other attendees who have similar interests. Registration is required.
Please contact Becky Stewart with any issues with Zoom registration.
Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event please contact Becky Stewart via email, phone 651-315-8917, or through the Minnesota Relay Service at 711 as soon as possible.
PRIVACY NOTICE: Please be aware that any information collected through feedback sessions is public data and as such must be released by the MDA to anyone who properly submits a request to see it, as required by Minnesota law. For more information, please visit the Minnesota Government Data Practices Law webpage. Keep this in mind when providing your responses. Individually identifiable information that could be released if formally requested includes: Session attendance, self-identified posts or questions posed in chat and poll responses.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has confirmed emerald ash borer (EAB) in Jackson County for the first time. There are now 53 counties in the state, including Jackson, with EAB. EAB has also been confirmed in a new location in Lake County, expanding the original quarantine area.
In Jackson County, a Soil and Water Conservation District employee discovered an adult EAB in the city of Jackson and submitted the find via the MDA’s Report a Pest service. In Lake County, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources forester noticed unhealthy ash trees in the city of Silver Bay. When inspecting the trees, they found EAB larvae as well as adult EAB.
EAB was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009. The insect larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk. Often, the trees show several signs of infestation because of this. Woodpeckers like to feed on EAB larvae, and woodpecker holes may indicate the presence of emerald ash borer. Also, EAB tunneling can cause the bark to split open, revealing characteristic S-shaped galleries underneath.
Because this is the first time EAB has been identified in Jackson County, the MDA is enacting an emergency quarantine of the county. In Lake County, since EAB was discovered outside the original quarantine area, the quarantine is being expanded to include townships comprising the southern half of Lake County (See Map). The quarantine limits the movement of firewood and ash material out of the area.
The MDA issues quarantines for all areas known to have EAB to reduce the risk of further spreading the tree-killing insect.
A virtual informational meeting for residents and tree care professionals in Jackson and Lake counties will be held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, from 10–11 a.m. Experts from the MDA will give a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session.
Emerald Ash Borer Virtual Informational Meeting:
September 25, 2024
10–11 a.m.
Register at www.mda.state.mn.us/eab
The public will also have an opportunity to provide input on the proposal to add Jackson County’s emergency quarantine and Lake County’s expanded emergency quarantine to the state’s formal quarantine. The MDA is taking comments on the proposed formal quarantine now through October 24, 2024, and recommends adopting the quarantine on October 25, 2024. The proposed quarantine language can be found at www.mda.state.mn.us/eab.
Comments can be made during the virtual meeting or by contacting:
Kimberly Thielen Cremers
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
625 Robert Street North
St. Paul, MN 55155
Kimberly.TCremers@state.mn.us
There is more EAB information on the MDA website.
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Media Contact
Brittany Raveill, MDA Communications
651-201-6131
Brittany.Raveill@state.mn.us
