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Registration is now open for the 2025 Minnesota Organic Conference, an annual statewide conference that highlights organic agricultural practices.

Hosted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the two-day conference will take place January 9 and 10, 2025, at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud.

The event will feature keynote speakers and more than 30 breakout sessions providing educational opportunities in areas like organic crop production, dairy, livestock, fruits and vegetables, marketing, and business. Attendees will also have access to an 80-booth trade show featuring information about relevant products and services.

The keynote speakers for this year’s conference include:

• Tom Cotter, a fourth-generation farmer and active member of the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition. Cotter started planting cover crops in 1998, which helped him transition a third of his acres to organic cash crops and grass-fed beef. He was recently named a finalist for the inaugural Minnesota Leopold Conservation Award.
• Mark Schiller and Simeon Rossi are the co-founders of Loon Liquor Company, an organic microdistillery in Northfield, Minnesota, crafting delicious spirits from organic, local suppliers. They recently won the Food, Ag, and Beverage Division of the 2024 MN Cup, a startup competition for entrepreneurs.

Early-bird pricing is currently available for those who register by December 2, after which prices will increase. Two-day, one-day, and student registration options are available. Full pricing details can be found on the Minnesota Organic Conference webpage.

For more information, visit the MDA's website.

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Media Contact
Logan Schumacher
651-201-6193
Logan.Schumacher@state.mn.us

Online applications are now open for anyone wanting to grow or process hemp in Minnesota in 2025. A license from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is required for individuals and businesses.

Applications must be submitted by April 30, 2025, and a license is valid for the 2025 calendar year.

The application can be found on the MDA website. Along with the online form, first-time applicants and authorized representatives need to submit fingerprints and pass a criminal background check. These licenses are for growing and processing industrial hemp only. The hemp grower or processor application is not for the growth or sale of adult-use or medical cannabis. The application is also not intended for the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Adult-use cannabis information can be found on the Office of Cannabis Management website.

Growers and processors need to be aware of the following for 2025:

• All authorized representatives designated by the applicant must pass a criminal history background check prior to the issuance of a license.
• Every lot of hemp grown requires pre-harvest THC regulatory testing. Each official regulatory sample collected by the MDA will cost $100.
• The MDA licenses processors that handle raw hemp and initially process it by extraction, decortication, devitalization, crushing, or packaging, and the department will continue random inspections of processor locations.
• License fees will remain the same. The minimum cost of a grower license is $400. A processing license is a minimum of $500. A 5% license surcharge is being added to support the modernization of the MDA’s technology systems which will provide better online services and more efficient processing of applications.

While the deadline to apply or renew is April 30, 2025, those actively growing hemp plants indoors past December 31, 2024, must renew their license before expiration at the end of the year.

Questions about the MDA’s Industrial Hemp Program should be sent to hemp.mda@state.mn.us or 651-201-6600.

Background

Industrial hemp and adult-use cannabis are both types of the same plant, Cannabis sativa. They differ by the concentration level of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) within the plant. Hemp has less than 0.3% THC, and levels above that are considered marijuana.

Minnesota operated under a hemp pilot program from 2016-2020. In 2021, the program began operating under a new, federally approved state plan that governs production and regulation.

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Media Contact
Brittany Raveill, MDA Communications
651-201-6131
Brittany.Raveill@state.mn.us