Overwhelming demand outstrips available funding



department of agriculture


*For Immediate Release*




*Media Contact: *Larry Schumacher,

MDA Communications

651-201-6629

[email protected]




June 25, 2025

Previous Announcements [ [link removed] ]





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Grants Assist Beginning Farmers with Equipment and Infrastructure Costs

Overwhelming demand outstrips available funding

*St. Paul, MN*: A new grant program from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) created to help new farmers with the cost of purchasing needed equipment and infrastructure has awarded 97 grants totaling $856,833 across 45 Minnesota counties in its first year.

Demand for the Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure Grant [ [link removed] ] far outstripped legislative funding for the grant, with 1,100 eligible applicants requesting $18.6 million from the grant program.

“Minnesota needs its next generation of farmers to thrive, and reducing the hurdles that prevent beginning farmers from becoming profitable is key to that effort,” MDA Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey said. “Besides securing land, getting the necessary farming equipment and infrastructure is a huge hurdle.”

Awardees were selected through a competitive process in which applications were evaluated by a review committee based on criteria shared in the Request for Proposals.

Individual awards of up to $20,000 are reimbursing a wide variety of equipment and infrastructure purchase costs for different types of farming, including:


* Fencing for 16 applicants
* Specialty crop equipment for 15 applicants
* Tractor purchases for 11 applicants, from small walk-behind tractors to larger row crop tractors
* Livestock chute systems for nine applicants, plus livestock equipment including feeding and watering systems for others
* Water access improvements and irrigation equipment for eight applicants
* New infrastructure projects such as high tunnels, equipment storage structures, and walk-in coolers
* Improvements for existing infrastructure such as barns and feed lots
* Various other needs, including a soybean head, GPS technology for tractors, bee hives, a grain transfer system, hay balers, and Christmas tree farm equipment

 Qualified applicants were required to be:


* A beginning farmer
* A Minnesota resident
* Farming within the borders of the state of Minnesota
* In good standing with the state of Minnesota

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Map of the state of Minnesota showing counties in which recipients of the Beginning Farmers Equipment and Infrastructure Grant reside

Minnesota counties where FY25 Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure grant recipients operate highlighted in blue.

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Examples of grant uses

Person wearing a hat and sunglasses standing behind a deer fence in a farm field

Fencing purchased and installed with FY25 Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure grant award.

Photo of a tractor towing a discbine in a row crop field

Discbine purchased with FY25 Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure grant award.

Photo of a person dressed in bee keeping garb tending a honey bee hive

Beekeeping supplies purchased with FY25 Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure grant award.

Person standing next to a small tractor in a row crop field

Tractor purchased with FY25 Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure grant award.

Photo of a youth standing next to a green cattle chute with a steer contained within it

Cattle handling chute purchased with FY25 Beginning Farmer Equipment and Infrastructure grant award.

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