Lawmakers add drought relief for Minnesota farmers to September legislative session agenda

Lawmakers are preparing a drought relief package to aid Minnesota farmers and livestock producers, Gov. Tim Walz said Friday during a virtual roundtable discussion.

Farmers told Walz and Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson about their struggles with dry fields, as well as efforts by some livestock producers to cull their herds because of the drought’s impact on feed.

The Legislature is returning in a special legislative session next month to take up pandemic bonus pay for frontline workers, and the agenda is now expanding because of this summer’s punishing drought.

“This is one of those issues if we’re coming in anyway to deal with the essential workers, it makes sense because it unifies us around the issue,” Walz said during his Friday remarks. “This is a statewide issue.”

Read more: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/lawmakers-add-drought-relief-for-minnesota-farmers-to-september-legislative-session-agenda/