Minnesota farmers are still in-need of help after exceptional and extreme drought covered many parts of the state this year. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows while conditions have improved, extreme drought exists in just over 3 percent of northeast Minnesota while 71 percent of the state experiences abnormally dry conditions.
"The supply chain is another thing that's really impacted farmers, too," said Minnesota Ag Commissioner, Thom Petersen. "Whether it's parts or fertilizer prices, it's always something. But we are thankful we did get these timely rains in the fall."
According to the latest crop report from the USDA for Minnesota, 99 percent of the state's corn crop is harvested.
"Improvements in our crops over the years have really helped our farmers get tremendous yields in a lot of parts of the state," he added. "Many farmers are still hurting from that prolonged drought that we really hadn't seen since 1988. A lot of farmers particularly in northern Minnesota missed some crops and they're a little short on feed."
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In September, Governor Tim Walz announced a $10 million drought relief package to support Minnesota farmers and livestock producers impacted by severe drought conditions.
“Historic drought conditions have created extreme stress and financial hardship for our farmers and livestock producers during an already difficult time for the agricultural industry,” wrote Governor Walz. “As governor, and as someone who grew up on a family farm, I stand with our farmers. This funding will provide much-needed relief to Minnesota’s agricultural community and help ensure our farmers can keep feeding Minnesota and the world.”
Included in the relief is $5 million in rapid response grants to provide drought relief for livestock producers and specialty crop producers. Still, Peterson says he would like to see more done to assist farmers through this tough time.
"We're working on an administration to really look at those one-time options," he said. "We passed a strong bi-annual budget last session and this session will be a supplemental budget. We also have some American Rescue Plan dollars to use that we see as one-time investments."
Some of those dollars could go towards increasing food supply and assisting producers impacted by COVID.
"Meat processing is a big piece of that along with helping our emerging farmers get started."
The average age of a Minnesota farmer is 58-years-old. Petersen says studies indicated that 50 percent of the state's farmland will change hands in the next 20 years.
"It's incredibly tough to get into farming, and I can say that because I've done it myself," added Petersen, who adds that a beginning farmer tax credit is a big reason Minnesota is stepping up to the plate when it comes to bringing in new farmers.
"We have a strong suite of options and we are always looking to build that, because it's extremely important that we keep our 68,000 farms in Minnesota."