Grants Awarded to Grow Sustainable Agriculture Practices on Minnesota Farms

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has announced the latest recipients of its Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant, awarding nearly $350,000 to 12 projects across the state focused on researching sustainable ag practices and systems.

The Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant funds innovative research or demonstration projects that explore the energy efficiency, environmental benefit, and profitability of sustainable agriculture techniques — from the production through marketing processes — on Minnesota farms.

Topics being researched by this year’s grantees range from cover cropping, solar land access, in-row weeding systems, biocontrol techniques, and cut flower production. An overview of each awarded project is provided in the table below.

Grant project updates are published annually in the MDA’s Greenbook, which provides a summary of each active project along with results, management tips, locations of previous projects, and other resources to help encourage widespread adoption of sustainable practices.

The next round of Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grants will open for applications in the fall of 2024. Visit the grant webpage for updates and more information on previous projects.

Funding for this program is made available through the MDA’s AGRI Program, which administers grants to farmers, agribusinesses, schools, and more throughout the state of Minnesota. The AGRI Program exists to advance Minnesota’s agricultural and renewable energy sectors.

 

Grantee Name	Project Title	Grant Amount	Grantee City	Project Location (County/Reservation)
Amundsen Farms, Inc	Atmospheric Water Collection Project	$48,955	Duluth	Carlton and St. Louis
Anishinaabe Agriculture Institute	Hemp Wool Matting Pilot Project	$11,101	Osage	White Earth Reservation; Becker, Wadena, and Aitkin County
Anthony Polyakov	Optimizing Crop Productivity and Quality Through Targeted Electric and Magnetic Field Exposure	$24,997.89	Eden Prairie	Scott
Bemidji State University	Computer Vision Guided In-row Weeding System for Organic Farming in Northern Minnesota	$25,000	Bemidji	Beltrami
Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee	Fond du Lac Gitigaaning Regenerative vs. Conventional	$25,000	Cloquet	Carlton and St. Louis
Lakeside Prairie Farm LLC	Restoration of an Oak Savannah Following Buckthorn Removal by Goats	$25,000	Barrett	Grant
Owl Forest Farm	Evaluating Cold-Hardy Roses for Cut Flower Production in USDA Zone 3	$49,830	Iron	St. Louis
Regents of the University of Minnesota	Broccolini: A Broccoli Alternative to Limit Losses Due to Pathogens and Pests	$32,836	Minneapolis	Carver, Meeker, Ramsey, and Rice
Regents of the University of Minnesota	Bounty and Blooms: Integration of Cut Flowers in Urban Vegetable Farms	$48,500	Minneapolis	Ramsey and Hennepin
The Food Group	Enabling Solar Facility Land Access for Emerging and Immigrant Farmer Empowerment	$19,818.48	New Hope	Sherburne
Twin Cities Berry Company	Investigating Biocontrol Techniques to Reduce Spray Usage Inside Affordable, Controlled Environments	$24,577.02	St. Paul	Isanti
Urban Roots MN	Cover Cropping to Remediate Urban Soil Compaction	$11,534.15	St. Paul	Ramsey

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