District 27B Rep. Jeanne Poppe of Austin, who leads the DFL-lead Agriculture Finance Committee, praised passage of the Agriculture Finance omnibus bill by the Minnesota House on Wednesday.

The House passed the bill with bipartisan support, 134-0. The bill includes provisions for agriculture research funding, as well as financial assistance for development programs and grants.

“I was pleased to see both parties come together to pass this omnibus bill,” Poppe said. “The components of it came through a couple of the committees on which I serve and it has many good provisions. There were many Democratic-Farmer-Labor provisions in this bill including a bill I carried that increases funding for Farm Advocates. The agriculture committees are often the most bipartisan and collaborative groups in the Legislature and that sends a strong message to Minnesota’s agricultural industry all around the state.”

While there was bipartisan support for the bill, Poppe said it could be better. With a larger budget target more initiatives could have been funded, including providing money to research cover crops and to combat emerald ash borer.

“At the end of the day, this is a good bill and it moves into conference committee with strong bipartisan support,” said Poppe.