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Agriculture
Phil Picardi, Megan Burks , NPR and Gracie Stockton

Listen: Minnesota Farm Bureau outlines legislative priorities

a cow with colored tags in its ears
A dairy cow at the University of Minnesota in Morris, Minn., in January.
Dan Gunderson | MPR News

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One of the biggest priorities for Minnesota farmers in 2025 is emergency preparedness, specifically around animals and livestock.

During the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation Federation’s annual meeting, stopping the spread of and preventing illnesses that affect cattle and livestock, such as avian influenza and H5N1, arose as a key issue.

President Dan Glessing told MPR News guest host Phil Picardi on Monday morning that legislation could support strengthening prevention measures for these outbreaks such as vaccines and research.

The farmers are hoping that with state legislative control now split versus the former DFL trifecta, there will be more conversations about the issues that impact their farms and ranches.

“Compromise is a good thing, and so I think there was some relief as far as that goes, and that really good legislation will get through with bipartisan nature,” Glessing said.

At a national level, Glessing said the federation — which is bipartisan — looks forward to working with the upcoming Trump administration. They are relieved that potential Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is “not a stranger to agriculture.”

Farmers, however, are concerned about the potential of more tariffs, especially after seeing the those President-elect Donald Trump put in place during his first administration. Glessing said his federation is hoping trade remains free and fair.

“When a tariff is put on, agricultural products seem to be the first retaliatory tariff that’s put on and restricting food or goods that we produce out here is not something that we’re interested in,” Glessing said.

You can hear the whole conversation by clicking the audio player button.