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Minnesota Farm Bureau president calls Walz budget “good first step”

The president of Minnesota Farm Bureau calls Governor Walz’s budget proposal a good first step.

Kevin Paap says from an ag standpoint, he’s pleased to see dollars for the livestock sector.

“Animal care, animal diseases as we want to make sure we’re ready as we can be to keep animal diseases out of the United States. We want to (ensure) food safety (and) those things are good.”

He tells Brownfield property tax relief and a $50 dollar per-acre buffer tax credit included in the budget proposal would be welcomed by Minnesota farmers.

“This is the governor giving us his ideas as far as priorities, but it’s things that will be talked about (and) negotiated on. There will be other priorities that will be included, so the final budget may look a little (different) in some parts. But there are a lot of steps in this process.”

Paap says he’s anxious to get a better idea of how much money will be available when the budget forecast is released later this month.