June 23, 2022

Written by: Daniel Smith, Cooperative Network President & CEO

With the nearly year-long process of passing a drought relief package behind us, Cooperative Network encourages Minnesota livestock farmers and specialty crop producers who incurred expenses due to the 2021 drought to apply for up to $7,500 per farm in reimbursement through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) 2021 Agricultural Drought Relief Program (ADRoP).

The Minnesota Legislature recently appropriated $8.1 million for the program, which will reimburse farm operators for up to $7,500 in drought-related expenses incurred after June 1, 2021 and before May 23, 2022. The application period for the ADRoP opened June 21, 2022 and applications will be accepted until July 6, 2022

Cooperative Network, among many other interested parties, advocated for passage of the ADRoP by the Minnesota Legislature to provide financial relief to farm operators impacted by the drought conditions that affected much of Minnesota last year. Many of the farmers impacted by the drought are members of cooperatives represented by Cooperative Network – the trusted voice for cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin – and we applaud the Minnesota Legislature for approving the ADRoP, as well as those who lobbied on its behalf.

Farmers in all Minnesota counties except Goodhue, Rice, Wabasha, Winona are eligible. According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, expenses are only eligible if they were incurred solely because of the drought, and you would not have had the expenses if there was not a drought. The program can only pay for actual expenses incurred, not lost revenue.

Eligible expenses include water handling equipment such as water tanks, pipeline, water wagons/trailers; water hauling; wells (new, improvements, fixes, replacement pumps); irrigation equipment, including drip irrigation, soil moisture sensors, nozzles; replacement specialty crop seeds, seedlings, or started plants; additional hired labor; farmers’ market fees for cancelled markets or farmers’ markets producers who were unable to attend due to lack of product.

Only one application per farm will be accepted. More information about the program is available on the program’s webpage (https://www.mda.state.mn.us/droughtrelief) or by contacting the ADRoP Team (drought@state.mn.us), or calling the Grants Line at 651-201-6500.

As a trade association representing hundreds of cooperatives both large and small in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Cooperative Network is committed to protecting and promoting our member cooperatives through world-class legislative and regulatory advocacy, a wide range of learning development opportunities, and creative leadership in public awareness.

Minnesota and Wisconsin were among the first states to enact laws authorizing cooperatives, and today the two states form the most densely-populated region for cooperatives in the nation. We proudly represent cooperatives in a diverse range of 12 sectors: dairy; livestock and genetics; processing and marketing; farm credit; credit unions; energy; farm supply, fuel and grain; food; housing; health care; mutual insurance; and telecommunications.

Equally owned and controlled by the members who use their services, cooperatives worldwide operate under seven shared principles: voluntary and open membership; democratic member control; member economic participation; autonomy and independence; education; training and information cooperative among cooperatives; and concern for community.