Minnesota Department of Agriculture details AGRI grants and grantees tell of expansion aided by state support

Paul Hugenen, director of the Ag Marketing and Development Division at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, told the House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee that the AGRI program consists of roughly 15 grant and cost-share programs funded from earlier producer payments and that the department prioritizes transparency, reconciliation and site visits for larger awards.

"All of our programs are on a reimbursement basis," Hugenen said. He told the committee that MDA reconciles every payment request and conducts site visits for grants over $25,000. He also said the department identified more than a dozen fraudulent applications last year before funding and pointed to a legislative auditor review that examined about $14.5 million in expenditures and recommended reclaiming roughly one-tenth of one percent.

Four AGRI grantees described how the programs supported expansion. Mark Schiller of Loom Liquors in Northfield said AGRI funding helped his business mill certified-organic flour on-site, expand from a micro-distillery to a tourism destination, and grow to more than 20 employees and distribution to over 400 in-state locations. "The agri program has been instrumental for our business throughout the last 10 years," Schiller said.

Pete Gangler of Snowpack Foods in Caledonia said Snowpack produces about 10,000,000 pounds of vegetables annually, works with 30–40 farmers, and recently received a $1,500,000 RFSI grant that will fund approximately 20% of a planned 32,000-square-foot freezer warehouse to reduce trucking miles and provide shared cold storage for other Minnesota firms.

Jennifer Derkis (McDonald's Meats, Clear Lake) said AGRI grants helped expand processing capacity from 6,000 to 20,000 square feet and that her business processed about 2,500,000 pounds of product in 2025. Ethan Johnson of AMO Creamery described opening an on-farm processing operation, selling to 10 grocery stores and using value-added grants for business planning and food-safety equipment.

Hugenen also noted MDA's market-development work, including subletting space for a Minnesota Pavilion at Natural Products Expo West to reduce costs for Minnesota companies and to improve trade-show visibility. Committee members asked whether MDA shares fraud-prevention checklists across agencies; Hugenen said those practices are shared through an Office of Inspector General coordinated group.

The committee received the presentations and moved on to bill work.