Agriculture commissioner would receive funding for programs and grants

The agriculture commissioner would receive up to $55,201,816 for agency expenses and programs. The funding covers salaries, operating costs, grants, agricultural products, trade activities, animal health, wildlife services, and other listed programs. The money would come from general, special, and federal funds as listed in the appropriation. The appropriation covers the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027. The funding applies during the biennium from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.

The agriculture commissioner would administer grants for grassland projects, food pantry meat and protein purchases, and farm-related autonomous technology. Grassland grants would go to an organization representing cooperative grazing associations; food grants would go to food pantries; technology grants would go to people or organizations in agriculture. Grassland grant recipients must provide one dollar from nonstate sources for every four dollars of state funding, and projects must be on national grasslands in North Dakota. Grassland participants must use a grazing plan approved by their local soil conservation district. Technology grant applicants must certify that the technology relates to agricultural property or infrastructure; the commissioner may require matching funds and would set other eligibility rules. The commissioner must report during the 2025–26 interim on technology grant recipients, awards, and uses. The listed grant funding is provided for the 2025–27 biennium, and the technology grant report is required during the 2025–26 interim.

The agriculture commissioner’s annual salary would be $145,003 after June 30, 2026, and wildlife-services funding could not pay indirect costs. The salary provision applies to the agriculture commissioner; the indirect-cost restriction applies to wildlife-services funding for the 2025–27 biennium. The agriculture commissioner may not use the wildlife-services appropriation to pay indirect costs for the federal wildlife-services program. The bill also directs transfers among several state funds, including money for pesticide work, agricultural-land mitigation, wildlife services, and agricultural products. The salary amount applies after June 30, 2026; the wildlife-services restriction applies during the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027.