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Assistance from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Rural Finance Authority will be available to help farmers whose operations are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release.

A $330 million Minnesota COVID-19 relief bill Gov. Tim Walz signed into law Saturday contains provisions expanding the use of funding for the RFA that was approved earlier this spring, opening up the disaster recovery loan program for loss of revenue due to human contagious disease.

“It’s important that we make sure farmers whose businesses are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak have resources to help them get through this difficult period,” Commissioner Thom Petersen said. “We’re thankful the Legislature authorized these changes to give the RFA greater flexibility in allocating these funds.”

In addition, the Legislature expanded the animal diseases covered by the disaster recovery loan program and opened it up more broadly to hazards, rather than naming them specifically.

Minnesota farmers interested in learning more about the assistance offered by the Rural Finance Authority should visit the Minnesota Department of Agriculture website or contact 651-201-6004.