St. Paul, MN - Today, the Minnesota House of Representatives unanimously approved legislation extending the timeframe outlined by the Farmer-Lender Mediation Act, HF 4599, authored by State Representative Todd Lippert (DFL - Northfield).
"This bill pauses farm foreclosure proceedings in Minnesota until December 1st. We want to give farmers who are in mediation with their lender, or those who soon will be in mediation, more time,” said Rep. Lippert. “As packing plants and ethanol plants have shut down, milk prices have dropped, and hogs and poultry are being euthanized, farmers are facing extremely difficult financial circumstances. For the sake of our farmers, our communities, and our food supply, we need farmers to be able to stay on the farm."
The bill would extend the mediation period to 150 days or until December 1, 2020, whichever is later. This bill applies to farmers currently in mediation and to those who apply for mediation before August 31, 2020.
The legislation can be found here, and a video recording of the House floor debate can be found here.
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