Old issues linger in GreenSeam ‘State of Agriculture’ report

On March 18, GreenSeam released the results of its 2025 State of Ag Report. Now in its sixth year, the report provides an analysis of the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the food and agriculture industry across the state of Minnesota. Survey responses came from 69 of Minnesota’s 87 counties.

“The executive summaries of the survey and focus groups offer direct insight into key topics and trends within the agricultural ecosystem: economic uncertainty, low crop prices, leadership changes in Washington, D.C., concerns over rising costs and increased expenses due to new employee requirements,” GreenSeam President Sam Ziegler stated in the report. “On a positive note, many businesses exceeded their 2024 expectations, found certain legislation beneficial, and remain optimistic about growth in 2025.”

Optimistic or not, agriculture as a whole looks to keep running into the same walls that plagued the industry in the past few years. Outstate communities struggle to offer the infrastructure and amenities potential workers look for when seeking employment — housing, access to health care, and childcare services. Technology continues to play and increasing role in agribusiness, yet many rural areas lack access to high-speed, reliable internet. Smaller operations struggle to match the earnings potential workers can find in more urban areas.

Input costs for farmers continue to rise while market prices stubbornly remain low. Borrowing capital has become more expensive. More farmers are exploring conservation practices to improve soil health, but legislative changes, environmental policies and lack of a current Farm Bill put a big question mark on the financial feasibility of implementing these strategies. Multiple responders to the survey acknowledged they are becoming inundated with paperwork and regulations to the point where they cannot efficiently operate their business.

One bright spot in the survey is a total of 61 percent of respondent businesses saw growth in 2024. Tempering that enthusiasm, 17 percent of the respondents reported an actual decline; and well over half that number are anticipating further decline in 2025. In 2024, 11 percent of responding businesses planned to launch a new business, division or product line. That number has jumped to 17 percent in 2025. To make these expansion plans a reality, the two largest needs of business are funding (49 percent) and workforce (46 percent). Fifty-five percent of the respondents listed input cost increases as their top challenge, followed by taxes (35 percent) and rising wages (32 percent).

Sixty-six percent of respondents stated they use technology to manage data and analyze decisions. Fifty-six percent reported using technology for automating routine tasks and processes. Surprisingly, only 35 percent reported using technology to ensure cybersecurity and data protection. Yet the GreenSeam survey states that since 2021, financial losses from worldwide cybercrime attacks have increased by an annual average of 20 percent or $1.6 trillion.

Fifty-six percent of responding businesses said they plan to maintain their current number of employees in 2025. Only 38 percent said they plan to increase the number of employees in 2025, compared to 49 percent in 2023.

The 2024 and 2025 surveys asked if international workers would help alleviate their organization’s talent shortage. Responses remained almost identical for both years. Thirty percent in 2025 said “absolutely” compared to 34 percent in 2024. Thirty-four percent replied “possibly” in 2025 — the same percentage as in 2024. However, 19 percent were a flat “no” in 2024 and that number jumped to 25 percent in 2025.

Survey responses were gathered in January and February, before ICE’s crackdown on illegal immigrant workers. Another missing element in GreenSeam’s 2025 survey is the defunding of many federal programs by the Department of Government Efficiency. Respondents of the 2025 survey stated they felt supported by ag-focused state and federal programs. They said these programs level the playing field for small to mid-size businesses and operations to overcome high barriers to entry and growth. With some of these vital programs now in jeopardy, the business of farming can become even more difficult.

Similar to last year’s survey, government regulations and tax burdens lead the list of policies harming the agriculture industry. Respondents still largely feel that Minnesota is an over-regulated state, naming tax policy, environmental regulations and labor laws as the three big culprits. They expressed concerns with the cost of complying with regulations and the difficulty of the permitting process. Property taxes stand out as a top challenge to respondents from crop and livestock production, followed by income tax and payroll tax.

In 2014, Greater Mankato Growth’s Board of Directors committed $250,000 to launch the GreenSeam project and GreenSeam was officially unveiled in 2016. GreenSeam’s focus is to help ensure that existing firms grow, profit and stay in the region by addressing supply chain issues/opportunities; new markets, products and technologies; and local, state and federal legislative/regulatory challenges. It’s mission is to promote the region as a world-class food and agribusiness epicenter.

The full 2025 State of Ag Report is now available online at www.greenseam.org/stateofag.

View the full article from The Land here.