AG DAY AT THE CAPITOL

On March 24, more than 250 farmers and agriculturists met encourage the legislature to support grants to farmers for the virtually for Ag Day at the Capitol. This annual event is for implementation of on-farm projects that are designed to reduce Wisconsin farmers and agriculturists to learn more about state nitrate loading to groundwater, improvements to DNR’s Well issues affecting agriculture and meet with their state legislators. Compensation Program and create Cover Crop Insurance Evers Attendees listened to prerecorded Premium Rebate Program. During welcome messages the event, from Governor Wisconsin Tony Evers and Farm Bureau Secretary-designee of President Agriculture, Trade and Kevin Krentz Consumer Protection addressed the Randy Romanski. virtual crowd Attendees listened and encouraged Romanski to issue briefings on members to increased funding for share their broadband expansion, stories with legislators in their meetings and throughout the year. providing farmer “It’s important that they hear directly from you and how an issue grant programs for is impacting you, your farm and your community.” nitrogen optimization Rural Mutual Insurance Company and FS GROWMARK, Inc., projects, addressing were major sponsors of the event. Co-sponsors of the event, with meat processing Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, included the Dairy Business infrastructure, Association, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, Wisconsin transportation funding, well remediation, wildlife damage claims, Cattlemen’s Association, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, truth in food labeling and a host of other bills including farmland Wisconsin Hemp Alliance, Wisconsin Pork Association, preservation tax credit and the Wisconsin initiative for agricultural Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association, Wisconsin exports and dairy processor grants. Soybean Association and the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Besides broadband, another focus area was support for Association. agricultural nitrogen legislation. Attendees were asked to

• This provision in the governor’s budget proposal increases funding to $2 million during the biennium. • The program supports local farmers and stakeholders working together to collaborate on local watershed issues, implementation of practices in order to focus on local solutions. • Last session, additional funding was approved by the legislature to address additional grant requests that exceeded the funding authority of the program. Funding requests have consistently exceeded the funding level authorized for this program at

DATCP.

• The governor’s budget proposal includes a grant program administered at DATCP for small dairy processing plants. • The intent of the grants is to promote and enhance the growth of the dairy industry through research, planning and assistance. • This proposal would increase funding for this program by $1.2 million over the biennium for a total of $1.6 million. • Similar legislation was drafted in 2020 as Special Session AB 7 and unanimously passed the Assembly last session.

• The proposal from the Governor’s budget includes funding for an export enhancement program, administered at the Wisconsin Department of

Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. • The intent of this initiative is to increase exports of

Wisconsin agricultural and agribusiness products. • Half of the funding is specified to promote dairy exports and half specified to promote vegetable, meat and fish exports. • This budget proposal would provide just over $1,000,000 for each year of the biennium and create one position at DATCP. • Similar legislation was drafted in 2020 as Special Session

AB 6 and unanimously passed the Assembly last session.

• The researchers who are most critical to the development of improved farming practices are the UW-Madison

Division of Extension state specialists. • In addition to conducting research, our state specialists teach farmers and transfer research into on-farm innovation. • Urge the legislature to adopt a mechanism to track and account for the hours that UW faculty spend teaching farmers.

• In recent years, we have lost a significant number of applied agricultural research faculty positions at UW-Madison and

UW-System. • The open positions have included: dairy markets; forage; farm finance; milk quality; beef production and swine production; insect pest management; ruminant nutrition; and farmstead planning and storage. • Ask the legislature to authorize additional funding for extension specialists who are critical to the economic health of Wisconsin’s farm economy.

• Support the creation of a meat processor grant program through DATCP. • Grants would be used to expand and modernize meat processing operations and grow the meat industry.

• During the pandemic, we saw how limited our state meat supply chain was due to the limitation of our current state plant inspectors. • All new meat inspectors must be authorized by the legislature and hired by DATCP. (There is no private-sector alternative under federal regulations.) • Ask the legislature to support 6.0 additional full-time inspectors to assist in more timely inspection and sampling of meat processors.

• The governor’s budget proposal increases General

Transportation Aids for cities, villages, towns and counties by 2 percent each year. • The Governor’s budget includes $278.5 million in bonding allocated for the rebuilding of highways and bridges within the state highway rehabilitation program. Maintenance of state highways and bridges is critical to our agricultural economy. • There is concern that a disproportionate amount of funding is directed toward large, urban road projects. We support assistance directed to local towns and counties for road and bridge improvements and maintenance.

• Workforce issues are a critical sticking point for the expansion of Wisconsin’s local meat processing infrastructure. • Ask the legislature to support workforce development needs by creating a tuition assistance program to award funding to individuals pursuing meat processing programming at

Wisconsin universities, colleges and technical schools.

• The current Farmland Preservation program protects farmland from development, provides farmers with ongoing financial compensation and provides soil and water standard compliance. • Sen. Testin (R-Stevens Point) and Rep. Oldenburg (R-Viroqua) have introduced SB 68 and AB 54 to update the program to encourage enrollment, protect farmland loss and provide updated financial compensation.

• Sen. Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Tranel (R-Cuba City) have introduced the truth in labeling bills for dairy products and milk and Sen. Marklein and Rep. Moses (R-Menomonie) have introduced the truth in labeling bill for meat products for public consumption. • AB 73 / SB 81 legislative bills require the Wisconsin

Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to create and implement regulation that would prohibit any product from being offered for sale labeled as a dairy product unless the food is derived from cows’ or other mammals’ milk. • AB 74 / SB 83 legislative bills prohibit any product from being labeled as milk unless the product is derived from cows’ or other mammals’ milk. • AB 75 / SB 82 legislative bills prohibit any type of meat food product from being labeled as meat unless the food product is derived from the flesh of an animal. This does not include cultured animal tissue grown in a lab. • Within the provisions of these bills and federal interstate commerce rules, a number of other states in our region would need to adopt similar legislation for these laws to be implemented in Wisconsin.

• Sen. Petrowski (R-Marathon) and Rep. Edming (R-Glen

Flora) have introduced SB 63 and AB 49 to revise the Wildlife

Damage Abatement and Claims Program. • Changes to the program include elimination of the current $10,000 cap on claims, full administration of the program by the Wisconsin Department of

Natural Resources and remote monitoring on all bear traps. • Additional changes include reimbursement for crop damage from vehicles to place a bear trap as well as lifting program hunting requirement for participants that only opt for placement of a bear trap on lands.

• Increase funding for the Broadband Expansion Grant Program • Focus the Broadband Expansion Grant Program on

“Unserved” Areas • Prioritize Future-Proof Network Investments • Create a Low-income Family Broadband Assistance Program • Create a Broadband Line Extension Grant Program

• We believe that the best environmental improvements on farms come from farmers. • Ask the legislature to support grants to farmers for the implementation of on-farm projects that are designed to reduce nitrate loading to groundwater. • 2019 AB 796 / 2019 SB 718 – Rep. Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) and Sen. Cowles (R-GreenBay);

Budget Bill

• This provision in the Governor’s budget proposal provides an additional $1 million each year of the biennium for well compensation and abandonment grants, totaling $1.2 million each year. • This program would provide funding to replace, reconstruct or treat contaminated water supplies that serve a residence or provide water to livestock. • The program eligibility criteria are changed to increase the annual family income limit to $100,000 and specifies contaminants and rates of 10 parts per billion for arsenic and 10 parts per million nitrate. • Similar legislation was drafted in 2020 as SB 724 and AB 789.

The Assembly version passed the Assembly last session and the Senate version passed the Senate Committee on Natural

Resources & Energy.

• The planting of cover crop can assist with the reduction of nitrogen leaching from agricultural fields. • Ask the legislature to create a program at DATCP to incentivize the use of cover crops by providing rebates of $5 per acre for a cover crop planted for crop insurance premiums paid for those acres. • 2019 AB 795 / 2019 SB 725 – Rep. Tranel (R-Cuba City) and

Sen. Cowles (R-Green Bay); Budget Bill