MADISON, Wis. — Hundreds of Wisconsin farmers brought their priorities to lawmakers in Madison on Wednesday at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s “Ag Day at the Capitol.”
They advocated for better access to health care, increased state funding for farm roads and conservation, and more.
“We’re just here today to make our voices heard and – like I said – build them relationships with the governor, with other legislators,” Waupaca County farmer Jake Hoewisch said.
The lobbying effort comes just months before lawmakers are set to write a new state budget that will determine how the state spends a roughly $4 billion surplus. Agricultural producers who drive more than $116 billion in annual contributions to Wisconsin’s economy want to make sure they get their cut.
Sydney Flick, who works on her family’s dairy farm in Lodi, emphasized the importance of access to affordable health care for farmers. She’s asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow the Wisconsin Farm Bureau to offer its members non-insurance health plans, similar to what agricultural nonprofits in some other states currently offer.
“A lot of people will have to have an off-farm job to provide that insurance, just because the cost of that is so high. And we need health insurance. We’re in a high-risk job,” she said.
Kyle Nilsestuen, a fifth-generation farmer from Trempeleau County, is particularly concerned about incentivizing more sustainable farming practices.
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“We’re blessed to live in the Driftless Area, a very scenic part of our country and state. So that also means we deal with hills and valleys and a lot of water erosion potential,” he said.
Nilsestuen uses cover crops to protect his land from erosion and runoff in the off season. He’s worked with state agencies before to get grant funding to assist in those efforts, and he wants state government to continue to promote new and innovative conservation measures, such as carbon credits.
“We’re leaving it better for our next generation because a lot of us have kids who we want to have the ability to farm in the future,” Nilsestuen said.
Hoewisch’s priority for the upcoming budget is ensuring the state continues to fully fund the Agricultural Road Improvement Program, a $150 million initiative passed in the last budget to improve Wisconsin’s farm roads.
“We’re primarily a dairy, so we’re moving milk off the farm. But it’s really anything. It’s feed from the field to our farm, manure from our farm to the field. So, these roads that are in poor condition or maybe a dead-end road, they’re still important,” he said. “We’re gonna make sure they hear it loud and clear that we need full funding like we had last year.”
Lobbying efforts also touched on agricultural education. Jim Renn, a Waukesha County farmer, wants to see more funding go toward the UW-River Falls Dairy and Industry short course, which his son recently graduated from.
“The short course gives a valuable tool to individuals who aren’t prepared to go to four years or be away from the farm,” Renn said. “It’s a short, condensed schooling, just for agriculture.”
Other priorities that farmers spoke with lawmakers about include grants to support the dairy and meat processing industries, funds to address wildlife damage to crops and tax cuts for farmers to relieve financial stress on the agricultural industry.
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