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Farmer-legislator urges farmers to speak up on important legislation

A Wisconsin farmer who serves in the State Legislature says his fellow farmers would be wise to pay attention to bills being considered at the Capitol.

Republican Travis Tranel operates a dairy and crop farm near Cuba City.  He is also an author of Assembly Bill 31, which along with companion Senate Bill 8 would create a state lemon law for agricultural equipment.

A hearing was held Tuesday, May 6^th for the Senate bill, but no farmers or farm organizations testified in person.  Tranel says one problem was the timing of the hearing. “I would remind my colleagues that early May is a busy time on the farm, so we might not want to schedule hearings if you want farmers to show up this time of year because I myself have a hard time getting to the Capitol some days because there is so much to do on the farm.”

Tranel says despite the poor timing, it’s important for farmers to show up. “Sometimes I think, as farmers, we maybe rely too heavily on farm organizations and just assume that they are doing our bidding for us, and that’s not necessarily always the case.”

Tranel questions why the Wisconsin farmer organizations didn’t participate in the hearing. “Call and ask them why didn’t we take a position on this? I think if you’re a member of one of these groups, that’s a fair question.”

Senate Bill 8 and Assembly Bill 31 have support from a state taxpayers group and opposition from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.  One farmer impacted by a faulty tractor submitted written testimony to the Senate committee supporting the bill.

AUDIO: Farmer and State Representative Travis Tranel discusses several topics with Brownfield’s Larry Lee.