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Farmers, ag professionals visit Wisconsin legislators

A coalition of Wisconsin agriculture organizations brought farmers and agribusiness leaders to meet their elected officials Wednesday. 

Ag Day at the Capitol was a chance for farmers to tell their stories to lawmakers and lobby for what’s important for them as work on the state budget begins.  Jason Mugnaini with Wisconsin Farm Bureau says along with tax relief, investing in the ag workforce, and a veterinary loan repayment pilot program, continuing the Ag Road Improvement Program is vital. “We need 150 million dollars in funding for this program again. The need is absolutely inherent. Five-hundred million dollars in requests. This is an absolute priority.”

The initial program last session invested 150 million dollars to improve local roads and eliminate weight limits. Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s Senior Director of Governmental Relations Tim Fiocchi tells Brownfield Governor Tony Evers has proposed reauthorizing the ARIP program in his budget proposal, but at a lower funding level.

State Senator and Ag Committee Chair Patrick Testin tells Brownfield he strongly supports the ARIP program. “We had over half a billion dollars in grant applications submitted to the state, so that just goes to show and tell us that there is a huge need that we need to make sure that our farm to market roads are being taken care of so we don’t fall behind.”

The Ag coalition is also pushing for protecting agricultural land and assets, regulatory reform, and legislation that would allow Farm Bureau health plans in the state.

AUDIO: Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s Tim Fiocchi discusses the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program with Brownfield’s Larry Lee

AUDIO: Wisconsin State Senator and Senate Ag Committee Chair Patrick Testin discusses the ARIP Program and other issues with Brownfield’s Larry Lee