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Many ag programs, policies to be stripped from new Wisconsin budget

A lobbyist for agriculture says Wisconsin’s next state budget from the Legislature will remove policy items from the Governor’s proposed budget, potentially putting some ag programs on hold.

Shawn Pfaff with Pfaff Public Affairs tells Brownfield Republicans will likely require separate bills to authorize and fund programs even if they already exist. “The Finance Committee will take the action this week of removing the policy items. Some of the things they’re taking out are pretty popular. Other things though, they want to keep the budget streamlined and then they’re waiting for these (Legislative Fiscal Bureau) budget estimates on May 15^th.”

There are twenty-nine policy-related things the Joint Finance Committee will remove from the Governor’s version of the budget Thursday, including the Meat Talent Development Program, the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin Grant Program, the Farm-to-Fork Program, Dairy Truth in Labeling, Something Special from Wisconsin, and several planning grant programs. “Those are things that can be brought back if it seems like there’s overwhelming support for those, so yeah, in the short run, maybe it’s a setback for a little bit but in the end, these are proposals that I think, if they stand the test of time and if they have popularity, we can bring those back.”

Pfaff says many of the programs lost by deleting policy items from the budget are very popular and will likely continue by passing separate legislation later.

A list of policy cuts obtained by Brownfield Tuesday does not mention Wisconsin’s Dairy Innovation Hub, which receives nearly eight million dollars in state funding each year for research at campuses in Platteville, River Falls, and Madison.

Wisconsin has divided government, with Republicans controlling the Assembly and Senate and a Democrat in the Governor’s office.

AUDIO: Shawn Pfaff goes into detail about Wisconsin’s budget process, the Governor’s line-item veto power, and what he expects to see as the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee begins their biennial budget crafting process. It’s a Wisconsin civics class refresher in a discussion with Brownfield’s Larry Lee.

The document below was prepared for the 5/8/25 Joint Finance Committee meeting, and lists policy items being struck from the state budget proposal.