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Veterinary grants, soyfoam bills signed by Governor Evers

Wisconsin’s Governor signed two bills important to agriculture Thursday.

Tony Evers signed Senate Bill 501, creating a veterinary loan repayment grant program.  The new law, 2025 Wisconsin Act 177, will provide up to 25-thousand dollars per year and a total of 100-thousand dollars in educational reimbursement grants for veterinarians who received their degrees within the past seven years and are committed to spending at least 50% of their time with farm animals.

The other new law allows the use of soybean-based firefighting foam on forest fires.  Senate Bill 474, now 2025 Wisconsin Act 178,  eliminates older formulation guidelines and allows soy foam to replace PFAS-based products, which can potentially contaminate groundwater.  The new law also makes soy foam eligible for the Forest Fire Protection Grant program through the Department of Natural Resources.