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Wisconsin Farmers Union stresses conservation, water, redistricting issues

Wisconsin Farmers Union members say conservation, redistricting, and water quality issues remain their most important governmental issues. That’s what members focused on during their Farm and Rural Lobby Day Wednesday, January 15th.

Government Relations Director Kara O’Conner tells Brownfield Representative Lauren Oldenburg of Viroqua authored a bill that would improve the state’s farmland preservation tax credits, and it has widespread agricultural support. She says, “It would boost the funding amounts for the Farmland Preservation Tax Credit, as well as make that program available to more farmers, and we definitely want to see our farmland preserved and feel like this bill is a great vehicle do that.”

And she says members continued their push for non-partisan redistricting at their Farm and Rural Lobby Day Wednesday.  O’Conner says changes are needed to make Wisconsin elections more competitive. “We have really gerrymandered districts in Wisconsin and we’d see, I think, better collaboration if we had nonpartisan redistricting got done on just a sheer numbers basis rather than for political gain.”

Farmers Union members met with lawmakers about these issues, and also showed their support for seven of the twelve water quality bills introduced last week by members of the Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality.