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Perdue says smaller dairy farmers have no guarantee of survival

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Secretary Sonny Perdue

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, in Wisconsin today (Tuesday), said the 2018 farm bill will help Wisconsin’s dairy industry, but small farmers have no guarantees.

“I don’t think in America we, for any small business, we have a guaranteed income or guaranteed profitability of survival. That depends on each and every farmer and dairy farmer.”

Perdue spoke to reporters at World Dairy Expo in Madison.

“Big get bigger and small go out, and that’s kind of what we’ve seen here. It’s very difficult when in economy of scale with the capital needs and all the environmental regulations and everything else today, to survive milking 40, 50, 60 or even 100 cows, and that’s what we’ve seen.”

Thanks to WRDN, Durand

 

 

Wisconsin joins lawsuit opposing changes to SNAP

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Wisconsin is joining 23 other states in opposing proposed changes to the federal Food Stamps program. Under the federal Agriculture Department proposal, states would no longer be allowed set their eligibility rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP.

For now, states are allowed to take factors like cost of living or child care costs into consideration. Twenty-four attorneys general say the Trump administration proposal would take food assistance away from more than three-million people. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said more than half of the Wisconsinites who would lose benefits will be children or seniors. He also predicts higher bureaucracy and administrative costs.

“This proposed rule is nothing short of cruel. If it goes into effect, thousands of Wisconsinites will lose their FoodShare benefits. More than half of the Wisconsinites who will lose those benefits will be children or seniors. And, this rule will result in increased bureaucracy and administrative costs,” said Kaul.

Bipartisan medical marijuana bill faces stiff opposition in state legislature

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to enact medical marijuana legislation, despite opposition from legislative leaders.

Democrat Senator John Erpenbach and Representative Chris Taylor, and Republican Senator Pat Testin are seeking to create a pathway for doctors to be able to prescribe marijuana to patients. 

Testin says it’s a personal issue for him, after his grandfather used cannabis to treat his cancer symptoms. “I saw him make the decision to go outside the law to seek treatment with medical marijuana. It restored his appetite, and I believe it added months to his life. I am grateful for all the time that I had with him.” 

“Each time we introduce this bill, more and more people around Wisconsin find that someone they know has turned to cannabis as a life-altering medical treatment,” said Senator Erpenbach. “The public support is there, we have a Governor who supports it, the time for medical cannabis is now.”

The bill will face stiff competition in the Senate, however. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has been a staunch opponent to any form of marijuana legalization. “Everyone knows that medical marijuana leads to legalized marijuana,” he said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

“I don’t support this plan and I think that it’s going to be a tough sell to a majority of my caucus.”

 

Kind says Congress needs to ‘claw back’ trade authority from President Trump

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Third District congressman Ron Kind says President Trump has been irresponsible in pursuing his trade and tariff policies. The LaCrosse Democrat said during a conference call on Wednesday that Congress has deferred to the executive branch on trade policy for decades.

“I think it’s time now for Congress to start clawing back a lot of that authority, especially given how irresponsibly President Trump has used this authority.”

Kind said the failure of Trump’s trade wars is evident, in its effects on Wisconsin farmers. “I think many of them were hopeful that this guy knew what he was doing, that he had a longer term plan on strategy, but I don’t see it… I’ve never seen it.”

Kind said there is bipartisan support in Congress to restrict the president’s powers to set trade policy and enact tariffs. China announced Wednesday that a new round of trade talks will begin in October. President Trump insists that China wants to reach a new trade agreement.

Farmers have concerns as state considers new permitting rules for livestock operations

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Public hearings have begun on changing state regulations on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOS. Proposed changes to Wisconsin’s livestock facility siting regulations, known as ATCP51 include eliminating odor scoring, changing building setbacks standards and more opportunities for local governments to restrict farm expansion.

Peter Koles with the Wisconsin Towns Association supports the proposed changes. “The equipment has gotten bigger. So you have bigger equipment, more repetitive trips. And we need to take into account that impact on the roadways.”

Raymond Hansen of Wautoma chairs the Central Sands Water Coalition, and testified that where CAFO’s exist, water quality problems soon follow. John Holevoet with the Dairy Business Association said the proposed regulations won’t improve water quality. “If you think you’re going to get better water quality by pushing animal agriculture out, you’re wrong. What you’re going to be left with is probably as bad of an environmental situation, if not worse.”

Several dairy farmers told the hearing, which was held in Oshkosh on Friday, that the existing rule is better, and that changes allowing more local government oversight would defeat the purpose of having the statewide guidelines.

Larry Lee, Brownfield 

 

Farmers need to work together during Chinese embargo, says head of soybean association

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State agricultural leaders are looking to help farmers after China announced a full stoppage of agricultural imports.

Wisconsin Soybean Association director Bob Karls says he and his colleagues are already hard at work in the halls of Congress. 

“Our legislators, our elected congresspersons and senators know the issues this causes us, they have talked to the administration.”

They aren’t hopeful right now. “There’s just many angles, and we don’t see it improving. We see things more or less going the opposite direction.”

Karls says they’re also keeping in contact with their farmers in Wisconsin and keeping an eye on them. He reminds farmers to check up on each other and find ways to help keep their stress down.

“We are concerned for some farmers that are having some stresses, and encourage them to talk to people. Mental health is far more important. 

He says one bright side this season is that there’s expected to be a strong harvest, which means plenty of product coming this fall. 

 

Evers asks Trump to help farmers, end trade war

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Governor Tony Evers is weighing in, on President Donald Trump’s trade war.

In a letter to the president, the Democratic Governor asked him to consider Wisconsin farmers, and put an end to the growing trade war between the United States and its international partners, including China.

The president once tweeted that “trade wars are good, and easy to win.” Evers said the tariffs are having a direct, negative impact on many industries, particularly agriculture, which employs one out every nine Wisconsin workers and generates 88 billion dollars.

UW-Extension offers safety tips on safe canning for your summer fruits and veggies

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If you’ve got leftover veggies or fruits from your summer garden, why not can them for the rest of the year?

State food safety specialist Barb Ingham says the UW Extension has plenty of resources to teach you how to make all your tasty produce shelf stable. 

“Not only does it make products safe if done correctly, but it’s also a great way to preserve food at peak ripeness. It does require some special equipment depending on the type of product that you’re hoping to can. 

Ignham recommends using tested recipes that come from a research kitchen, rather than relying on Grandma’s old recipe cards.

“It’s a good idea for safety and for quality to stick to a recipe where you know that someone has actually gone into a research kitchen and has actually tested the recipe to make sure not only that you’ll have a high quality product, but also a safe product.”

You can find a whole collection of recipes for everything from canned fruits and veggies to canning your venison online at the UW Extension’s website. 

Farm Technology Days hosts special block party this year to show off new techniques to the public

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Farm Technology Days starts its second day of its three-day run in Jefferson County north of Johnson Creek at Walter Grain Farm, and Melissa Gerner says the event is for more than just farmers.

“We actually have extended hours for Wednesday, the show runs from 9 am to 7 pm, and the block party runs from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm, which is a wine, beer, and food taste testing and sampling type event.”

Gerner says farmers also come here to learn about research and improved conservation practices.

“Farmers here in Jefferson County and Wisconsin are doing right by us, and they’re really passionate about the earth, the water, the soil that we have here, and are trying to do what’s best for everyone moving forward.”

 

Joint Finance Committee delays funding for farmer mental health program

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The co-chairs of the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee have held up the funding for a program to provide low cost mental health assessments for farmers.

In statements on Tuesday, Senator Alberta Darling and Representative John Nygren told the ag department that they need to meet with a Republican led study group on suicide prevention first.

State Ag Secretary-Designee Brad Pfaff says that’s disappointing because those funds should already be going to farmers. “Funds that have already been approved. Approved by the legislature, and signed into law by the Governor.”

Pfaff says there is now only enough funding in the program to help five farmers total.

“Quite frankly we’re down to just a handful of vouchers that we can provide at this time for our farmers who are seeking mental health counselling assistance.”

“Really difficult weather conditions, market prices that don’t make ends meet, and then we’ve got this trade war that’s taking place. And it’s impacting our farmers. There’s a lot of stress in the countryside.”

Funding for that program was set aside to the Finance Committee’s own discretionary fund, and the JFC required DATCP to come back to the committee to get the funding.