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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.

State Ag department seeks comments on changes to rules for large farms

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The state ag department is considering changes to how the state regulates large scale livestock farms.

The rule is designed to provide uniform local regulation of livestock facilities with 500 or more animal units.

Kara O’Connor with Farmers Union is glad the board approved the draft rule for public hearings.

“They made clear that they weren’t endorsing every line and sentence of the rules, what they voted for is getting the public’s input, and I think that’s absolutely the right decision.” 

She says it’s worth it to take another look. “There are technologies on the market for livestock operations that simply didn’t exist in 2016 when these rules were first promulgated, and operations that want to use those new technologies don’t have that option.”

 John Holevoet with the Dairy Business Association opposed the changes. “The question is, really, is this keeping what was originally envisioned by those who created livestock siting?” 

He says there is no reason to send this proposal to public hearing.

“The intent of the legislature when they were talking about this four year review was really to look back to see if there were new technological advances, things that change in the industry substantially from a technology perspective that required updating. It wasn’t to necessarily do a wholesale revision of the rule.”

The board voted to advance the proposed rule to public hearing to gather public input, but several members made it clear they don’t endorse everything in the draft.

Farm Bureau Marketbasket survey reveals summer cookout bargains

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The cost of your summer cookout is less than six-dollars per person. According to the latest Farm Bureau Marketbasket survey the total cost of 14 food items used to host a summer cookout for 10 people totaled 56-dollars and 47-cents. The same survey conducted on the national level came to 56.38.

The survey’s menu consists of hot dogs and buns, cheeseburgers and buns, ketchup and mustard, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade and watermelon. A new item on this year’s survey is ice cream. Of the items that can be compared with last summer’s survey, five went down in price.

Ketchup went down 18-cents to 1.56 for a 20-ounce bottle. Pork spare ribs dropped by one-dollar and eight-cents, to 11.76 for a four-pound pack. Baked beans were a-dollar-97 a can.

During the last three decades, retail grocery prices have gradually increased while the share of the average dollar spent on food that farm families receive has dropped. In the mid-1970’s, farmers received about one-third of consumer retail food expenditures in grocery stores and restaurants. Since then, that figure has gone down steadily, and is now about 14-point-six-percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U-S-D-A says Americans will spend approximately 10 percent of their disposable annual income on food, the lowest average in the world.  Members of Wisconsin Farm Bureau collected price samples of 14 food items in 28 communities, including Marshfield and Medford.

 

Budget drops state funding for World Dairy Expo venue

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World Dairy Expo in Madison (File photo: Andrew Beckett)

A high profile project in Madison will have to advance without state funding. In March, Governor Tony Evers announced $30-million in his proposed capital budget, towards redevelopment at Dane County’s Alliant Energy Center. It’s the main facility for the World Dairy Expo each year.

But this week Republicans on the legislature’s budget panel eliminated that money. A disappointed Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said: “The state has always recognized the importance of the Alliant Energy Center to the entire state, and particularly to our ag community.”

Parisi said World Dairy Expo has a statewide impact, and attracts many visitors to Wisconsin. “We’ve been responsible for the debt service for 20 years on the center. The new pavilion, which is responsible for keeping World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, has been a partnership between the state and Dane County.”

Among the $600 million requested by Governor Tony Evers that Republicans cut from state building budgets this week — included the redevelopment funds for the center.

The county had planned to raise an additional $47-million for improvements at Alliant. Parisi said that will be difficult absent the state funding.

Wisconsin farmers already feeling pinch from China tariffs

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Wisconsin farmers are already feeling negative impacts from previous tariffs, as China announces more retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion dollars in U.S. goods. “It’s getting to the point now where just about everything produced in rural Wisconsin has got some kind of tariff on it, going into the Chinese markets,” said Wisconsin Farmers Union president Daren Von Ruden.

The Trump administration’s trade dispute with China follows on five years of falling commodity prices and losses from spring flooding. China is also establishing new trading relationships, as farmers in other countries learn how to cater to the Chinese markets.

Von Ruden said it’s difficult to see how a “trade war” helps Wisconsin farmers in the short-term, after they’ve spent years working to enter those same Chinese markets. “It took is 15-20 years to get into those markets,” he said. “It’s going to be another 10 to 20 year process to get back into those markets.”