Wisconsin Ag Connection - Governor Walker Attends Ag Day at the Capitol

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Governor Walker Attends Ag Day at the Capitol
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 03/09/2017

Governor Scott Walker used his visit to the annual Ag Day at the Capitol rally in Madison on Wednesday to tout some of his proposed state budget initiatives and promote his ideas for strengthening rural Wisconsin. The event was sponsored by various state farm organizations as a way to communicate their needs to state lawmakers.

"Every year, agriculture contributes more than $88 billion to Wisconsin's economy," Governor Walker said. "With over 68,700 farms, our agriculture sector provides 413,500 jobs annually, approximately 11.9 percent of the state's employment. As we travel throughout Wisconsin, we consistently hear from farmers and other members of the agriculture community about the same concerns--an effective transportation system, and more effective ways to manage our land and water resources."

Among his drafted budget provisions, Walker wants to increase Sparsity Aid by $20 million to help give rural schools more money to operate their districts. He's also asking lawmakers to provide 100 percent reimbursement for rural school districts in the High-Cost Transportation Aid program by investing $25.4 million over the two-year budget.

The governor is proposing further reductions on state property taxes this year. Another provision calls for the most funding ever to be spent on local governments for road improvements. And he is asking for $500,000 over the biennium for producer-led watershed grants.

In addition, the budget would transfer four full-time employees to support water quality management activities, including the concentrated animal feeding operations program. And it restructures the Agrichemical Management Fund and the Agricultural Chemical Cleanup Program to modernize the fee and license structure for pesticides, fertilizers, soil or plant additives and inspections.

Meanwhile, Walker is getting some criticism from groups that oppose his plan for cutting the state's farm-to-school coordinator and a 15-member council that advises the legislature on bringing local food into schools. The move is expected to save over $86,000 per year.

Ag Day at the Capitol is the largest gathering of farmers across Wisconsin representing numerous farm groups.

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