Evers Administration Highlights Ag Investments in Newly Signed State Budget

Wednesday, July 12th, 2023 -- 10:00 AM

(Wisconsin Ag Connection) Evers' administration leaders say the newly-signed biennial state budget will continue momentum behind investments in the state's agriculture industry.

According to the Wisconsin Ag Connection, Gov. Tony Evers signed the Republican-drafted state budget into law on Wednesday. The spending plan creates new funding for K-12 schools, local governments, rural roads and workforce housing.

During a visit to a La Crosse County farm on Wednesday to promote the budget signing, Evers said the new funding will benefit all sizes of communities, from cities to rural townships.

When asked about producers dumping milk in Milwaukee because of a market oversupply, the governor said the processing challenges further highlight the need for the budget's investments in the state's workforce.

"Regardless of the industry, but I would say for the agriculture industry in particular, making sure that there's affordable housing, making sure that child care is affordable and accessible, so that people that want to go to work in a dairy processing plant can do that," Evers told reporters. "We just can't assume that because we have the product and we have a processor that all that product is going to be processed."

The newly-signed budget also continues funding for several programs created for farmers and the ag industry through the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The budget expands the state's existing Dairy Processor Grant program by $300,000 in each of the next two years and adds $1.6 million for the state's Meat Processor Grants, a program that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to increase meat processing capacity in the state.

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