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Fewer than expected Wisconsin farmers applied for state direct payments

Just over half of the eligible Wisconsin farmers applied for the state’s coronavirus direct payment relief.  The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection says about 26-thousand farms were eligible for the money, but only 14,543 applications were submitted over the two-week signup period, or nearly 56% of eligible farms.

The state’s ag department says 10,000 farmers had applied for the direct aid in the first week, but only 4,543 applied in the last eight days.

Governor Tony Evers’ planned to distribute 50-million dollars to Wisconsin farmers, with each getting between $1,000 and $3,500 dollars on a sliding scale based on their qualifications. 

Even without a sliding scale, the 50-million could potentially pay every applicant $3,438.  Secretary Nominee Randy Romanski told reporters Thursday, “Going back to the origins of this, the (farm) groups asked for 50 million and the Governor made 50 million dollars available through this application period.  I think we need to, uh, what we want to do is give (the Department of) Revenue a little bit of time to figure out how many applications are complete and eligible and that, I think, will help determine how those dollars get distributed.”  Romanski did not comment on if Governor Tony Evers’ administration will commit the entire 50-million dollars to farmer direct payments, or any other farmer assistance.  He did say the Department of Revenue will determine the payments and that the state expects to issue checks to farmers by mid-July.

A Wisconsin Farm Bureau official says they and the other Wisconsin ag groups have asked the state to divide the full 50-million dollars between all applicants.

The 50-million dollars was earmarked by Governor Evers from the state’s 1.9 billion dollars received from the federal government as part of the CARES Act.