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Wisconsin Farmers Union President disappointed after Ag Secretary’s removal

The President of Wisconsin Farmers Union is disappointed by the loss of Brad Pfaff as the state’s Agriculture Secretary.

Darin Von Ruden tells Brownfield Pfaff was very qualified for the job.  “When you look at Brad’s history here in the State of Wisconsin and his ties to agriculture, he certainly knows agriculture inside and out all the way from working on his family’s dairy farm in the Melrose area to working with our state agencies through some of his previous jobs.”

Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden says the State Senate vote to not confirm Brad Pfaff as Ag Secretary was purely political.  “He really was, in my opinion, doing a great job at the department, and it’s too bad that politics, you can tell by the straight party-line vote, got rid of the Secretary of Ag for the first time in 35 or 40 years that there’s been an appointee not put through.” 

Looking ahead, VonRuden names a possible replacement and emphasizes the importance Farmers Union places on the state’s livestock siting rule updates.  “One name that comes to mind is Paul Dietmann, who is an employee of Compeer (Financial) and knows Wisconsin agriculture really good, too, but hopefully, they’ll continue to push on the ATCP 51 (livestock siting) rules that are out there because that’s something that’s important to Wisconsin agriculture and it’s also important to our number one natural resource here in the State of Wisconsin, which is water.”

Governor Tony Evers told reporters after the Senate vote Tuesday he does not yet have a replacement selected for Brad Pfaff.

Farmers Union’s Kara O’Conner came out in support of the Governor’s appointment process Monday but remained critical of Pfaff for removing the ATCP 51 livestock siting rule proposal from the state DATCP Board’s Thursday action agenda.  Farmers Union pushed to have the issue put back on the Ag Board’s agenda, but no changes were made to that agenda before the Wednesday 9:00 am the deadline for the 24-hour notice required by Wisconsin’s open meetings law. 

Von Ruden expressed his support for Pfaff to Brownfield after the Senate voted 14-19 not to confirm him. On Monday, the Dairy Business Association, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association, Wisconsin Agri-Business Association, Cooperative Network, and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association all released statements of support for Pfaff.  After Tuesday’s Senate vote, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, Wisconsin Pork Association, Wisconsin Dairy Alliance, Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, Wisconsin Soybean Association, Wisconsin Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants, Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association, and the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association issued a joint statement that did not support or oppose Pfaff as Secretary.   The ag groups only said they respected both the Governor’s nomination and the authority of the Senate to review gubernatorial appointments.