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Wisconsin Farmers Union supports new state budget

The President of Wisconsin Farmers Union says the new state biennial budget signed Thursday is good for agriculture.  Darin Von Ruden tells Brownfield the budget addresses three of Farmers Union’s top five priorities. “In the meat processing industry for improvements and modernization, broadband expansion to get broadband into more rural areas, and there’s 129-million in that, and then producer-led watersheds.”

Von Ruden says Farmers Union remains hopeful the state will pass legislation that would encourage federal officials to create a dairy supply management system, saying some processors set production limits for farmers, but not all processors do so. “Well, you know, it needs to be something that is industry-wide. Having two or three processors use that system and then everybody else just goes hog wild is not really a good system.”

Von Ruden says Farmers Union would also like to see the state legislature address ground and surface water quality issues as well as improved regulation of high-capacity wells.