Final state budget is a mixed bag for family farmers

The 2025-27 biennial state budget, signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers, July 3, was a bipartisan compromise. It funded important investments in public services, farmer mental health and childcare, while reducing funding for key local food programs, conservation programs and antitrust enforcement. “There are several meaningful wins here for family farmers, but also some disappointing losses,” said Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) government relations director Michelle Ramirez-White. Important conservation and infrastructure programs were preserved, or expanded, in the budget. The Cover Crop Rebate Program received a funding allocation of $800,000, per year, the Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program (NOPP) was funded at a rate of $1 million, per year. These programs are vital, for farmers to receive rewards for conservation efforts and to reduce nitrogen pollution. The Agricultural Roads Improvement Program (ARIP), which supports farm road infrastructure, received an expansion of $150 million, between 2025-27, with 20 percent earmarked for local small bridges. Health programs and public services, like the UW-System, farmer mental health support, and free or charitable clinics, all saw boosts to their funding. The Wisconsin Farm Center offers critical direct farmer support and is a resource that must be maintained for the agricultural community. A compromise on childcare funding was the tipping point for Evers to sign the budget. The Republican legislature and the governor agreed on $110 million, in monthly, per-child payments, to childcare providers in 2025-26, $123 million, to increase Wisconsin Shares reimbursement rates, and $28.6 million, for a pilot program to explore expanding capacity across Wisconsin’s childcare industry. The compromise falls short of the $480 million ask from the WFU and childcare providers. Childcare is unaffordable and unavailable, for too many rural families across this state. WFU members have identified that a lack of rural childcare resources are a barrier for Wisconsinites, who want to enter into farming. The WFU is supportive of this budget deal, that continues some critical public support for childcare and hopes to see a long-term sustainable investment in the near future. Key programs to support local food infrastructure, like the Meat Processor Grant Program ($700,000, per year), Dairy Processor Grants ($600,000, per year), Buy Local Buy Wisconsin Grant Program ($200,000, per year), and the Tribal Elder Food Box Program ($1.5 million, per year), all walked away with favorable funding outcomes. Despite some key funding success for local food, there were also disappointing losses. The Value-Added Agriculture Grant Program, Food Waste Reduction Grant and Meat Talent Development Grant, all received no funding in this budget. The Meat Talent Development Grant, a program which trains new meat processing workers, started under ARPA funding. The grant program will expire in 2026, without additional investment. The Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program and the Farm to Fork Grant Program were new budget items this year, that were also excluded from the final budget. These five local food programs leave a gap of more than $7 million, in requested funding for regional food system work, over a two-year period. “Agricultural assistance programs that increase funding for local food in our food pantries, schools and other institutions, are vital for family farmers and communities in Wisconsin,” said WFU president Darin Von Ruden. “With cuts at the federal level, to programs like WI LFPA and nutrition programming, these losses will weigh heavy on the shoulders of some of our state’s most vulnerable, and reduce economic opportunity for Wisconsin farmers.” Funding for the Transition to Grazing Pilot Program, DNR staffing for CAFO monitoring and oversight, Farmland Preservation programs and rural broadband improvements, all went unfunded, as well. Investments in staffing for the Wisconsin Department of Justice Anti-Trust Division, and for an Agricultural Economist in the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, were also excluded from the final budget. The WFU will continue to advocate for the programs that were cut from the budget cycle, and urge constituents to call their legislators to voice their concerns about programs that were eliminated. “The lack of funding for these programs in the state budget, is a missed opportunity to strengthen our local food systems,” said Von Ruden.