Rep. Travis Tranel, dairy farmer and chair of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, joined U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins this week at Morning Star Dairy in Onalaska for a roundtable discussion with western Wisconsin farmers.
The roundtable brought together agricultural leaders and policymakers to discuss recent federal policy developments, hear directly from farmers about ongoing challenges, and identify priorities for Wisconsin’s agricultural future.
“I want to thank Secretary Rollins and Congressman Van Orden for making sure Wisconsin has a seat at the table when shaping U.S. agricultural policy,” Tranel says. “As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, I understand the critical role agriculture plays in our state’s economy. It is a $116 billion industry, supporting nearly 400,000 jobs, and I’m grateful for the continued collaboration to keep Wisconsin agriculture strong.”
Discussion focused on strengthening Wisconsin’s agricultural economy through workforce development, infrastructure improvements, supply chain reliability, tax relief, expanded agricultural research and exports, and policies to support the next generation of family farms.
Federal agricultural priorities highlighted included:
- Whole Milk for Healthy Kids: Restores the ability for schools to serve whole and 2% milk, boosting demand for Wisconsin dairy products.
- Agriculture Access to Addiction and Mental Health Care Act: Expands access to mental health and addiction services for rural agricultural workers and their families.
- Working Families Tax Cuts: Provides tax relief, supports agricultural research funding and commodity programs, and offers tax exemptions for farm loans.
- Saving Family Farms from the “Death Tax”: Seeks to reduce estate tax burdens to help keep family farms in operation across generations.
