With the 2026 election cycle fast approaching, Wisconsin Farmers Union is intensifying its push for key legislative reforms before state lawmakers pivot to their re-election campaigns this spring. Mid-West Farm Report talks about it with Government Relations Director Michelle Ramirez-White.
She previews the organization’s annual Farm & Rural Lobby Day, set for Jan. 14, which will bring farmers to the state capitol to advance a “hit list” of priorities. High on the agenda is the clarification of Wisconsin’s cottage food laws.
Despite a series of court decisions dating back to 2017, Wisconsin remains the only state without a clearly codified law on the books for home-based food businesses, Ramirez-White explains.
“We’d love to discuss how we can have fair cottage food legislation that allows these small businesses… to run fair and amazing businesses out of their home,” she says. “Currently, that industry is operating from a court decision… but there is no clear, defined law in the books.”
Beyond small business regulations, the WFU is seeking relief for producers in Jackson County, where a reintroduced elk population has expanded beyond its intended range. Farmers report significant crop and property damage from the growing herd, but current state statutes limit the DNR’s ability to offer flexible mitigation strategies, such as expanded cost-sharing for fencing.
“The elk are big, and there are quite a number of them approaching farms at this point,” Ramirez-White notes. “There’s just a lot of restrictions around how the DNR can execute currently. So if there are changes that the legislature could make and cooperate and work with DNR, I think that would really benefit the farmers.”
