Gov. Tony Evers is urging the Trump administration to reverse course on new cuts to federal programs.
The Trump administration did reverse course on withholding guaranteed reimbursement payments for 88 Wisconsin dairy businesses. Still, Evers says the federal government is again poised to leave farmers in the lurch.
In a letter to Evers, the Trump administration indicated it plans to terminate federal funding available through the Local Food Purchase Assistance program. U.S. Congress approved the program and its funding years ago.
LFPA aims to support producers by purchasing local food, bolstering access at local pantries, and strengthening rural food supply chains.
As of the end of 2024, nearly 300 Wisconsin farmers had participated in the Wisconsin LFPA Program. It distributed more than $4 million in food and served all 72 Wisconsin counties. More than half of the participating farmers — 55 percent — were new or beginning farmers. The program would have entered its third year in just a few weeks based on Wisconsin’s contractual agreement with the federal government.
All told, Evers says the Trump administration is poised to gut more than $1 billion from the LFPA and the Local Food for Schools programs. It would cut Wisconsin’s promised funding by nearly $6 million. Evers is asking the Trump administration to reverse course and release the funding that was already approved.
“The Trump Administration must stop turning their backs on America’s Dairyland and betraying our farmers, producers, and agricultural industries by trying to gut funding Wisconsin’s farmers and producers were promised,” Evers said in a release.
Learn more about the LFPA: https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/AgDevelopment/LocalFoodPurchasingAgreement.aspx
