Baldwin: Bill Includes Provision to Boost Wisconsin Agriculture

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced that several of her provisions were included in the Agriculture and Rural Development spending bill. The Wisconsin Democrat, who sits on the Senate Appropriations and Budget Committees, said the funding package has a number of items that will help Wisconsin’s agricultural industry directly.

“I was proud to include several priorities in this legislation that work in part to boost Wisconsin farming, rural development, and our Grown in Wisconsin economy,” Baldwin said. “Our strong agricultural sector is a driver of economic growth, and I will continue to prioritize investments in our rural communities that create opportunities for new family farmers to carry on the Wisconsin tradition.”

The bill restores funding for Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture. This funding stream supports undergraduate agriculture research that pairs promising students with professors at Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture, including the University of Wisconsin campuses at Platteville, River Falls and Stevens Point.

Another $750,000 was allocated to advance cranberry research in Wisconsin. The bill further invests in land conservation by providing technical assistance to farmers that protect their watershed and prevent soil erosion. The bill includes strong funding for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, which works with farmers to address manure management, install buffer strips to reduce soil erosion, and rotate plantings to protect soil quality.

Funding was included for the Dairy Forage Research Center, based in Madison, for their research to improve efficiencies in dairy production that can reduce the impact of dairy farms on the environment.

And it increases funding for the Rural Community Facilities program. This program makes a high quality of life possible in our rural communities.