CICERO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK)- Governor Walker visited two area farms that were damaged by the last winter storm.
The blizzard left its impact everywhere, and at Birlings Bovines in Cicero, that impact was a hole in the barn roof.
“The damage we saw here, you’re thinking between this and some of the other structures, realistically, probably somewhere over $500,000 just for the structure. That doesn’t even account for all the other issues,” said Gov. Scott Walker.
Owner Mike Birling says it could lead to animal production problems down the road. He says he has never seen a storm like this.
“I remember back being small where we seemed to have lots of snow but it was spread out over a period of time.” said Mike Birling. “Monday morning, we just started inspecting these barns. There were just a few cracked/curlings in this area so we moved all the animals out of this area. One section came down the next night and and then the next day the other section came down.”
Walker asked farmers to keep track of the damage costs, with hopes of requesting the U.S Secretary of Agriculture for assistance.
Walker says the damage to roofs and structures is unique and farmers should figure out the total amount to damage.
“And hand that on to the local farm service agent at the local level because we’ll collect that out through the state and then depending on the totals received, we could eventually make a request to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for assistance in that regard whether it’s low interest loans or other assistance,” Walker said.
Walker also visited Sievert Farms in Little Suamico.
