MADISON – Today, more than 230 delegates at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s 103rd Annual Meeting established new policy directives for the organization.
Farm Bureau delegates adopted the policies that will be included in the organization’s policy book in 2023. Resolutions were submitted by delegates as part of a grassroots policy development process.
On the floor, delegates discussed various dairy topics. They voted to oppose de-pooling of milk by processors. During dairy policy discussion, delegates supported giving farmers more access to consumers through the sale of raw milk only if the farm meets Grade A requirements and national standards.
Under the area of education, delegates supported post-high school education opportunities for students returning to the farm, including an in-person Farm and Industry Short Course program at a Wisconsin agriculture campus. Support for a 4-H program in each county was also approved.
Delegates discussed transportation concerns and seasonal accessibility to roads. In order to help create revenue to support transportation initiatives, delegates discussed and approved an alternative way to support transportation in the biennial state budget.
To support rural communities delegates approved exempting ambulance and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) districts and services from levy limits. Delegates also approved the elimination of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Test (NREMT) for Emergency Medical Responders (EMR) level first responders.
On the federal level, delegates supported FDA enforcing their current standard of identity of milk. Delegates also discussed and supported animal-based meat protein in USDA-supported school lunch programs at all times.
Delegates from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s 61 county Farm Bureaus also supported:
- Indemnification of farmers if PFAS and PFOS are found to exceed acceptable levels thus making farming non-viable.
- Implementing sustainability practices while ensuring the costs associated with those practices are spread across the supply chain and not only to the farmer.
On the federal level, delegates:
- Opposed more restrictive changes to the current atrazine levels.
- Supported inter-seeding cover crop practices without insurance coverage restrictions on the first insurable crop.
The federal resolutions will be forwarded to the American Farm Bureau Federation for consideration at its annual convention next month.
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization. Made up of 61 county Farm Bureaus, it represents farms of all sizes, commodities and management styles.
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