The Wisconsin State Assembly wrapped up for the 2025-26 legislative session on Friday, February 20, 2026 with the passage of key bills related to agriculture, workforce development, and food access. Throughout this legislative session, Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) worked alongside stakeholders to make the voices of family farmers heard in Madison. Over the next few months WFU is looking forward to collaborating with the Senate and Governor’s office to secure final passage of the legislation that is important to Wisconsin’s agricultural industry.
WFU is celebrating key legislative wins that passed the Assembly this session and are awaiting a vote in the Senate:
Assembly Bill (AB) 130 and 131 seek to address PFAs contamination issues and would create a remediation program.
AB 411 re-establishes a state-supported online hub to connect landowners and retiring farmers with new or beginning producers seeking farmland, housed within the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
AB 759 broadens occupational credentials for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigrants, which could address critical labor shortages in our state.
Two bills supported by WFU have now passed the Assembly and the Senate, and arrived at the Governor’s desk to await a final decision:
Senate Bill (SB) 474/ AB 488 makes soy-based fire suppression products available through the Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) forest fire suppression grant program.
SB 560/ AB 554 sets requirements for the sale and labeling of food products that contain lab-grown animal cells.
WFU also applauds the inclusion of a $65 million investment to support Wisconsin’s FoodShare program in AB 180. This allocation will fill a funding gap created by changes to
federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding which was passed in July 2025 as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill.
WFU worked to strike down legislation that posed a threat to Wisconsin’s Main Street economies and health insurance marketplace:
AB 748 sought to create a regulatory system for cottage foods that set unfair and arbitrary limitations on home bakers. The bill failed to be voted on in the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection, ensuring that the legislation would not move forward this session.
AB 448 attempted to permit just one entity in Wisconsin to offer unregulated Alternative Agricultural Health Benefit Plans on the state insurance market. These health plans would have removed the healthiest individuals from the insurance pool, driving up insurance costs for all, and would have been unavailable to those with pre-existing conditions. The bill will not move forward this session.
The next legislative session will begin in January 2027. WFU is working with legislators to identify top-line issues for the coming session and will continue to advance the policy priorities of Wisconsin’s family farmers and rural communities.
Comments