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State Budget to Empower Farmers, Dairy Industry

The Dairy Business Association (DBA), a dairy lobbying organization, said the new state budget will empower farmers and others to innovate and position Wisconsin for long-term success. It highlighted two provisions in the two-year budget that Gov. Tony Evers signed.

The budget invests $8.8 million in a Dairy Innovation Hub, a new program that the UW System will lead for a broad range of research at its agricultural colleges. It also doubles the amount to $1 million for an existing grant program to help farmers find solutions to water-quality challenges. “Wisconsin’s dairy farmers are taking the lead on addressing water-quality challenges in our state,” said DBA President Tom Crave, a farmer and cheesemaker. “A growing number of voluntary, watershed-based groups are making remarkable progress in identifying solutions that make sense for their regions. Farmers are challenging each other to continuously improve through innovation and to scientifically measure results. Keeping our water clean takes a community-wide effort, and farmers are demonstrating a commitment to doing their part. We all want clean water.”