Even though the Evers Administration is being challenged in the upcoming general election, the governor's agriculture secretary is already putting together a wish list for his agency's 2023-25 biennial budget. During a conference call with reporters on Thursday, Randy Romanski said the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is proposing many of the same provisions that where included in the previous state budget.
"Many things in the past budget were passed as one-time funding requests during the 2021-23 cycle," Romanski explained. "In the budget we submitted today, we requested that these items be renewed, including several provisions that saw increases in funding during the past two years."
Among those proposed items were funding for County Conservation Funding ($2 million per year); Wisconsin Initiative for Agricultural Exports ($1 million per year), Producer Led Watershed Grant Program ($250,000 per year), Wisconsin Meat Processor Grant Program ($200,000 per year); Dairy Processor Grant Program ($200,000 per year); and Farmer Mental Health Assistance Program ($100,000 per year).
The DATCP budget proposal also called for renewing the Nitrate Optimization Pilot Program at $1.2 million per year.
The agency's entire budget, which also includes staff and administrative expenses, is about $110 million per year for the biennium.
Categories: Wisconsin, Government & Policy