In my humble opinion, farming is the best way of life there is. But as many of you know, it can also be one of the toughest. It’s no secret that times are tough for many families in farm country. Many farmers know they can be doing better for the land and for our water, but they don’t have the resources to implement the practices that will make a difference. Here in southern Wisconsin, we’ve still got a long way to go. According to the WI DNR’s 2018 List of Impaired Waters - Lafayette, Green and Rock counties have 116 impaired bodies of water - 91 of which suffer from either over sedimentation, high phosphorous or both. Such conditions are mainly attributed to surface runoff from farm fields. While many farmers are adjusting growing practices to incorporate no till planting, strip tilling, cover cropping and utilizing buffer strips along water ways, far too many are still farming fencerow to creek and more precious topsoil is carried away with every rainfall.

I urge the legislature to invest in programs that encourage farmers to keep the soil covered with seasonal cover crops or perennial pastures. Keeping the soil covered reduces runoff, retains organic matter in the fields and keeps our water cleaner. Incentivize crop farmers to seed down robust waterways that keep the soil in the field and that are designed using the most recent climate data which show stronger, more frequent rain events. Skinny, 8’ wide waterways aren’t going to cut it anymore as rain events intensify. Fully fund county conservation departments which are staffed by locals whose handshakes and boots on the ground assist farmers with implementation of state standards for runoff management. Restore funding for grazing programs and research that were responsible for the conversion of hundreds of thousands of acres to perennial pasture in the early 2000s. Lastly, fund a statewide effort to promote and market Wisconsin pasture-raised meats so that true profitability can be achieved on ground that stays covered by perennial pasture.