Gov. Doyle: Governor Signs Bill to Reform Livestock Siting Regulations

Contact:
Jessica Erickson, Governor’s Office, 608-261-2156

Measure Will Ensure Modern, Competitive Agriculture Operations,
While Protecting the Environment and Retaining Local Control

EAU CLAIRE – At a bill signing ceremony at Equity
Cooperative Livestock Sales Association in Eau Claire today, Governor Jim
Doyle signed into law six bills, including legislation that reforms
livestock siting regulations.

Known as the “Livestock Siting Bill,” Assembly Bill 868
directs the Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP)
to establish standards and procedures for local governments to use when
considering the siting and expansion of livestock facilities.

“This legislation affirms that we can have modern and
competitive dairies and livestock operations, while protecting the
environment and retaining local control,” Governor Doyle said. “It also
shows that when we work together in a bipartisan way, we can find common
ground to strengthen agriculture and create jobs.”

AB 868 represents the recommendations of the Advisory
Committee on Livestock Facility Siting. Appointed last fall by Agriculture
Secretary Rod Nilsestuen, the diverse panel of citizens includes farmers,
producers, environmentalists, conservationists, and local government. The
committee was asked to recommend a clear process for producers seeking to
start or expand a livestock farm, and to help ensure the viability of animal
agriculture while promoting sound land use, protecting the environment, and
honoring local decision making.

“I commend the committee members for the energy and
dedication they brought to this assignment,” Governor Doyle said. “It is a
tribute to the integrity of their work that the legislation I am signing
today closely tracks their recommendations.”

Under this new law, farmers will know up front the rules of
the game, increasing predictability for making business decisions and
investments. Counties and municipalities can continue to do what they do
best – manage current and future land uses. Land use and environmental
protection will receive a boost as local governments apply new state
standards and plan for agricultural development.

Most importantly, the state’s economy will benefit as dairy
businesses modernize and grow, the Governor said.

The bill also creates a Livestock Facility Siting Review
Board to review local siting decisions, bringing fairness and order to the
local decision making process.

The Governor thanked the bill’s lead authors, including
Representatives David Ward, Al Ott, Barbara Gronemus, and Amy Sue Vruwink,
and Senators Dale Schultz, Ron Brown, and Mark Meyer. He also thanked
Secretary Nilsestuen for bringing a diverse group to the table to find
common ground.

Governor Doyle also highlighted a measure signed earlier in
the day in Verona that creates the nation’s first livestock premises
identification system. Known as the “Animal Premises Registration Bill,”
Assembly Bill 812 lays the groundwork for an identification system essential
for animal health officials to track and contain animal disease outbreaks.

“Wisconsin is already a national leader in developing a
premises registration system,” Governor Doyle said. “Long before mad cow
disease was first discovered in Washington State, we began taking steps to
strengthen our food and agriculture supplies. Today, I am pleased to sign
legislation that will help us build on our efforts to ensure that Wisconsin
has the safest food supply in the world.”

Additionally, the Governor signed a bill this morning that
will preserve Wisconsin farmland and help reduce property taxes for farmers.
Assembly Bill 650 targets important tax relief to farmers by allowing
additional woodland on farms to be assessed at 50 percent of its value.

Both bills are just one of many initiatives within the
Governor’s “Grow Wisconsin” plan to strengthen Wisconsin agriculture. Other
successful measures include: providing dairy farmers with a tax credit to
help them modernize; helping farm families have access to affordable health
insurance; strengthening the agricultural producer security program; and
launching an online marketplace to promote Wisconsin products worldwide.

Governor Doyle also signed the following bills in Eau
Claire:

* Assembly Bill 913, authored by Representatives Al Ott and Barbara
Gronemus and Senators Dale Schultz and Gwen Moore, provides the Wisconsin
Housing and Economic Development Authority greater discretion in the size of
agricultural production loans it can authorize.

*
* Senate Bill 414, authored by Senator Alan Lasee and Representative
Jerry Petrowski, promotes agribusiness in Wisconsin by exempting farm truck
tractors operating between fields or between a farm and a field from vehicle
registration.
*
* Senate Bill 455 allows some milk contractors – those ineligible to
participate in the Agricultural Producer Security Program – to meet their
annual filing requirement with the state without the expense of an audit.
The bill’s authors are Senators Dale Schultz and Ron Brown, and
Representatives Terri McCormick, Terry Musser, and Barbara Gronemus.
*
* Assembly Bill 197, authored by Representatives Scott Suder and Josh
Zepnick and Senator Dave Zien, adds the coyote, fox, and bobcat to the list
of captive wild animals already legal for use in training hound dogs for
hunting bear.
*
* Assembly Bill 519, authored by Representatives Scott Gunderson and
Barbara Gronemus and Senators Bob Welch and Russ Decker, bans baiting and
feeding only where Chronic Wasting Disease is known to be present in the
deer herd.