MON AM News: Circulating bill would create dairy farm innovation program; WI bank assets rise $3B year-over-year

June 2, 2025

— GOP lawmakers are circulating a bill to establish a dairy farm innovation program, which would offer no-interest loans to qualifying milk producers.

Sen. Rob Stafsholt of New Richmond and Rep. Clint Moses of Menomonie on Friday sent a cosponsorship memo to other lawmakers detailing the bill. The noted dairy farms in the state are struggling to find workers, limiting their competitiveness, but advancements in technology have enabled greater farm efficiency.

At the same time, they say consumers are increasingly “concerned about animal welfare and sustainability of the products they purchase, making the improvements realized by modern milking systems increasingly important.”

Authors argue the bill will help address these issues for small and medium family farms through their proposed loan program, which would support investments in technology such as automated milking systems. They point to “significant economic, animal welfare, and environmental benefits” of this approach.

“These systems will create labor efficiency by utilizing advanced technology, and they will also improve animal welfare by reducing stress, preventing disease, and enabling a faster diagnosis when disease does occur,” authors wrote.

Under the bill, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. would offer no-interest loans to milk producers in the state with between 50 and 714 producing cows. To be eligible, applicants must not have been subject to any enforcement actions related to environmental, worker safety, food processing, or food safety laws within the past five years, or be in an open bankruptcy proceeding.

Applicants must also only employ workers that are legally authorized to work in the state, according to analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Loans received through the program could only be used to improve farm efficiency, animal health and related care, or milk quality; reduce environmental impacts related to the farm’s operation; or to rent or construct buildings or technology needed to expand production capacity or manure management.

WEDC would be directed to prioritize applications that would create new skilled jobs, improve milk production or manure management practices, reduce environmental impacts or improve labor efficiency.

The cosponsorship deadline is Friday.

See the release and bill text.

— Total assets at state-chartered banks in Wisconsin rose by more than $3 billion over the year ending March 31, reaching $70.8 billion at the end of the first quarter.

That’s an increase from the $67.4 billion reported on March 31, 2024, according to the state Department of Financial Institutions. The agency on Friday issued figures for the first quarter of 2025, which shows net loans rose by $2.3 billion to reach $51.3 billion over year.

It also shows net operating income rose from $152.2 million to $185 million over the same period. And bank liquidity “remained stable,” DFI says, as the ratio of loans to assets declined slightly, from 72.77% to 72.39%.

Kim Swissdorf, DFI’s administrator for the Division of Banking, says state-chartered banks show continued stability through the first quarter.

“Further strengthening of earnings and capital positions helps to mitigate ongoing economic uncertainty and any potential for elevated credit risk,” she said in a statement.

Meanwhile, DFI reports assets at state-chartered credit unions rose by $1.6 billion since the end of 2024 to $67.6 billion. Outstanding loans also increased by nearly $355 million over that period and shares and deposits rose by $1.4 billion.

DFI Office of Credit Unions Director Thomas Theune says credit unions in Wisconsin “have posted solid loan and asset growth during the first quarter of 2025 and performed well with declining delinquency and positive income ratios.”

See the banks release and the credit unions release.

— UnityPoint Health – Meriter and labor union SEIU’s health care division have agreed to a two-year contract for nurses following months of negotiations.

The hospital yesterday announced its nurses have voted to ratify the agreement, saying it is “now final and further illustrates the value Meriter places on its nurses.” Sherry Casali, the hospital’s chief nursing executive, says “we are extremely pleased” to reach a contract.

“Nurses are critical to what we do each day, and we believe that this contract recognizes their skill, commitment and passion,” she said in a statement.

The finalized contract comes after an initial tentative agreement was announced on Saturday, which followed multiple days of nurses striking as both organizations were bargaining. As that process was ongoing, the hospital said SEIU Wisconsin had been blocking a dock entrance and creating delays for a supply loading dock.

UnityPoint Health says it includes competitive wage increases “on top of what is already one of the highest paid nurse workforces” in the state. The hospital says it will help retain long-term staff and recruit new nurses.

SEIU did not immediately respond to a request for comment yesterday.

See the hospital’s statement here.

— WARF and California investment firm Nexus NeuroTech Ventures are providing $100,000 in research funding for three UW-Madison projects focused on neurological disorders.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation recently announced the funding recipients, who were selected from among 13 applicants. The Neurotechnology Challenge Grant is meant to support new approaches for diagnosing and treating disorders of the brain.

John Propst, who leads Nexus NeuroTech Ventures’ Incubator Program, says each funded project “embodies the kind of science-driven innovation our firm seeks to back — technologies that are not only novel, but also grounded in strong scientific fundamentals with clear pathways to impact patients living with brain disorders.”

Recipients include: Larissa Albantakis, a psychiatry researcher exploring a method for personalized brain stimulation; Ali Mohebi, a psychology specialist with a project focused on the neurotransmitter dopamine; and Vatsan Raman, a biochemist working on Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.

See the release.

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— In the latest GOP radio address, Sen. André Jacque highlights the impact of Wisconsin’s dairy industry on the state economy for June Dairy Month.

The New Franken Republican says that the dairy industry has a $53 billion economic impact, contributing to about half of all farm revenues, and supports more than 120,000 jobs.

“Every dollar generated by dairy adds 93 cents in additional revenue to Wisconsin’s economy,” Jacque says. “But the impact of dairy goes beyond dollars and cents; it is also a vital backbone of Wisconsin’s culture and values.”

Jacque invites listeners to support dairy farmers by partaking in a June Dairy Month breakfast event.

“You’ll discover — in the most delicious way possible — how these hard-working family farmers contribute to the fabric that makes our home communities so unique,” Jacque says.

— In the latest Dem radio address, Gov. Tony Evers discusses his administration’s goal to improve Wisconsin’s roads, bridges and infrastructure and celebrates the start of his sixth “Pothole Patrol” tour.

“Folks, our efforts to fix Wisconsin local roads and infrastructure are critical to building the 21st-century infrastructure needed to support a 21st-century economy,” Evers says. “And every pothole filled, road improved or bridge reconstructed makes people’s lives a little better, a little easier and a whole lot safer.”

Evers says that his administration has repaired over 8,600 miles of roads and 2,000 bridges across the state in the last six years with more projects scheduled for the upcoming construction season. To further this goal, he calls for the continued investment into Wisconsin’s transportation system in the next state budget.

“Fixing our roads and bridges must continue to be a top priority for our state,” Evers said.

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ENVIRONMENT