WED AM News: Republicans circulating bill to create ‘farmland link’ program; Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin touting new specialty cheese data

August 13, 2025

— Republican lawmakers are seeking to create a “farmland link” program that would help connect potential buyers with agricultural land.

Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, this week began circulating a cosponsorship memo for the legislation, LRB-3225/1 and LRB 4320/1, which would create the program.

It would be organized under DATCP’s Farm Center, and the agency would establish and maintain the program. It would help connect farmland owners with prospective buyers that plan to use the land only for ag purposes, with a goal of supporting new or beginning farmers.

Under the legislation, the Farm Center would be able to help with farmland transfers and work with nonprofits to identify potential participants, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. The center would also publish educational resources for the program.

DATCP would be required to operate a public website for the program and make annual reports to the governor and certain legislative committees about the farms, acres and users in the program for the prior year.

“Wisconsin agriculture is at a crossroads with an aging farming population and increasing challenges for young and beginning farmers to access land,” the lawmakers wrote. “Meanwhile, thousands of acres of farmland remain underutilized or risk falling out of agricultural production altogether.”

The number of farm operators in the state fell from 110,347 in 2017 to 105,920 in 2022, according to a UW-Madison report from last year. At the same time, the median age of these farmers rose from 56 years to 56.7 years, an increase of 1.3%.

Report authors note this may seem modest, but it represents a broader shift in the makeup of the state’s farming community. From 2017 to 2022, the number of farmers ages 34 or younger rose 1.6% while those ages 34-44 rose 10.3%. But farmers in the 45-54 age range declined 25.6% over that period while the number of farmers that are 75 and older increased by 22.4%.

The memo notes more than 30 other states have similar farmland link programs.

“By creating a structured and state-authorized farmland matching service, we can help preserve our agricultural heritage, promote intergenerational transfer of farms, and support the next wave of Wisconsin farmers,” authors wrote.

The cosponsorship deadline is 5 p.m. Monday.

See the bill text.

— Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is touting new data showing more than half of all U.S. specialty cheese is made in the state.

The group yesterday released figures showing specialty cheeses like feta and parmesan make up 28.3% of the state’s total cheese production. That increased by 7.6% from the previous year, according to the release.

Chad Vincent, CEO of DFW, notes Wisconsin has more than 1,200 licensed cheesemakers and the only master cheesemaker program in the country.

““This growth in specialty cheese isn’t just a statistic; it speaks to the culture of cheesemaking excellence that defines Wisconsin,” he said in a statement.

— Gov. Tony Evers wrote a letter urging the Trump administration to reverse course on cutting $29 million in aid that would have helped Wisconsin modernize its unemployment insurance system.

Evers said without the federal funding the state expected to receive, “the state will not be able to complete its UI system modernization project, which is designed to use innovative tools to help efficiently and effectively prevent benefit fraud and abuse.”

The Evers administration signed Act 4 in 2021 to direct the Department of Workforce Development to modernize the unemployment insurance system after the pandemic overwhelmed the system and led to significant delays. Since then, Evers has allocated $80 million in COVID-19 funds to modernize the system.

WisPolitics reported last week that the secretaries of Administration and DWD wrote the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee saying the state was forced to halt projects after the funding was rescinded in May.

That includes:

$11.25 million to modernize the current employer portal.
$6.8 million for “UI Equity” to “facilitate effective written communication with all UI customers through an agile and efficient systems interface.”
$6.3 million to improve fraud detection and prevention.
$4.5 million to bolster identity authentication and proofing tools.

In yesterday’s letter, Evers emphasized the “critical need” to continue Wisconsin’s work to modernize its UI systems and prioritize the state’s claims process. He urged the U.S. Secretary of Labor to reconsider terminating the funding.

“A future economic downturn and spike in unemployment claims could once again overwhelm the system and create acute hardship for Wisconsin families,” Evers said.

A U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson did not issue an immediate response to the letter in an email to WisPolitics, but confirmed the department received the letter and was “reviewing it carefully.”

— Workers’ compensation insurance rates for employers in the state will be 3.2% lower on average starting next month — the 10th straight annual decline but a smaller one than in recent years.

The state Department of Workforce Development yesterday announced the rate decrease that was approved by the state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance.

DWD cautions that specific policyholders will see different changes in their rates, as premiums are based in part on factors like the risk of injury for workers.

This year’s rate decline is smaller than the 10.5% decline from 2024, the 8.4% decline from 2023 and the 8.47% decline from 2022, figures from the agency show.

The update comes after a workers’ compensation fee schedule for hospital charges was included in the latest biennial budget following years of debate over the issue. Under the budget provision, DWD will establish a new framework for hospital fees charged under workers’ comp by mid-2027, so impacts on employers’ insurance rates likely won’t be seen until 2028.

The workers’ comp insurance program provides wage replacement and medical benefits to employees related to accidental injury or disease related to their work. Most employers in the state are required to have workers’ comp policies.

Rates for workers’ comp are adjusted each year by a committee of actuaries from the Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau, the agency notes.

See the release and see a recent story on the fee schedule in the budget.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— Supporters of a proposal to reroute Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline in northern Wisconsin argued the relocation will ensure energy access and boost the local economy.

But opponents, including the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, argued at a public hearing yesterday in Ashland that DNR failed to consider threats to the environment and tribal land before approving permits for the project.

Centergy Inc. President and CEO Angelina Laidlaw said Line 5 provides fuel to heat homes and power schools and businesses. She said a reroute would lead to a propane shortage, which would be particularly impactful in the winter months.

“The absence of the relocation would directly threaten our ability to stay safe and comfortable in a living environment during these winters,” she said, adding the project is “essential” to maintain energy stability in the region.

Enbridge is seeking to relocate a 12-mile segment of Line 5 and build a new 41-mile segment around the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation in northern Wisconsin. The proposal came after a federal judge ruled in 2022 Enbridge had illegally trespassed on the tribe’s land.

DNR approved permits for the pipeline relocation last year after a nearly four-year review, but the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa challenged the decision. DNR granted the tribe and environmental groups’ request to contest the permit approvals through a series of hearings, including yesterday’s session.

Tribal leaders and environmental groups have said the project is a threat to the environment — including wetlands, animal habitat and wild rice beds.

Gracie Waukechon, a member of the Bad River Band, said the reroute is “dangerous and unnecessary,” arguing the pipeline should be decommissioned. She pointed to Enbridge’s history of oil spills, including in Jefferson County last year and the Kalamazoo River in Michigan in 2010.

“When your oil contaminates our water, you destroy us,” Waukechon said. “You will contaminate my body, you will desecrate the grave of my father, you will destroy the future of all of those who will rely on the Great Lakes for fresh water. We cannot remain in the place we have always inhabited if it is contaminated with oil.”

DNR attorney Michael Kowalkowski yesterday argued DNR properly issued the permits after an extensive, multi-year process that he said was “one of, if not the most comprehensive environmental reviews in the history of the agency.” He asserted DNR accurately evaluated the project’s potential environmental impacts.

An Enbridge spokesperson told WisPolitics DNR found the project’s impacts will be temporary and isolated, “with no adverse effect to water quality or wetlands.” They also said “no parameters of Bad River’s water quality standards will be violated as a result of construction, which would occur far upstream.”

Ahead of the hearing, members of the Wisconsin Jobs and Energy Coalition defended DNR’s process leading up to the permit approvals. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission argued the relocation would imperil the Bad River Reservation, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

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