FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Laura Dresser, High Road Strategy Center; WFBF leader says expanding H-2A to dairy is ‘step in the right direction’

June 26, 2026

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with returning guest Laura Dresser, associate director of the High Road Strategy Center at UW-Madison.

The conversation is focused on the center’s latest report, “Can’t Survive on $7.25,” which makes the case that Wisconsin’s minimum wage is too low to live on and explores the potential impacts of raising it.

“We’re just getting left further and further behind, and I think it matters especially for workers in the most vulnerable positions,” Dresser said, adding “on every one of Wisconsin’s borders there is a labor standard that exceeds Wisconsin’s labor standards.”

She discusses how higher minimum wage levels elsewhere in the Midwest play a role in the state’s efforts to attract workers.

“I’m sure people on the border have to compete with those wages, because across the border, wages are just remarkably higher,” she said, pointing to Illinois’ minimum wage of $15 an hour, Michigan’s rate of nearly $14 and Minnesota’s rate of about $12.

The report details how raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage to $20 by 2030 would impact workers, noting the move would boost wages for more than a fourth of workers in the state.

Dresser acknowledged that may seem “very aggressive” given the regional landscape, but noted it’s based in part on an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

“They’re starting to look to two-thirds of the median wage as a good way to think about what’s possible for a minimum wage,” she said, adding “there has been so much work raising the minimum wage all across this nation since 2012.”

Since that time, when the “Fight for $15” movement got its start in New York, extensive research has been conducted on the impacts of wage increases across the country, according to Dresser.

“That two-thirds of the median, you don’t get into big disemployment effects, you maintain pretty strong growth in low-wage sectors and you deliver a lot of money to low-wage workers that makes a real difference in terms of their ability to deal with the cost of living,” she said.

Listen to the podcast here and see the full list of WisBusiness podcasts.

See more in a recent story.

— The head of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation says allowing dairy farms to participate in the H-2A migrant worker program is “a step in the right direction” that will help seasonal operations.

“It will certainly help, that’s for sure,” WFBF President Brad Olson said in a recent interview. “It’s nice to see the administration recognize the importance of the agriculture workforce, not just here in Wisconsin but around the country.”

The Trump administration last week rolled out new guidance expanding the H-2A temporary ag worker program to include dairy farms that can show they have a seasonal need for labor.

“They are going to have to prove that the need is temporary and finite … that’s maybe the one downfall to this, it does not solve the dairy farmer issue of year-round labor because that’s what most dairy farms need,” Olson said.

He also said dairy farms aren’t alone in this, noting hospitality and construction are the top two industries for employing immigrant workers on a year-round basis.

The H-2A program is used by ag employers to bring on temporary workers from outside the country. In Wisconsin, it’s largely used by crop farms, greenhouses and plant nurseries, as dairy farms previously weren’t allowed to participate.

The number of H-2A worker certifications in the state has risen steadily from 176 in 2013 to 3,030 in 2025, according to the state Department of Workforce Development. Olson expects a “slow continual increase” in the program’s utilization in the state.

“We will see farmers adapt to this and use it on an as-needed basis,” he said.

While much of the work done at dairy farms is year-round, Olson provided some examples of what could qualify for the program, such as temporarily filling fieldwork positions from the spring through the fall, and bringing on extra workers to set up a new livestock facility or help with multiple new contracts for raising calves.

“As that farm applying for that H-2A, you’re going to have to be very specific about what those workers are going to be doing, and the timeframe that they’re going to be doing it,” he said.

The expansion to dairy follows federal changes to wage rates for H-2A earlier this year, which are expected to slash wages by nearly a third for workers coming to Wisconsin under the program. See more in a recent story.

— Sixty percent of childcare slots statewide are considered affordable, according to a new annual survey gauging childcare costs.

That’s up from 41% in 2025, the latest childcare market rate survey released by the Department of Children and Families shows.

Still, the 60% affordability percentage – current as of December – is below the 75% federal and state target affordability threshold.

DCF warns that the end of a state childcare subsidy payment program means prices will likely rise for families.

The percentages are based on a comparison between the price of childcare slots and the maximum applicable rate to cover costs through the state’s childcare subsidy program, Wisconsin Shares. If the Wisconsin Shares rate is at or above the price of the childcare slot, it is considered affordable.

The analysis focuses on full-time care and private market prices, excluding providers for whom 75% or more of the children they serve are on Wisconsin Shares.

DCF’s report notes that the growth in affordability coincided with more than $123 million in the 2025-27 state budget for Wisconsin Shares. The investment, which went into effect in October, went toward setting the maximum rate for Wisconsin Shares subsidies at or above the price of 75% of childcare slots.

The report notes childcare prices continued to rise in the period between the March 2025 market survey and the latest survey, meaning the increased subsidies ended up falling under the 75% affordability threshold by the time prices were reevaluated in December.

Without the Wisconsin Shares rate increase, just 25% of childcare slots would have been considered affordable as of December.

The survey found the average annual cost for full-time infant care was $17,400 for childcare center-based programs, 22% of the median household income, and $13,000 for family-based childcare programs, 17% of the median household income.

The DCF report notes providers are likely to raise prices again to compensate for increased expenses when the state’s Child Care Bridge Payment Program expires at the end of the month.

Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal initially sought to invest $480 million to continue the Child Care Counts program, which he created using federal pandemic relief dollars. Evers later reached a deal with Republicans to use the interest generated from Child Care Counts to provide $110 million for the new bridge payment program.

DCF Secretary Jeff Pertl said everyone is feeling the impact of the national affordability crisis, and the end of Child Care Counts and the bridge payments are compounding the issue.

“Gov. Evers’ historic investments worked, getting us through the pandemic and stabilizing an industry in crisis. But now, child care will cost more than UW tuition and as much as a mortgage. It’s unsustainable,” Pertl said.

— State officials have submitted a $218.2 million grant application for a proposed expansion of Amtrak Hiawatha passenger train service into Dane, Jefferson and Waukesha counties.

Gov. Tony Evers yesterday announced the application was filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation, detailing a proposal to expand existing rail infrastructure to extend Chicago-to-Milwaukee lines to include Madison, Watertown and Pewaukee.

The total project cost for the extension is $272.8 million, according to a spokesperson for the guv’s office.

The requested grant would help pay for improvements to bridges, tracks and crossings and adding temporary station platforms in the cities target with the extension plan. The guv’s office says the project would create about 200 permanent jobs and result in $46 million in annual economic benefits while making it easier for people to travel between Chicago and more Wisconsin cities.

“This is an important effort that should have happened a long time ago, and I’m hopeful the Trump Administration will approve our request so we can get this done,” Evers said in a statement.

The application follows Madison recently finishing a Passenger Rail Station Study with the state DOT late last year, assessing various options for adding an Amtrak station to Wisconsin’s capital city.

See the release.

See more in an earlier story.

— The Wisconsin Data Center Coalition has launched an interactive supply chain mapping website to showcase the components and businesses involved with data centers in the state.

The site features an interactive graphic detailing elements of data centers, from its core IT structure with servers and network monitoring to electrical systems, HVAC and more. By hovering over the various sections, users can see the number of Wisconsin companies and coalition partners that play a role in that part of the industry.

For example, the IT and network segment of the data center supply chain involves 1,028 businesses in the state and nine WIDCC partners.

Tricia Braun, the coalition’s executive director, says the notion that data centers are simply large buildings filled with servers “only tells a small part” of the story.

“Behind every data center is a Wisconsin supply chain that includes utilities, construction firms, manufacturers, electrical contractors, logistics providers, technology companies, workforce partners, and many others,” she said in the release. “This tool helps make that economic ecosystem visible.”

See the release.

— Washington County is getting a $1.5 million federal grant to help redevelop brownfield sites, local officials announced.

The county was tapped for the Brownfield Coalition Assessment Grant by the EPA, as the lead member of a coalition including West Bend, Hartford and the village of Kewaskum. Projects throughout the county are eligible for funding, according to the announcement.

Similar grants were provided to the county in 2014 and 2017, supporting work to repurpose former manufacturing facilities in the area. The county says it’s redeveloped 61 acres of brownfield land with 479 new housing units.

County Executive Josh Schoemann said brownfield projects “likely would not happen without assistance” due to regulatory compliance hurdles.

“Every brownfield redeveloped allows us to revitalize our communities with new workforce housing, hotel accommodations, commercial properties or other job-creating businesses while preserving farmland and putting properties back on the tax rolls,” he said in a statement.

The county points to a “significant need” for more assessment funding, noting priority areas around downtown areas throughout the county.

See the release.

Listen to an earlier podcast with Schoemann.

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