FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Suzanne Fanning, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin; WBA leader expects ‘uneven growth’ to continue this year

January 16, 2026

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— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Suzanne Fanning, chief marketing officer for Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

She discusses top takeaways from the group’s 2026 Wisconsin Cheese Trends Report, which tracks changes in consumer preferences and highlights how businesses are marketing their dairy products.

“People are so interested in sustainability, and that’s also something that’s going to extend into our food,” Fanning said, adding “you finish making a great product, but then what happens with everything else that you used?”

She noted some cheesemakers are using whey byproducts to create alcoholic drinks like vodka and gin. At the same time, the state’s Center for Dairy Research is looking at making “bioplastics,” natural colors and prebiotics with whey.

Meanwhile, consumers are increasingly concerned with the healthiness of the products they’re buying, Fanning noted. She said this trend toward “wellness” considerations is impacting the dairy industry as well.

“Everybody’s saying, eat more protein, eat more protein … and cheese is such a great source of protein,” she said. “One ounce of parmesan has 11 grams of protein, so … with everyone trying so hard to pack as much protein as they can into their diet, cheese is just such a wonderful source of that.”

Fanning also stresses the importance of authenticity to Wisconsin’s cheese industry. She added cheesemakers in the state are keeping an eye on this and other trends, adding some are experimenting with new types of products to match consumer demand.

“When you look at Wisconsin cheese, you can see exactly where it came from,” she said. “You know the farmers, you know the cheesemakers, you understand the process … there’s something to that fabulous authenticity.”

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

— Wisconsin Bankers Association President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels expects “uneven growth” in the state and national economy to continue this year.

The group yesterday issued its annual Wisconsin Economic Report, which includes perspectives from various business sector leaders. In her own segment, Oswald Poels noted 2025 was characterized by slow economic growth amid national policy uncertainty and tariff disruptions.

“Some sectors fared better than others, while some parts within a sector did better than other segments,” she wrote. “There was also a widening gap between the wealthy and the middle and lower classes.”

While the state’s banking sector remained “very strong” throughout last year with increasing lending and deposits, past due loans of banks headquartered in Wisconsin have also risen. But they remain below national levels, according to Oswald Poels.

“The banking industry is seeing some weakness in certain narrow consumer, business, and ag portfolios generally across the state,” she wrote. “These challenges are primarily resulting from a slower GDP growth early in the year, tariff and trade uncertainty and rising cost pressures.”

She expects these “stressed” sectors of the economy will remain challenged early this year. As an example, she points to commodity price changes driving volatility in agriculture, a trend she expects to continue.

Still, many agribusinesses and livestock farmers in the state are doing well, she wrote, adding manufacturing has also remained strong in Wisconsin. At the same time, the housing market is stabilizing as interest rates drift downward.

“For the banking industry, these factors should result in continued solid loan demand across all loan categories and stable deposit levels throughout next year,” she wrote.

See the report and find others here.

The Wisconsin Bankers Association is partnering with WisPolitics-State Affairs and WisBusiness to host the Wisconsin Economic Forecast Luncheon on April 29 in Madison. See event details and register here.

— The head of the Wisconsin Hospital Association says hospitals’ recent improvement in financial performance “must be viewed with caution” as broader trends threaten the industry.

WHA President and CEO Kyle O’Brien wrote about the path ahead for hospitals and health systems in the WBA’s annual Wisconsin Economic Report.

In the section focused on the health care industry, O’Brien noted its recent “modest” financial improvement with a 2.2% average operating margin for health systems in 2024. That’s the first time the average margin has been positive in the last three years, he said.

But that good news for the sector comes as uncompensated care — including charity care and bad debt — rose nearly 30% from 2023 and 2024. At the same time, labor and supply costs are outstripping rate increases for Medicare and commercial insurance, even as the federal program is making up an increasing share of the payer mix.

Hospitals in the state have seen the number of Medicare patients rise by 6% since 2016, according to O’Brien, matched with a similar decline in the share of patients with commercial insurance. He says each percentage point shift in that direction results in a $200 million revenue hit to Wisconsin hospitals, not including physician and provider services.

“Since 2016, this has resulted in a staggering $1.2 billion reduction in revenue for Wisconsin hospitals, all because patients are retiring onto Medicare and coming off commercial insurance,” he wrote.

Plus, he said insurance companies are “making it more difficult” for providers to get reimbursed while patients are waiting longer for care.

But at the same time, O’Brien notes the last state budget included a Medicaid rate increase through an enhanced state-directed payment program.

“While the program awaits federal approval, this could provide substantial resources targeted to hospitals serving Medicaid patients and offset at least some of their losses,” he wrote.

See the report.

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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— Assembly members voted by broad margins to stop taxing tips for the next three years.

AB 38 would exempt employees from paying state income tax on cash and electronic tips through 2028. The Assembly voted 61-33 to send the bill to the Senate, with a handful of Democrats crossing party lines.

“No tax on tips is a way for us to help our working class become financially stronger,” Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, said in a press conference ahead of the floor vote.

The exemption covers tipped income up to $25,000 and phases out for individuals whose federal gross income exceeds $150,000 per year or joint filers whose income exceeds $300,000. It mirrors a federal deduction on tipped wages passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

GOP leadership framed the bill as a win for affordability amid rising costs of living in the state.

Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, spoke on the floor in the bill’s favor, ending his remarks by cajoling the minority party to “show, like other states have, that Democrats are OK with voting for a tax cut.”

The GOP majority, however, rejected an amendment from Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, that would have increased the tipped minimum wage to $5.90 per hour.

In a statement on the bill’s passage, the state director for the National Federation of Independent Business says the change would make Wisconsin more competitive while helping small businesses hire and retain workers.

“Workforce shortages have heavily impacted Wisconsin’s small business community,” Luke Bacher said. “No Tax on Tips improves employee satisfaction and reduces administrative costs.”

See more here.

— U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil pushed back against efforts to expand the scope of his stock trading bill while defending it as the “most transformational” effort to regulate Congress in years.

The Stop Insider Trading Act, introduced Monday, would bar members of Congress and their immediate family from purchasing new stock and require members to notify their intent to sell their current stock holdings at least a week in advance of the sale.

Steil, R-Janesville, said Wednesday that his bill was the most significant effort regulating Congressional stock trading in years to make it to committee — though it was a committee chaired by Steil.

He said his bill placed a check on unethical practices while allowing members to maintain their stock holdings.

“The focus of the bill is not to make elected officials poor, the focus of the bill is to make sure they can’t benefit from insider information,” Steil said.

Congressional Democrats, however, are lining up against the bill, arguing it does not go far enough.

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, noted in a statement to WisPolitics that the bill as written would not cover the president, vice president, or other members of the executive branch and would not bar the purchase or sale of other investment vehicles.

“This does the bare minimum to move the ball forward,” Moore said.

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