TUE AM News: WFBF leader says farmers ‘as concerned or more concerned’ about tariffs than other industries; State would see $80.1M over 15 years under proposed Purdue Pharma settlement

June 17, 2025

— The head of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation says farmers are “as concerned or more concerned than any other industry” about tariffs, though trade uncertainties haven’t yet had a major impact on agriculture.

WFBF President Brad Olson said in a recent interview the threat of tariffs hasn’t resulted in many changes to purchasing or planting in Wisconsin. In other industries, tariffs and related concerns are having a paralyzing effect as some businesses hold off on hiring and other investments. But Olson notes farmers are used to dealing with uncertainty, and tariffs are just one factor among many.

“Does it rain enough, doesn’t it rain enough? Does it rain at the right time or the wrong time? Right down to, on trade, how big of a crop does South America have, versus how big of a crop ours is,” he said. “We play in a world market when it comes to exporting, and at the end of the day, all we can ask and hope for is fair and even trade with other countries.”

Still, he added “we’re very concerned” about how tariffs could impact the industry and farmers are in a “wait and see” mindset as the situation changes day-by-day.

Olson said farm-level decisions about which crops to plant and in what quantity, as well as purchases of seeds and fertilizers, had already happened as international conversations around tariffs were taking place earlier this year.

But he acknowledged China is the top purchaser of soybeans grown in the United States, noting the trade war “could have lasting effects down the road” when the crop is harvested.

Wisconsin soybean farmers produced about 102 million bushels of soybeans in the 2023/2024 marketing year, according to the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, placing the state 14th among the 29 states that produce the crop.

“Tariffs could hit that hard, and more of those soybeans that are going into China could be purchased from Brazil,” Olson said. “That’s always an issue.”

He also noted the vast majority of a material called potash — used as fertilizer by farmers — comes from Canada, and trade conflicts with the United States could jeopardize that supply.

“There was enough potash, again for the most part, in the country for spring planting,” he said. “Now as we get to top-dressing alfalfa with potash … it could certainly have a detrimental effect if the tariffs stay on in Canada with 80% of our potash coming out of there.”

Ultimately, Olson hopes to see new trade agreements with other countries come together, noting “there has been very little new agriculture trade deals” in recent years.

“I think just getting trade deals in place … that are fair for both sides, right, is important,” he said. “Working with other countries to make sure that our products can fairly get to their markets, and their products can fairly get to ours.”

— Attorney General Josh Kaul has announced Wisconsin would get $80.1 million over 15 years under a proposed $7.4 billion multi-state settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners.

Kaul and 54 other AGs say they plan to proceed with the proposed settlement agreement with the company and the Sackler family, related to their “alleged role” in the nationwide opioid epidemic. Yesterday’s release from the state Department of Justice notes the settlement has not yet been finalized.

“While important progress is being made, there’s still a long way to go in the fight against the opioid epidemic,” said Kaul. “This resolution would mean more resources for efforts to combat this crisis.”

The announcement references the company’s activities to produce and aggressively market opioid products for decades, “fueling the largest drug crisis” in U.S. history under the ownership of the Sackler family. DOJ says the settlement would end the family’s control of the company and their ability to sell opioids in the United States.

Under the settlement, just over half of the funds would be distributed in the first three years, according to DOJ. While the Sacklers would pay $1.5 billion, Purdue would pay about $900 million in the first payment, $500 million after one year, another $500 million after two years and then $400 million after three years, the release shows.

Wisconsin and local governments in the state have now gotten settlements committing more than $861 million in funding from companies and people that allegedly played a role in the opioid crisis, including this new settlement.

See the release.

— Circulating legislation would prevent health insurers from requiring care providers to accept reimbursement through “virtual credit card payments,” a financial tool used for business-to-business payments.

Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Appleton, and Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, recently sent a cosponsorship memo to other lawmakers seeking support for the bill.

They note some health insurance companies are now requiring health care providers to accept virtual credit card payments. The bill defines this as an electronic funds transfer where an insurer issues a single-use series of numbers associated with a payment that can be charged to a specified dollar amount, and then expire after the payment.

While this tool can provide better security for some transactions, bill authors note the payments often include a “significant” transaction fee, up to 5% in some cases. They argue this is harming small business health care providers and making care more expensive for patients.

“Efficiencies gained by an insurance company should not come at the expense of patients,” they wrote in the memo. “Adding an extra expense in the form of transaction fees does not lower health care costs. Providers can best serve patients when they have options on how to accept payment, with or without fees that all parties can knowingly agree to from the outset.”

While the bill would bar insurance companies from requiring this payment system as the only option, it doesn’t prohibit it entirely. It would require that providers be informed about and given options for other payment options, the memo notes.

Under the bill, insurers wouldn’t be able to charge a fee “solely for the transmission” of electronic funds unless the provider has consented to the fee, along with other standard payment requirements.

The memo also notes 28 states have passed laws to keep insurers from requiring fee-based credit card payments as the only method for reimbursing providers.

The cosponsorship memo is 5 p.m. Friday.

See the memo.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is urging opposition to a GOP effort to block Medicaid from reimbursing patients for Planned Parenthood services as the nonprofit warns it will likely have to close centers and reduce staff under the proposal.

Republicans have included the proposed restriction in their federal reconciliation bill, which is currently before the U.S. Senate, over Planned Parenthood’s abortion services. The nonprofit also provides testing for sexually transmitted diseases, cancer screenings, birth control, emergency contraception and vaccinations.

Baldwin, D-Madison, spoke yesterday about the impact of losing Medicaid reimbursement on a virtual press call with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

“Today we are simply talking about access to basic care — care that Republicans say they support — like birth control, cancer screenings and annual checkups,” Baldwin said. “They aren’t just defunding some organization they don’t like and have it out for; they are ripping away health care and jacking up costs for families.”

She said Republicans are taking away care from patients to give handouts to large corporations, “the very same corporations that jack up the cost of prescription drugs and health care in the first place.”

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President & CEO Tanya Atkinson said the reconciliation bill represents an “unprecedented threat.”

“If the current federal budget bill becomes law, it would block Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. That means Planned Parenthood Wisconsin would be forced to close health centers, lay off dedicated staff and turn away patients who count on us every single day. This is not about politics, it’s about people,” Atkinson said.

Atkinson said she didn’t have specific estimates on how many Wisconsin centers could close or how many people could lose their jobs. But she noted Planned Parenthood has more than 50,000 patients across the state, and at least 60% are on Medicaid. She said losing that coverage would be “fairly insurmountable.”

See more in the release.

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— Shipping totals through the Port of Green Bay in May were 53% lower than at the same point last year, port officials announced.

The port moved about 124,000 tons of cargo last month, including cement, limestone, petroleum products and wood pulp. While the total tonnage is well below the level from May 2024, port officials say this reflects “expected shifts in commodity variability, supply chain patterns” and other seasonal changes.

Port Director Dean Haen says lower levels of key commodities like coal, limestone, salt and petroleum products “reflects the moderated demand and shipment pacing” in the region, while wood pulp totals have risen 342% over the year.

“We are still seeing the impacts of additional shipments of salt and coal from last year, along with typical year-to-year shifts in commodity availability, affecting coal and limestone,” Haen said in a statement.

See the release.

— A conservative law firm is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of a Wisconsin dairy farmer for continuing former President Joe Biden’s “discriminatory” DEI policies.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty said the USDA has not ended programs that deny financial assistance to farmers based on sex and race.

“We warned USDA and the Trump Administration: the Biden-era discriminatory programs must go,” WILL Deputy Legal Counsel, Dan Lennington said in a release. “We’ve been patient, but equality cannot wait. While President Trump has been perfectly clear that racial discrimination has no place in his Administration, USDA remains a notable hold out.”

The release said WILL client Adam Faust, who is white, is still subject to race-based policies affecting millions of farmers, despite successfully suing the Biden administration in 2021 over racial discrimination in the Farmer Loan Forgiveness Plan.

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