CHIPPEWA FALLS (WQOW) – Wisconsin is known as ‘the Badger State’ but one other thing we’re also famous for is agriculture.
On Friday dozens of area farmers are expressing concerns about the future of the industry.
On Friday dozens of area farmers are expressing concerns about the future of the industry. They gathered to attend a town hall discussion hosted by the Wisconsin Farmers Union in Chippewa Falls.
State Representatives Christian Phelps, Jodi Emerson, and Jeff Smith attended. Congressional Representatives Mark Pocan also attended as well as Darin Von Ruden from the Wisconsin Farmers Union.
Many farmers asked questions to the leaders about the future of farming.
Les Danielson from Cadott said his largest concern is how the announcement of Canadian tariffs will impact his livelihood.
“Do I think things will get better going forward? No, I don’t, we’re used… we’ve seen this movie before, we’re used to chaos. Some people like that chaos but I don’t want to go back to large tariffs, I don’t want to go back to farmers receiving most of their checks coming from the government,” he said.
Other discussions included confusion over the federal freeze, a lack of young farmers in the profession, and little support from the state and federal government.
Danielson hopes his message will resonate with state and federal representatives. Like many others in attendance, he hopes him and his fellow farmers will get the support they need moving forward.
All of the representatives agreed to hold an agricultural roundtable again in the future. They are also encouraging anyone with questions or concerns about to contact their offices.
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