By Hope Kirwan
Wisconsin farmers are joining a nationwide call for Congress to provide adequate funding and staff for federal farm programs.
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association and three other state organizations signed on to a letter urging congressional leaders to pass what policymakers are calling the “Farm Bill 2.0.”
It’s been more than seven years since Congress passed a new farm bill, a package of legislation that covers a wide variety of farm-related programs including crop insurance and conservation programs as well as food assistance for low-income families.
Farm bill programs are typically updated every five years, but Congress failed to pass a new package in 2023 and 2024.
Last year, Republicans used the One Big Beautiful Bill to fund several core agriculture programs such as crop insurance while making cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
In the letter sent to House leaders on Friday, farmer groups urged lawmakers to address the remaining programs through legislation passed in March by the House Agriculture Committee. The groups said the “complete suite of programs” in the farm bill are “essential to ensuring the resilience, productivity and global competitiveness” of the country’s ag industry.
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