"Today is a really important day for us,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack said on Tuesday, March 26 at Great River Milling in Fountain City. “It's an opportunity to create a different narrative about American agriculture: it's innovative and committed to sustainability." Secretary Vilsack announced the first climate-smart certified product available to consumers: long grain white rice. The rice was grown using climate-smart practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60-95% and reduce water use by at least 33%. This new climate-smart rice is part of the USDA Partnerships ..read more

The Community Room at the Oshkosh Food Co-op is painted a sunny yellow with warm lighting and large windows that look out on the street. On the cold and rainy evening of Monday, March 25, Farm Climate Smart WI, for the first time, gathered a group of farmers, community members, and other local organizations together in the cozy Community Room to talk about building a more connected and resilient food system in Northeast Wisconsin.  The event kicked off with the perfect comfort meal for a rainy day: a chicken dinner with corn, mashed potatoes, three kinds of salads, milk, and iced tea. W ..read more

by Brittany Olson, WFU Rural Correspondent Anyone who knows me knows I talk about mental health a lot. It wasn’t until after my first panic attack in elementary school that my dad told me he had panic attacks, too, and how my grandpa would get them every time he was signed up to give communion at Mass. He vividly remembered Grandpa, the strong and silent type, hyperventilating into a paper bag on the porch. Part of Grandpa Statz’s deal was that he didn’t exactly love being in front of people as much as he loved being Catholic, and part of it was a lifelong battle with anxiety. Like a lot of fa ..read more

As part of the new, regional project Farm Climate Smart WI, Wisconsin Farmers Union will be engaging with small and mid-sized farmers located in the Fox-Wolf watershed to empower them to implement climate-smart practices. By working at the watershed level, the project is taking a hyper-regional approach to supporting farmers.  The Fox-Wolf watershed is located within ,,sixteen counties in Northeast Wisconsin and has a drainage basin that makes up almost 10% of the state. Within the watershed there are three smaller basins: the Wolf River, Upper Fox River, and Lower Fox River basins ..read more

by Tara Daun, WFU Watershed Coordinator In early February, Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Glenwood City hosted another of their Uncommon Conversations events. These events focus on bringing the community together to talk about big ideas or issues of community importance. For this one, the church partnered with the Hay River Farmer-Led Watershed Council to discuss water quality and agriculture locally.  As participants entered, they were greeted by a map of the watersheds in St. Croix and adjacent counties. They placed a pin in the map noting where they reside and took a look at what water ..read more

Farm Climate Smart WI, a new collaborative project with the goal of empowering Northeast Wisconsin farmers to implement climate-smart agriculture practices, is set to host an educational event at the Oshkosh Food Co-Op on March 25, 2024 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.  The event, Growing Climate Smart Agriculture in Northeast Wisconsin, will feature a meet and greet with Wisconsin Farmers Union, a presentation about climate-smart agriculture and the new Farm Climate Smart WI project, and a Q&A session. This event is free, family friendly, and open to the public. Register at ,,wisconsinfarmers ..read more

On January 30th, a Calumet County Circuit Court rejected a reckless attempt to eliminate environmental oversight of the state’s largest livestock facilities. The lawsuit ,,was filed in May 2023 against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce on behalf of Wisconsin Dairy Alliance and Venture Dairy Cooperative, lobbying groups that represent the interests of large livestock facilities known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).  The lobbying groups alleged the DNR lacked authority to require large livestock operations ..read more

A Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Story In 1962, Nina Much’s parents purchased a farm on County Road O in Manawa. Their dream was to become pastured dairy farmers and support their growing family. Much was just one year old at the time and by nine years old she was milking her family’s cows. Sixty-one years after her parents originally purchased the farm, Much is honoring their legacy by managing a small herd of cattle on the property and enriching her community’s food system, with support from the Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (,,WI LFPA).  Much’s farm, Herita ..read more

MADISON – The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission that Wisconsin’s legislative maps are unconstitutional and must be redrawn before the 2024 election.   Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden issued the following statement: "For over a decade, the Wisconsin Farmers Union has prioritized addressing the issue of extreme partisan gerrymandering in our state, to such an extent that it was once again adopted by our grassroots membership at our annual convention in early December to be a ‘Special Order of Business’ for the coming year. Today's ru ..read more

State Supports Farmers to Protect Local Waters and Improve Soil Health By Tara Daun, WFU Watershed Coordinator Back in September, farmer-led councils across the state submitted applications to receive funding. They applied for support to promote education and activities to improve the quality of water coming off of agricultural fields in their neighborhoods. In early November as cover crops greened up fields , local groups were notified of funding awards. Each council could apply for up to $40,000 for activities in 2024. The beauty of this project is the flexibility it provides. Farmers are w ..read more