WISCONSIN – Wisconsin State Senator Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) says he sent a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins this week asking what federal supports will be available to Wisconsin farmers who may face economic impact from international trade and agricultural tariffs that will likely result of the Trump administrations actions this week to impose tariffs on goods across the globe.
Below is the letter Pfaff sent to Secretary Rollins:
Secretary Brooke Rollins
United States Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
Dear Secretary Rollins,
Wisconsin is one of our nation’s agricultural leaders, and our farmers feed the world. Wisconsin agriculture is a major economic driver contributing $116.3 billion annually to our state’s economy. Food processing activity contributes another $107 billion to industrial sales. Agricultural businesses in Wisconsin constitute 353,900 jobs (9.5% of jobs in the state) and provide $21.2 billion in labor income.
Wisconsinites are proud of our agricultural roots and the culture it creates. Many of our small towns’ annual festivals celebrate our shared agricultural heritage–growing everything from corn to grain to soybeans and cranberries. We are a state where thousands of football fans proudly wear foam cheeseheads to root for the Green Bay Packers and remind the world that we are America’s Dairyland–where artisanal cheesemakers make over 500 different types and varieties of cheese sought after and enjoyed by consumers across the globe.
Consequently, any actions taken by the federal government regarding international trade and agricultural tariffs will have an outsized impact on this critical economic engine for our state. Tariffs and reciprocal tariffs may have a devastating economic impact on our family farmers, rural residents and the thousands of local producers and workers up and down the agricultural supply chain.
What financial assistance is the USDA planning to provide our state’s farmers and those industries and workers that are part of our state’s agricultural supply chain as a result of trade disruptions? What efforts does the USDA plan to undertake to replace lost market share?
I ask for your leadership in advocating for Wisconsin’s agricultural industry, and for transparency regarding the downside risk of a trade war on our state’s farmers, their families, and the communities that rely upon them to thrive.
Thank you, and I look forward to working with you to support the health of Wisconsin’s agricultural economy.
Sincerely,
Brad Pfaff
Wisconsin State Senate
32nd District
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