Last week, AEM had the honor of hosting Secretary Randy Romanski of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at the association’s headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Secretary Romanski joined representatives from BouMatic, Kondex Corporation, and Kuhn North America for a roundtable discussion on the state’s agriculture trends, workforce challenges, and opportunities to improve infrastructure.
Heading into 2023, the meeting was an important opportunity to highlight AEM’s priorities for the year and how we are working to accomplish our goals. The expansion of precision agriculture remains at the forefront of agriculture policies for the association and its member companies. Citing the AEM Environmental Benefits of Precision Agriculture study and the Environmental Benefits of Modern Dairy, Hay, and Forage Production Technologies study, attendees discussed the positive impacts of new precision agriculture technologies, like robotic milkers and precision sprayers, to both farmers and consumers. Secretary Romanski also heard about challenges caused by inadequate or deteriorating infrastructure across the state and confirmed that improving infrastructure and expanding rural broadband continues to be a focus for the state of Wisconsin. AEM will continue to work on modernizing our nation’s infrastructure in the years ahead, and the association will certainly work with Wisconsin leaders to help bring the state’s infrastructure into the 21st century.
During the meeting, Secretary Romanski pointed to the fact that Wisconsin’s agriculture industry employs one out of every nine workers and contributes $104.8 billion annually to the state’s economy. The Badger State is also home to 64,100 farms across 14.2 million acres and 23 percent of the nation’s dairy production. The industry will be able to make an even greater impact when our elected officials put policies into place that reward innovation, growing farm income, improving enabling infrastructure and improving consumer communication.
Going into 2023, AEM will continue to strengthen our relationship with state agencies across the nation. If you are interested in meeting with a state official or legislator, please email AEM’s Advocacy Team at advocacy@aem.org.
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