Wisconsin Farmers Focused on Inflation, Immigration Ahead of November Election

Fiat Farming

Farmers and voters in rural Wisconsin have the same priorities as most other voters in the state.

The head of the government relations for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau said during a question and answer session on WisEye on Monday that inflation and immigration are the main worries for the state’s farmers.

“In the farm economy inflation is probably the biggest driver. Farm input costs are up about 30% over the year’s average. If you ask a farmer how the price of corn is they're going to say bad. And if you ask him how soybeans are, they're going to say worse,” Jason Mugnaini said.

Mugaini was part of a roundtable discussion on rural Wisconsin and the 2024 election.

Nearly 1.5 million people are considered to live in rural Wisconsin. The state says 45 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties are considered rural, and that doesn’t include the farming areas of larger counties like rural Dane County for example.

“At the federal level, the Farm Bill [and] farm programs are going to be a big challenge,” he added. “But we're also hearing similar things as other voters in the state, access to healthcare, child care, infrastructure are all important.”

And he said immigration is important to the state’s farmers. Particularly immigration reform.

“At the federal level, in terms of undocumented laborers or undocumented immigrants, I think in totality that's a much larger conversation,” Mugnaini said. “But as far as the agricultural economy is concerned, maybe some special considerations for those who are engaging in agriculture is something that I think we would be looking at strongly.”

Locally, Mugnaini said Wisconsin farmers need healthcare reforms to help them deal with both their physical and mental health.

He said a robust telehealth program in Wisconsin could literally be a lifesaver for some farmers.

“You've got a farm economy that is very challenging. Very, very tight margins,” Mugnaini said. “Last year, we saw the hundred-weight of milk drop. This year we're seeing corn and soybeans drop, we're seeing inflation increase and you have high debt loads. And a lot of our multi-generational farmers are sitting there saying ‘Well grandpa kept the farm alive, dad kept the farm alive, and now it's up to me to keep that multi-generational farm alive. And they're looking at the debt load, they're looking at the financial stress that they have in this economy, and it's an incredible load of stress.”