Ag should be a bipartisan priority

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is right, agriculture should be a bipartisan priority. Farming, particularly dairy farming, is a big part of Wisconsin’s culture and identity. But it has been a struggle for the dairy industry, with family farms being lost, and record number of farm bankruptcies. That is why Governor Tony Evers called a special session of the legislature to convene yesterday to take up three bills designed to prop up Wisconsin’s dairy industry. But instead of actually debating the Governor’s ideas, Vos and other legislative leaders are choosing to ignore the Governor’s calls for action. They opened a special session as ordered yesterday, but took no action. And he criticized Evers for going on a media tour for promoting his ideas. He claims the Governor is putting politics first, and people second. But how is refusing to hold a hearing putting the people first? If they have other ideas for saving America’s Dairyland, they should bring them up and debate them too. All ideas should be brought to the table. The goal should be to help Wisconsin farmers, not score political points. Vos is right that agriculture should be a bipartisan priority, but that means both sides work together. So far, the only action from legislative leaders has been to shoot down the Governor’s ideas. And that does nothing to help Wisconsin’s dairy farmers.