Growing a vibrant dairy industry

MADISON, Wis. — Although he did not grow up on a farm, Wisconsin State Republican Sen. Patrick Testin embraces the importance of agriculture, not only in the 24th Senate District, but throughout the state.

Testin, currently serving his third term in the Senate, has been named the chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Revenue, as well as president pro tempore of the Senate. He also holds the Senate vice-chair position on the budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance.

“When I first ran in 2016, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to give back,” Testin said. “I’ve been very fortunate to live in a state that has given me many opportunities. I’ve felt like I have always been called to serve. I spent 11 months going door-to-door to hear directly from the people. That perseverance paid off. I’m grateful to have the opportunity and privilege to represent the people of central Wisconsin.”

Since taking office in 2017, Testin has held a seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, something he considers important because he represents a district that has a wide variety of agricultural industries.

“I’m four or five generations removed from the farm,” Testin said. “But in a district like mine, I thought it was important to dive right in, headfirst, on ag issues.”

Each month, Testin spends a day working a shift at a local business as part of his “On the Job” series. Those visits help him learn more about the impact each employer plays in the local and state economies.

“I was at Feltz Family Farms in Stevens Point the day they made their very first legal batch of cheese curds,” Testin said. “That was really cool to see and be a part of.”

The influence of the dairy industry on the state’s economy is impressive, Testin said.

“Since 2017, we’ve seen a roughly 16% increase in the dairy industry’s economic impact on the state,” Testin said. “That growth is a result of the efforts we’ve taken — like the Dairy Innovation Hub and the Dairy Processor Grant Program – and the things we are doing to increase exports and really highlight our great history of dairy.”

With the 107th Wisconsin legislative session underway, Testin plans to continue to press for programs that benefit agriculture.

“In the last budget, we approved $150 million for the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program and that was wildly popular,” Testin said. “We received nearly $500 million in grant requests, which tells me there is still a lot more to be done to make sure our farm-to-market roads are being taken care of. We’ve been hearing directly from our farmers and our local town and county officials, and they want to see that continue. I’m going to be a strong advocate for that.”

Addressing the shortage of veterinarians in rural Wisconsin is another issue Testin sees.

“This seems to be a common theme that we see within a number of these types of professions in the healthcare field, whether it be for people or for animals,” Testin said. “There is going to be a push from the higher education aids board to develop a rural veterinary scholarship program to entice those who go to vet school here to move to rural areas for loan assistance. The caveat is they’ll have to spend a certain percentage of that time servicing both food and fiber animals.”

Disease outbreaks that have devastated the poultry industry and threaten the dairy industry he said concern him.

“Seeing the direct impact on our food supply chain during the pandemic was pretty scary,” Testin said. “I think we’re in a better position, but we need to continue to build to insulate ourselves from another catastrophe. We can do that by keeping our food supply as local as we can. Things like meat processing grants have also helped in the wake of that.”

Industry gains made by programs like the Dairy Innovation Hub he said have impressed him.

“Finding new products that can broaden our dairy exports is vital,” Testin said. “Things like making lactose-free cheese, creating valuable products from byproducts — like Knowlton House Distillery and Mullins Cheese making gin and vodka from whey and lactose sugar — that is something I’d have never dreamed of. We need to continue making that investment.”

Local and county efforts to pass ordinances that supersede state concentrated animal feeding operation regulations are on Testin’s radar as well, and he said he is looking to pursue preemptive legislation to protect farmers.

“We’re seeing this in Portage County right now,” Testin said. “The county board is trying to pass CAFO measures that are more restrictive than state standards. My concern is that if we have a patchwork of regulations in all these different municipalities on how ag, particularly dairy operations, are run, that is just going to drive people out of the industry.”

He said he thinks it is largely a lack of understanding.

“Most people don’t realize the stringent regulations that are applied to a CAFO operation,” Testin said. “How state-of-the-art these facilities are and the hoops they have to jump through. The effluent also has to be cleaner than the water that was coming into it. Because of that lack of knowledge, these larger operations have become lightning rods.”

Testin sees the process as an opportunity to continue to highlight the work being done by members of Wisconsin’s agricultural coalitions and conservation groups.

“The ag coalition has done a phenomenal job of changing the narrative,” Testin said. “Farmers need to continue making the case for the things they do and let people know the conservation practices they are employing. That collaboration has borne a lot of fruit.”

To support those efforts, Testin wants to see continued funding for the Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grants program, the Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program, cover crop reimbursements and the grazing pilot program.

“All these small tools collectively make a difference to the agricultural community,” Testin said. “If we give farmers the tools they need to be successful and innovative, they’ll do what they do best — making sure our state’s dairy industry remains vibrant.”