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New President says Wisconsin Farm Bureau members want dairy options

Wisconsin’s new Farm Bureau President says there was clearly a shift by many delegates for some policy positions, especially dairy policy. Joe Bragger tells Brownfield, “There was a different attitude among the members and the delegates, and certainly looking at some of our policy, especially in dairy, with the mandate to open that toolbox and use every tool that we have and research and develop other options.”

Farm Bureau delegates did not vote to support dairy supply management or growth management, but Bragger says Farm Bureau members want to know more about that and other possible tools. “Just the concept of opening up our minds to different ideas, I think that was the monumental shift that occurred.”

And, Bragger is excited to have five new members on the board. “Five of those are new and five of those are under the age of forty. For an organization that’s been around as long as Farm Bureau and to have quite a bit of depth of knowledge in age and experience, it’s very exciting to see younger farmers stepping up because that tells me they believe that even though we’re in tough times, there is a future.”

Bragger tells Brownfield that preparation for the American Farm Bureau Federation convention began immediately after the state convention last weekend, and he’s taking steps to make sure Wisconsin is not under-represented in areas like national dairy policy.