More Walker budge “meddling.”
Haven’t we heard farmers decrying EPA rules, regulations and paper work - burdensome oversight eating up their time and profits - telling them how to run their family farms?
Below is an example of how Walker’s beating the environmentalists and their allies in the University system, bit by bit [chipping away], and leaving the money in the farmers’ pockets.
March 7, 2015 - Farm Bureau, others question Scott Walker’s proposed farm research cuts
“Researchers and supporters of a program that helps farmers run cleaner and more efficient operations say they were “stunned” and “blindsided” by Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to cut a third of the project’s funding.
Discovery Farms, a UW-Extension program that dates to 2001, applies science from a “plows-on” level, evaluates and monitors efforts by state farmers to control runoff, calibrate fertilizer use and employ techniques to conserve land and water.
It has a $750,000 budget, of which $248,000 would be cut in the governor’s proposed state budget.
UW-Extension officials noted the loss affects longstanding projects and the ability of the small program to leverage crucial additional grants and funds.
“We would have a 1.2-employee reduction of staff and we would pull back some of our sampling efforts, water quality analysis and a project (set) for Rock County,” said Amber Radatz, project co-director.
The project’s programs include monitoring 20 state farms and educating thousands of farmers on conservation strategies.
“This was a big surprise to our agency partners as well as our partners in farm groups and in UW-Extension,” she said. “We never had an inkling.”
The $248,000 comes from a surcharge on farm chemical sales that would be discontinued.”................
More Walker BUDGET “meddling.”
Eliminating it might be too extreme. Why not just cut way back on its reach? A consumer complaint board for education would be enough, one would think. And no passing mandates just because the feds like them!