Posted: 03.10.2011

Hundreds of farmers were actively engaged in what was happening with the state budget Wednesday during Ag Day at the Capitol - but exited before the surprise move in the Senate that could bring an abrupt halt to the debate.

Wednesday, Senate Republicans outmaneuvered their missing Democratic counterparts who had been holding up a vote by remaining out of state to prevent a quorum.
Republicans in the Senate and Assembly essentailly stripped the original
bill of all measures in which money would be spent, clearing the
way for a vote on the collective bargaining issue. Senate Republicans used a procedural move on Wednesday to pass the proposal without the Democrats present. The floor session
lasted just minutes, and the state Assembly is scheduled to take up
the measure on Thursday morning. That's the last step before it can go to Walker for his signature. Senate Democratic leader Mark Miller of Monona says in a
statement his caucus will ``join the people of Wisconsin in taking
back their government'' on Thursday.


Prior to all the voting action in the Capitol - Governor Scott Walker spent nearly 40 minutes addressing the audience at the annual "Ag Day" event.  In his comments, Walker highlighted a few items of interest specifically to Wisconsin's farmers:

**Walker noted that 1 in 10 jobs in the state is directly connected to agriculture and the food and farming industry.
**He noted that several programs that had previously been managed by the Department of Commerce have been transferred to the WI Department of Agriculture to be closer to the audience they serve.
**Walker said he's committed to maintaining funds in the Department of Transportation and the Ag Chemical Clean-Up Fund.  In the past both had fallen prey to state raiding in an effort to pay other state bills.
**Walker also said he remains committed to the use-value assessment law in Wisconsin.

Despite reassurances from the governor, many growers expressed additional concerns to Pam Jahnke as they exited the center, on their way to the capitol.  BadgerCare eligibility requirements and rural school funding seemed to top the list of unanswered questions that growers spoke about. 

Representative Howard Marklein of Spring Green told Pam Jahnke his first month in office was enchanting.  He said every day he walked into the beautiful capitol - it was an amazing experience.  Now, with protestors crowding entries and hallways - the atmosphere has definitely changed.

Representative Lee Nerison of Westby who chairs the Assembly Agriculture Committee says the atmosphere at the capitol reminds him of times he experienced during his academic years at the UW during the Vietnam War.  "I'm not comparing the two by any means,"  Nerison told Jahnke, "but when you get that many people around you - with passion on both sides - it just gave that feeling of deja vu."  Nerison says they're still not really sure what the budget holds.  Several representatives said they're waiting for the Fiscal Bureau to go through the budget line by line and give them a more easily understood breakdown on what it contains.

Nerison did tell Jahnke that he expects the raw milk issue to resurface at the state capitol - but he's not sure where it will be assigned.  Nerison said because it's a complex issue - it could go to the committees for agriculture, rural economics, food safety - many different directions.

You can listen to all of Governor Scott Walkers comments by clicking here.  Caution - it is a large file.

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