Today the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) released a report summarizing its efforts in partnership with the state’s agricultural industry to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. These efforts include:
- Distribution of nearly $80 million in emergency support, allocated by Governor Tony Evers from federal CARES Act funding, to Wisconsin farmers, food banks, and other eligible nonprofit organizations. This funding played a critical role in keeping Wisconsin’s food supply chain flowing throughout the pandemic.
- Frequent communication with the public and a diverse cross-section of stakeholders representing the dairy and crop industries, livestock producers, food processors, retailers, agricultural lenders, agri-businesses, and government agencies
- Changes to administrative policies to maximize flexibility and better serve DATCP-regulated entities
- Bridge-building across a variety of different agricultural and food sectors to foster connections between Wisconsin farmers and consumers in need
“Wisconsin farmers and agri-businesses have faced a number of hurdles over the past several years, but COVID-19 caused unprecedented disruptions in nearly every sector of our agricultural industry,” said DATCP Secretary-designee Randy Romanski upon release of the report. “We’re proud of the way DATCP worked together with our partners to address issues as they came up. The pandemic has highlighted just how critical it is that we invest in the resiliency of our supply chains. We look forward to serving as a resource to the industry and policymakers as they pursue that work in the future.”
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