We see "America's Dairyland" on our license plates every day while driving down the highway, but we likely take that slogan for granted.  Dairy contributes $43.4 billion to Wisconsin's economy annually.  That is greater than the value of Florida citrus, Idaho potatoes, Washington apples, and California raisins, combined. The money generated by Wisconsin's dairy industry supports local communities, schools, and businesses. 

At this writing, Wisconsin's dairy industry employs nearly seventy-nine-thousand people. Jobs created by dairy businesses bring long-term stability to local employment bases. Every job in agriculture supports an additional 1.46 jobs elsewhere in Wisconsin.

The state's dairy industry, despite changing, remains robust. With more than nine-thousand dairy farms and four-hundred dairy processors, every Wisconsinite benefits from these beautiful bovines and the quality produced from their milk.

More than one-quarter of the nation's cheese is made here in Wisconsin. What is more, "Badger State" processors create more than six-hundred types, styles, and varieties of cheese. At national and international competitions, Wisconsin's cheesemakers have been recognized for their exceptional work, regularly receiving commendation for producing the world's best-tasting cheese.

Wisconsin's reputation as "America's Dairyland" has spread across the world. In fact, Wisconsin sells its agricultural products to one-hundred-fifty different countries. One-day-out-of-seven, Wisconsin milk is being made into products that will be exported beyond Wisconsin's borders.

Did you know that Wisconsin is home to the World Dairy Expo? Every fall, farmers, producers and dairy aficionados descend on Madison for the World Dairy Expo. This event features a premier dairy show with more than two-thousand elite dairy cattle. What is more, the World Dairy Expo allows agribusinesses to showcase their latest technology and research.

The best thing you can do to support Wisconsin's hardworking farmers is attend a breakfast on the farm event. Every time you drink a glass of milk, grab a string cheese or have yogurt, you are contributing to the continued success and the future of Wisconsin's dairy industry.

Joint Finance Committee highlights

In the last several weeks, the Joint Finance Committee has held three executive sessions on the state budget. Listed below are several proposals approved by the committee:

• Governor Walker recommended an increase in funding for the Wisconsin Grant scholarship by $10 million. The Joint Finance Committee increased funding for the grant by an additional $5 million. Increased funding for the Wisconsin Grant scholarship provides additional resources for those in need of financial aid.

• The Joint Finance Committee approved a provision requiring controlled substance screening, testing and treatment as a condition for eligibility for certain W-2 employment provisions. The purpose of this motion was simple: to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in Wisconsin's W-2 program.

• In an effort to help hardworking Wisconsin students and their families afford college, the Joint Finance Committee invested in the University of Wisconsin System and restored the system-wide tuition freeze for another two years.

• The Joint Finance Committee also approved a motion relating to Car-Killed Deer Carcasses. In recent years, more than twenty-thousand carcasses have been removed from Wisconsin's roads and highways annually. The committee voted to transfer the responsibility for the removal of carcasses to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and allowed DOT to contract for removal of car-killed deer with private vendors, counties, or municipalities.

The state budget process is nearing completion and I expect a proposal to come before the legislature, soon. The Joint Finance Committee has not yet deliberated on two issues of paramount importance to Wisconsinites: transportation and education. If you have yet to do so, I would encourage you to fill out my spring survey, so as to help me better ascertain your thoughts on these issues.

D-Day anniversary

Today, June 6, 2017, we commemorate the seventy-third anniversary of the Operation Overland invasion of France. On this day, and every day, we remember the brave men and women who stormed Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach, and Storm Beach and in so doing, liberated hundreds-of-thousands of French citizens from Nazi occupation.

Dr. Stephen Ambrose, arguably the nation's foremost World War II expert and a Wisconsin native, wrote of the Normandy invasion, "Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-occupied France in June 1944 was staggering in its scope. In one night and day, one-hundred-seventy-five-thousand fighting men and their equipment, including fifty-thousand vehicles of all types, ranging from motorcycles to tanks and armored bulldozers, were transported across sixty to a hundred miles of open water and landed on a hostile shore against intense opposition. They were either carried by or supported by five-thousand-one-hundred-thirty-three ships and craft of all types and almost eleven-thousand airplanes. They came from southwestern England, southern England, the east coast of England. It was as if the cities of Green Bay, Racine, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, were picked up and moved--every man, woman and child, every automobile and truck--to the east side of Lake Michigan, in one night" (1994, pp. 24-25).

Peter Harris, a reporter for the National Interest, is correct in asserting that the Normandy invasion will forever be etched in the minds of American citizens, as this event profoundly transformed the Second World War, liberated hundreds-of-thousands from tyrannical governments, and cemented America's role as the greatest force of hope, opportunity, and freedom, our world has ever known. In elucidating the profound lessons to be learned from Operation Overlord, Harris (2017) wrote, "Perhaps the greatest lesson of D-Day, then, is this: that both human flourishing and human suffering are critically dependent upon power-politics. Power is not just a tool of state survival. It is the foundation of almost all social structure, shaping what goes on inside states as much as what occurs between them. Today, as power in the international system becomes increasingly diffused, the implications of this lesson are legion" (p. 1).

We will never forget this event or the brave American soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy for a cause greater than their own: freedom.

Have a great week,

Stay up to date

One of the best ways to stay up to date with what is happening in Madison is to sign up for the legislature's notification tracking service. This service affords you with the opportunity to track legislative activities in Madison.  Upon creation of a free account, you can sign up to receive notifications about specific bills or committees as well as legislative activity pertaining to a subject area (i.e. real estate, education, health).  You can sign up for this service at any time. 

You can also follow me on Facebook to see what I have been doing in Madison and around the 60th Assembly District. Please recommend the page to your friends and family members.