October 3, 2019

Madison… Today, Representative Travis Tranel sent a letter to the US Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, expressing his outrage over comments the Secretary made regarding small farms during a visit to Wisconsin on Monday. In his comments, Secretary Perdue condemned the future of small family farms by saying they cannot survive as big farms take over.

 “I certainly appreciate Secretary [Perdue] coming to Wisconsin but I think he needs to be reminded of the importance of all types of Ag, whether that’s big, small, conventional, or organic. We need all these systems to thrive if we want to have a healthy and vibrant rural Wisconsin, and rural America for that matter.

 A lot of these [small family] farms even, are getting bigger because they have to [so they can] survive, not because they want to. I just hope the USDA would look at a way where we can have sustainable markets for everyone and not just encourage people to get bigger or go home,” Rep. Tranel stated.

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