Wisconsin Farmers Union hosts Investing in Rural America Roundtable

Wisconsin Farmers Union hosted Investing in Rural America at the Chippewa River Distillery in Chippewa Falls on September 25. The event featured the personal stories of six Wisconsin residents who have leveraged state and federal funds to create positive impacts on their rural communities.  At the event, White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden provided remarks on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to improving lives in rural America and highlighted the Administration’s investments in infrastructure, creating new jobs, and strengthening local and regional supply chains in Wisconsin and across the country. USDA officials also spoke to the power of the investment of federal funding for rural projects. Farmers Union Executive Director Julie Bowmar and Lauren Langworthy, Farmers Union director of special projects hosted the program.

Cory Neely of the SolarShare WI Cooperative in Lemonweir spoke about the Energizing Rural Communities prize from the Department of Energy which provided $200,000 for its solar project in Hallie, WI. 

Brandon Clare is the Owner/Operator of JM Watkins LLC of Plum CIty. They are a locker plant that operates from a historic building in Plum CIty which has faced challenges expanding in an old facility. With support from a Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program grant they have broken ground on a new building which will make it possible to process more meat and provide processing services to local farmers. 

Rodrigo Calla Owns Cala Farms in Turtle Lake. He is a Wisconsin Local Food Purchase Assistance program producer producing a variety of organically certified vegetables on a 46-acre farm.

Scott Sacrey is the food resource manager for Feed My People Food Bank and has been instrumental in the Farm to Food Bank Initiative which allows farmers to contribute high-quality produce to local food banks directly. This program has been highly beneficial to rural community members facing food insecurity. 

Don Mowrey spoke about how ARPA funds have been used to provide broadband access throughout Eau Claire County. He is a member of the Eau Claire County Broadband Expansion Committee. These funds have allowed the county to ensure broadband is available to over 90% of county residents.

Brent Ridge, the CEO and president of Dairyland Power, discussed the Empowering Rural America grant they received that will help fund renewable energy programs that should drastically reduce the cost of electricity in rural Wisconsin.