GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- Wisconsin dairy farmers have expressed optimism toward President Joe Biden's choice to nominate department veteran Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack previously served in the position from 2009-2017 under President Barack Obama and eventually left for the US Dairy Export Council.
"He's going to be a big exporter, and that's going to help us in the dairy industry," De Pere farmer owner Raymond Diederich said. "At least as I see it from the outside, and we need that."
Diederich says it can be hard for small, family-owned farms and businesses to keep up with the political pendulum when it swings so sharply every four to eight years.
"The big challenge we have is we keep changing the rules in the middle of the game, and that's hard for any business to get along with," Diederich said.
As the nation's top cheese manufacturer and second-ranking milk collector behind California, Wisconsin dairy farmers felt the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic as milk prices plummeted and international trade fell. Amy Penterman, president of the Dairy Business Association, says that local farmers are hopeful that the new White House administration will provide opportunities to rebound.
"It's really amazing to see how the dairy community can rally and pivot," Penterman said. "What's always on our mind is as farmers, we're always looking at sustainability. And there's so many things that farmers are doing across the state, and I think that's gonna fit hand and hand with the new administration."
According to his website, one of President Biden's campaign promises was to increase funding for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. Penterman says policy initiatives like carbon credits would benefit Wisconsin's environmentally-conscious dairy farmers.
