IN FOCUS — The challenges faced by small farmers ring familiar for some in the legislature in Madison, where at least one member is currently a farmer when not legislating in Madison.

 “COVID, for one, has shown us so many things, but one thing it has really brought to light in my opinion is the struggles that we could have if we have an interruption to our overall U.S. food supply,” said State Rep. Travis Tranel, a Republican from Cuba City and member of the Wisconsin Assembly committee on agriculture, “a year ago, we would’ve thought that conversation was ridiculous, but now we see that it is very, very real.”

Rep. Tranel, a fifth generation farmer out of Grant County, says the more concentrated farms become, the more likely that the possibility of an interruption to the food supply could be possible.

“There are so few of us left in agriculture,” said Rep. Tranel, “if you are not one of those 1.5 percent of people involved in [agriculture], you probably think everything is going just fine.”

Rep. Tranel says while larger farms still produce good quality food, they are not exactly the healthiest for the landscape, but adds that just having the conversation about agriculture is good for the state and country overall.

“At the end of the day, there’s only about 1.5 percent of us involved in agriculture, but 100 percent of us eat,” said Rep. Tranel, “so it’s important that we understand where our food is coming from and the struggles that may be going on in rural Wisconsin and rural America.”