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Health & Fitness

The Dairy Business Association: Lobbying for Wisconsin's Economic Interest

By Bill Sitter, Staff Contributor for Wisconsin Election Watch,

MADISON – Wisconsin is known to the World for producing milk and related dairy products. The work raising cows is very labor intensive and does not result in a lot of income for Wisconsin’s farmer. Due to the challenges of running a farm and keeping up with production, the industry has an organization formed to advocate for their interests. This organization is known as the Dairy Business Association (DBA). The DBA fights its battles on both state and federal levels.

Jerry Meissner leads the Dairy Business Association and works with a board of ten people. The group is well represented at the State Capitol with six different lobbyists pushing legislation. In 2013, they spent $66,955.36 and 99.1 hours talking directly with state lawmakers.

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The 2013 legislative session was a busy one for the group and two bills that standout most are Assembly Bill 287 and Senate Bill 7. AB 287 is a piece of legislation that allows for the purchase and production of raw milk. The DBA opposed the bill because of health concerns and the concern for the business that produce pasteurized milk. Their efforts recently suffered a setback with a Senate committee recently approving the sale of raw milk. On the other they support SB 7, which given an exemption to animal doctors in the state’s prescription drug monitoring program. This bill is important to them because the dairy industry felt that rules regarding human medicine should not apply to the practice of medicine on animals.

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In addition representing the dairy industry on state matters, the DBA has been a fighter on the national level. One of their biggest victories was the passage of an amendment to the farm bill pushed by Congressmen Robert Goodlatte (R-Virginia and David Scott (D-Georgia).   This amendment protects the industry from unnecessary government intervention and also saved taxpayers $47 million according to the International Dairy Foods Association. This effort was praised by WBA because it helps advance their members interests at the federal level.

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Beyond lobbying the Dairy Business Association seeks to be a tool for their members in education, networking and connecting to their government. One of their most frequent used tools is the yearly conference promoting dairy and celebrating the people that contributed the most to the industry. An additional way the group improves relations between government and the dairy industry is endorsements of political candidates. Beyond hosting events and endorsements of candidates; the organization has newsletters, publications, and links to further aid and grow the industry.

Editor's Note-Our article can be found at-http://wisconsinelectionwatch.com/12196/dairlyland-business-association-lobbying-wisconsins-economic-interestby/

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