In 2025, agriculture faced numerous headwinds from tariffs, trade policies, and the federal government shutdown, which affected supplemental nutrition assistance programs (SNAP). Farmers also continued to struggle with high input costs and potential bankruptcies.
With the lapse of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many Americans are scrambling for coverage options, including farmers who often resort to catastrophic healthcare policies due to high costs.
Despite these hurdles, Wisconsin Secretary Randy Romanski of the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), says there were many stories of resilience in the state’s agricultural industry.
“As I look back on 2025, I continue to emphasize the fact that farmers and the food production industry adapt to these challenges,” Romanski said. “With tariffs and fluctuating trade policies, the prices that farmers are receiving and the volumes that are moving are not what we would hope.”
Romanski says DATCP has been a resource to the industry, helping producers get a foot in the door on the international stage.
“About five years ago, Governor Evers and the legislature agreed that the state should be a partner with farmers and food processing to market Wisconsin products around the world, and put a little money into that program to help find the right market, the right country and the right product,” he said.
Even with all the uncertainty with federal trade policies, the state has had the highest four years of ag and food exports due to the quality, reliability and availability of Wisconsin products, Romanski said.
“I think the state stepping up and being a partner with some assistance for international trade for Wisconsin has helped as well,” he said.
Dairy has been a steady performer in the international marketplace, with Wisconsin leading in quality and genetics, which has become an important part of the state’s international portfolio. And while Mexico and Canada continue to be strong markets, the dairy state has also made inroads overseas in several Southeast Asian countries like Japan and Korea.
“Although Wisconsin has seen reductions in its trade volume to China, there are a lot of opportunities out there. It’s important for us as a state to focus on those and do what we can to help move our products around the world and share them overseas,” Romanski said.
Lending a helping hand to those struggling
Even in a good year, Romanski says farming is a challenging business.
“Inflation is not good for farming, and that is adding to a tough year,” he said.
Romanski says the Wisconsin Farm Center, part of DATCP, is a crucial state resource offering free, confidential support to farmers and their families, providing services like financial consulting and farmer wellness resources.
“The Farm Center is here to help, and the farmer wellness program also provides mental health services,” Romanski said. “Since Gov. Evers initially made the investment to start the program here, we’ve seen the highest number of counseling voucher sessions since DATCP started the program. This means people are aware of the service and they’re making use of the resources out there.”
Once of the issues tied to the long government shutdown was the refusal by Congress and the President to step up and renew the ACA subsidies. Romanski says the subsidies were important in keeping healthcare costs manageable.
“If healthcare prices skyrocket to match the inflation and the prices that people are having to pay now, that’s not going to be a good situation,” he said.
The shutdown also cast the spotlight on funding for SNAP benefits.
“Feeding people has been a bipartisan effort, and feeding programs have traditionally been included in farm bills because food and farming go hand in hand,” Romanski says. “Unfortunately, as part of the shutdown, the withholding of nutrition from the federal government, and states like Wisconsin have done everything they can to keep food in the hands of people who might need some food assistance, and it’s been a real challenge.”
Fear of deportation impacts the workforce on farms
Labor is one of the biggest challenges on farms, and it’s no secret that farms increasingly depend on foreign workers. News of ICE raids across the country has worsened the agricultural labor crisis. About two-thirds of U.S. farmworkers were born outside the country, and more than 40% of them are in the country illegally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Farming is a labor-intensive business, and we need people to milk the cows and process food and harvest fruits and vegetables and that need continues,” Romanski said. “I hope those in Washington D.C., step up and acknowledge the fact that we need a steady, qualified labor force in the U.S. for agriculture and other industries as well.”
The state Ag Secretary is hopeful that a solution centered on visas for seasonal and year-round workers can be hammered out.
“The important thing to keep in mind when the federal government addresses reforms is that dairy farming is a 365-day business, and that a lot of our food processing industry is also a year-round activity,” Romanski says. The industry needs access to both temporary and year-round labor.”
A wish for 2026
Romanski says his wish list for the year ahead includes reducing inflation to help ease grocery prices and the prices farmers pay for inputs.
“And while we would like to see those prices go down, it would be nice to see some market stabilization,” he said. “I think we would all like to see the easing of some of the trade discrepancies that we’re seeing right now. That would be a good thing for both the industry and for farmers.”
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin State Farmer: Wisconsin Ag Secretary says farmers and ag industry weathered a tough 2025
Reporting by Colleen Kottke, Wisconsin State Farmer / Wisconsin State Farmer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
