Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: December 8, 2023 Contact: Anna Henning, Principal Attorney
2023 Assembly Bill 655 Assembly Amendment 1
2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 655
2023 Assembly Bill 655 authorizes and funds a “transition to grass pilot program.” The bill directs the
Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to create and administer the program,
through which DATCP must award grants to farmers who are implementing a new grass-based managed
grazing
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system, or a new managed grazing practice that improves the conservation and financial
performance of existing grazing systems. The bill limits any one grant to no more than $40,000, and it
specifies certain purposes for which grant funds may be used. It directs DATCP to award 75 percent of a
grant in the year following a grant award and 12.5 percent of the grant in each of the subsequent two years.
The bill also requires the program to provide certain assistance and guidance for farms and persons in
agribusiness, and requires the Division of Agricultural Development within DATCP to support the state’s
grass-fed livestock supply chain.
The bill appropriates $500,000 in each year of the current fiscal biennium, transferred from the
Environmental Fund, for the program. The bill also increases DATCP’s full-time equivalent (FTE) position
authority by .5 FTE for a position in the Division of Agricultural Development to support the performance of
the new pilot program.
ASSEMBLY AMENDMENT 1
Assembly Amendment 1 makes the following two changes to the bill:
Removes a requirement that DATCP’s Division of Agricultural Development, in particular, shall support
the state’s grass-fed livestock supply chain, and instead directs DATCP as a whole to do so.
For a new .5 full-time-equivalent position authorized by the bill, removes a requirement that the person
hired must be within the Division of Agricultural Development.
BILL HISTORY
Representative Novak offered Assembly Amendment 1 on November 14, 2023. On December 7, 2023, the
Assembly Committee on Agriculture voted to recommend adoption of the amendment on a vote of Ayes, 13;
Noes, 0. The committee then recommended passage of the bill, as amended, on a vote of Ayes, 14; Noes, 0.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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The bill defines “managed grazing” to m ean a grazing system alternative to continuous grazing, in which pastured fields are
subdivided into sm aller paddocks, livestock density is controlled, and animals are rotated through paddocks at a frequency
that m aintains perennial grass-based vegetable cover, ensures regular access to fresh higher-quality forage, and reduces soil
com paction and erosion.