Earlier this week, I was honored to have my bipartisan seed potato bill – now known as Wisconsin Act 66 – signed into law.

For many years, Wisconsin has been a national leader in growing potatoes. In fact, we are presently the third-biggest potato producer in the country and the largest east of the Mississippi River. That distinction can be partly attributed to our hard-working farmers and our existing state statutes that require the use of clean, pathogen-free seed potatoes that are certified by the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program.

However, there have been instances in recent years where some bad actors have planted seed potatoes in violation of those laws and put our entire crop at risk. One of the problems the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has faced is the penalties and enforcement mechanisms available under current state statutes have not been effective in deterring these illegal practices.

Wisconsin Act 66 gives DATCP more authority to prevent future illicit actions that could potentially harm our state’s potato industry, which has been a significant economic driver for Central Wisconsin. All told, the potato sector has an annual economic impact of more than $522 million in Wisconsin and supports over 3,000 local jobs.

I was one of the first guests on Speakeasy Conversations where this topic came up in my conversation with Chris Muller: