2026 Candidate Education Summer Farm Tour: WI Gubernatorial Primary Candidates in the Field

Wisconsin's wild partisan gubernatorial primary race wraps up on Tuesday, August 11. This has been a dramatic election season with lots of twists, turns, and tussles. But Michael Fields Agricultural Institute has been laser-focused on exploring agricultural issues through our 2026 Candidate Education Summer Farm Tour. Since June, MFAI has been reaching out to the candidates and inviting them for in-field conversations with some of the regenerative farmers we work with on research, education, and policy projects.

We asked a series of similar questions at each farm, to both candidate and farmer. While each visit had its own focus, several common themes emerged:

-Supporting profitable farms

-Protecting productive farmland as we invest in renewable energy

-Uplifting shared rural and urban priorities to achieve a sustainable energy future

-Conserving our natural resources

-Finding practical solutions that strengthen both agriculture and rural communities

-Resisting monopoly influence and incentivizing diversification

-Seeing hope in the next generation of farmers

The summaries below give you some sense of what our farmer friends wanted to communicate to a potential future governor of the state. The videos are just small pieces of great conversations. Even though Mandela Barnes and Sara Rodriguez dropped out of the race, we think there is a lot to learn from the farmers' interactions with them. You can learn more about the farmers in their Candidate Education Summer Farm Tour Flickr albums.

See video shorts of the visits at our Candidate Education Summer Farm Tour playlist on MFAI's YouTube channel. Please stay tuned and reach out with your thoughts and ideas to canderas@michaelfields.org.

Francesca Hong at Meadowlark Organics Farm and Mill

Francesca Hong’s visit to Meadowlark Organics Farm and Mill with John and Halee Wepking centered on farm resilience and rural schools. The Wepkings are diversified row crop farmers who operate an artisan mill and sell grains, flours, and beans. The farmers spoke about how crop diversification is an effective response to increasingly extreme weather patterns, but that there are few external systemic supports for alternative crops like buckwheat. They also talked about the need for financial on-ramps for beginning farmers and business owners. The Wepkings and Hong are parents of small children and shared strong feelings about the need for the state to meaningfully invest in public schools. The farmers talked about their support for renewable energy, but explained how the ATC powerline towers constructed on their land impacted their local community and landscape. They expressed the hope that energy projects like wind and solar could be better incorporated into rural areas by installing infrastructure on hillsides, curves, and low-production areas, while leaving prime farmland for growing.

Hong believes Wisconsin could use existing state mechanisms, such as subsidies, to encourage more farmers to diversify their crops. She also said the state could enforce existing anti-monopoly laws to help farmers.

See the Flickr album from the day, with more videos and photos.

Mandela Barnes at Marth Homestead Farm

Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes visited Marth Homestead Farm to discuss the future of farmland, renewable energy, and rural communities. Conversations focused on balancing private property rights with the long-term importance of preserving productive farmland for future generations. Farmers emphasized that renewable energy projects can be compatible with agriculture through practices like grazing livestock beneath solar panels or establishing pollinator habitat. The discussion also explored how clean energy projects can provide greater benefits for local communities, ensuring that economic opportunities extend beyond individual landowners while maintaining agriculture as the primary long-term use of the land.

When asked what gives him hope for the future of agriculture in Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes said, "there are people who are interested in it but don't necessarily know what that entry point could be for them, and I'm excited about the future because we get a chance to create those entry points, to make it easier for people that want to be able to stay on the land and also to get people on the land for the very first time."

See the Flickr album from the day, with more videos and photos.

Joel Brennan at Jim Stute's Farm in East Troy

Joel Brennan's visit highlighted the value of farmer-led conservation, research partnerships, and science-based decision making. Discussions focused on expanding successful programs such as producer-led watershed groups and cost-share opportunities that help farmers adopt cover crops and other conservation practices. Brennan emphasized the need to rebuild trust between researchers and farmers by supporting locally generated data and listening to producers' experiences. The conversation also addressed climate resilience, renewable energy development that respects communities and farmland, and the importance of making policy decisions grounded in evidence while ensuring local voices remain central to the process.

Read or Listen to the Public New Service story about Jim's priorities for gubernatorial candidates: HERE

Farmer and agronomist Jim Stute talks about the importance of state programs like the DATCP Producer-Led Watershed Program that allows flexibility for farmers to try new and innovative conservation practices. 

See the Flickr Album of the Day, with more videos and photos.

Kelda Roys at Al Sweeney's Farm in Edgerton

Senator Kelda Roys focused her visit on protecting farmland, strengthening rural infrastructure, and building common ground between rural and urban communities. Roys discussed renewed investment in Wisconsin's Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) program as a way to preserve farmland, support farm transitions, and improve land access for beginning farmers. She also highlighted the importance of investing in conservation to protect roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure. Throughout the discussion, Roys emphasized that rural and urban communities share many interests—from protecting clean water to supporting local economies—and argued that collaborative problem-solving is essential to meeting Wisconsin's agricultural and environmental challenges. She also stressed the importance of protecting prime farmland while directing large-scale renewable energy projects toward more appropriate locations.

According to state Senator Kelda Roys, some things the state can do is helping with succession planning, helping farmers have secure retirements through the state health insurance and retirement system, helping producers "chase profits rather than yields," and creating more producer-led cooperatives.

See the Flickr album from the day, with more photos and videos.

Sara Rodriguez at Bouressa Family Farm in New London

Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez toured Bouressa Family Farm in New London with farmer Rachel Bouressa, a beef grazier. Her visit centered on regenerative agriculture, clean water, and renewable energy. After hearing about rising input costs and the challenges facing family farms, Rodriguez emphasized the importance of supporting small- and mid-sized farmers while expanding incentives for regenerative farming practices. She also highlighted the role these practices can play in protecting water quality and reducing long-term costs. On renewable energy, Rodriguez discussed agrivoltaics as a way to keep farmland productive while generating clean energy, stressing that successful projects depend on how developers work with local communities. She also spoke about combating misinformation around renewable energy and finding common ground between rural and urban Wisconsin through shared priorities like clean air, clean water, and healthy communities.

Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez and farmer Rachel Bouressa discuss the nuances of how solar projects and agriculture can coexist in rural areas.

See the Flickr album from the day for more videos and lots of great photos.

These farm visits reinforced the importance of bringing policymakers and farmers together for honest conversations about Wisconsin's future. While the candidates offered different perspectives, each engaged directly with farmers on issues ranging from conservation and climate resilience to farmland preservation, rural economic development, and renewable energy. David Crowley and Tom Tiffany did not respond to our invitations.

Important Voting Dates in Wisconsin

The day to vote in-person in the upcoming partisan primary is August 11. Is your voter registration up to date? If you have moved or changed your name since the last time you voted, you must register again. You can register to vote on Election Day, but you must have proof of residence with you. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm on Election Day.

Call 608-285-2141 get up-to-date, non-partisan information on any questions you might have. Here are other pertinent dates:

The general election is on November 3.