American Farmland Trust will deliver this message to your local legislator. Add your voice to the call to refund PACE. 

 Funding for Wisconsin's Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (PACE)

Protecting Wisconsin farmland is critical to in safeguarding our agricultural past and future. As a constituent and citizen of Wisconsin, I support the allocation of $15 million for Wisconsin’s Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) program in the 2025-2027 biennial budget.  

Wisconsin is losing the foundation of our state’s farming economy and identity. Between 2017 and 2022, our state lost 6,272 farms and employment in the agricultural sector declined by 19.1%. If current trends continue, we will lose 515,200 acres of some of the nation’s best farmland by 2040, an area roughly eight times the size of Milwaukee.  

The state PACE program is an opportunity to protect Wisconsin’s most foundational assets: our communities, our farmland, and the futures of generations to come. Protecting farmland will create jobs, secure our local food base, preserve farmer legacy, and make farming affordable for incoming farmers by reducing the cost of transferring or purchasing land. 

An investment in PACE is an investment in Wisconsin: every $1 invested generates $1.90 of economic activity. A $15 million investment in PACE will yield $27.9 million in statewide economic activity, create 152 jobs, and generate $8.1 million in labor income. Funding our farmland will create sustainable economic growth while strategically protecting our land base. 

The inclusion of PACE in Governor Evers' Executive Budget is a monumental win for Wisconsin agriculture, and the first step in a long process to secure funding to safeguard farmland and support farming communities. 

Together, we can save the land that sustains us. Please support funding PACE in the 

Signed,