In this update:

WAFO- A New Player in Madison
Top 10 Reasons Why Wisconsin’s Private Landowners Need WAFO
State Committees of Special Interest to Woodland Owners Identified
Getting the Word Out – Governor’s Office, DNR and Dept. of Ag
Lobbying Efforts to Rescind the Ban on Leasing Lands in the MFL
Are You a WAFO Member?
Materials You Can Use


WAFO- A New Player in Madison

Finally, feeling enough is enough, WAFO began when a handful of private woodland owners decided it was time to get politically organized.  We weren’t being adequately represented in the political process, and there were no organizations that could freely lobby and advocate for state regulations that affect all of us who own productive timber lands.

In 2014, incorporation paperwork was filed with the State of Wisconsin and the IRS now recognizes us as a trade association, organized under Section 501(c)(6) of the IRS code.

The infrastructure is in place-  A professional and robust web site, data base and social media sites were developed.  A part-time Executive Secretary (Kristie Kasbohm) was retained.  WAFO has registered with the state as a lobbying organization representing the interests of private woodland owners.  Lobbying efforts have begun with letters written and meetings held with key legislators.   They’re becoming aware there’s a new player in town.

With your help, and the help of others, we can make a difference.  Our first initiative, to restore the ability for landowners in the MFL to lease their land has already received some conceptual support but an amendment to the state budget bill currently being debated has yet to be made.

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Top 10 Reasons Why Wisconsin’s Private Landowners Need WAFO

1. A law change in 2000 required agricultural land taxes to be based on “use value” assessment. Timber producers were not considered by our legislators to be an agricultural use.  Result- Taxes were shifted off of our other crop lands and onto our woodlands.

2. In 2004, the law was changed to provide some relief by reducing taxes by 50% on our forest lands, but only if they were located on tax parcels where other crops were grown.

3. To add insult to injury, the legislature dramatically increased the MFL tax rate from less than $2/acre to the $11/acre rate now being paid on lands enrolled after 2004.

4. Landowners who had to withdraw their lands from the MFL because of the higher taxes on forest land paid dramatically increased penalties to do so.

5. The formula used to calculate the new MFL rate contains a bias, which results in a higher tax rate.  Instead of basing the MFL rate on a true percentage of the average statewide property tax being paid on forest lands, the formula uses a statewide average mill rate coupled with only the highest assessed forest land.  This results in landowners paying almost $11/acre rather than paying less than $8/acre based on the true percentage.  The result is a hidden state tax that now brings in an additional $3 million dollars to the state coffers.

6. Instead of being retained at the local level, $9 of the $11 per acre MFL tax is sent back to the State. Our local towns and counties receive $2/acre.

7. Landowners were able to have their MFL management plans written by DNR field foresters. However, with the law changed, landowners are now required to hire private contractors for doing this. Applications fees? Yup, they were increased as well.

8. A law change in 2011 reduced the state tax rate from 7.9% to 0.4% on profits we make from growing our agricultural crops – except, guess what, the profits made on our timber sales are excluded.

9. DNR field foresters duties were re-directed to put their emphasis on activities other than working with private landowners. The support they can provide, even in the face of increasing complex regulations, continues to be reduced.

10. Last but not least. Thought you had a contract when you sign up for the MFL? Think again. The state now characterizes these as “agreements.” The state can change the rules mid-stream.  Remember the law change in 2008 that prohibited tree farmers with land in the MFL to gain income between harvests by preventing them from leasing their land for hunting or other recreational uses? Guess what? Landowners were given no recourse for this action.

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State Committees of Special Interest to Woodland Owners Identified

Joint Finance: This is the committee which is debating the budget bill. WAFO is working to have a motion introduced that would rescind the MFL leasing ban. Co-Chairs are Senator Darling and Representative Nygren. To see all members of the committee CLICK HERE.

Senate Committee on Sporting Heritage, Mining and Forestry: This Senate committee will be where bills affecting private forestry will usually be discussed. Senator Tiffany (Chair), Senator Roth (Vice Chair). To see all members of the committee CLICK HERE.

Assembly Committee on Environment and Forestry: This is the Assembly committee where forestry issues will most likely be debated. Representative Mursau (Chair), Representative Krug (Vice Chair). To see all members of the committee CLICK HERE.

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Small Business, and Tourism: Tree farmers are often not considered the same way as producers of other agricultural crops.  Actions in this committee should, and often can, affect how tree farmers are regulated. Senator Moulton (Chair), Senator Tiffany (Vice Chair). To see all members of the committee CLICK HERE.

Assembly Committee on Agriculture: This committee will deal with issues affecting agriculture (including tree farmers) in the Assembly. Representative Nerison (Chair), Representative Novak (Vice Chair). To see all members of the committee CLICK HERE.

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Getting the Word Out – WAFO Meets with the Governor’s Office, DNR and Dept. of Agriculture
Prior to publicly releasing our website, meetings were held with Governor Walker’s staff, DATCP Secretary Ben Brancel and Deputy Secretary Jeff Lyon, and DNR Deputy Secretary Matt Moroney and State Forester Paul DeLong.  These introductory meetings were held to let key people know we exist and on what we intend to focus.  Of special interest to them was the tax app on our web site that shows the inequities in how forest land is taxed compared to other land uses.  We emphasized the fact that tree farmers are not recognized, nor treated, in the same way as are producers of other agricultural crops.

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Lobbying Efforts to Rescind the Ban on Leasing Lands in the MFL

Governor Walker: As a follow up to meetings with Governor Walker’s staff, WAFO sent a letter to our Governor requesting that he include this change as part of his budget bill. Unfortunately this change was not introduced as part of his budget bill.

Read our letter to Governor Walker.

Joint Finance Committee Members:  The budget bill is now being debated by members of the Joint Finance Committee.  Letters were sent to all committee members. CLICK HERE to see the letter. We need a committee member to make a motion to introduce language which would rescind this ban.

In addition to contacting their legislators directly, private landowners may want to attend one of the upcoming Joint Finance Committee public hearings.  To keep our message to clean – at this time – we are simply asking this committee to restore the ability of landowners to lease their land that is currently in MFL.  If we can get that done we’ll have made the first step in getting our organization recognized by our elected officials.

Following are the dates and locations for this year:

Wednesday, March 18th     10am – 5pm
Brillion High School, Brillion, WI

Friday, March 20th     10am – 5pm
Alverno College, Milwaukee, WI

Monday, March 23rd     10am – 5pm
UW-Barron County, Rice Lake, WI

Thursday, March 26th     9:30am – 4pm
Reedsburg High School, Reedsburg, WI

Each persons is generally allowed 2 minutes to present their concerns, so it is important to have your key points prepared.  Committee members may ask you questions about your presentation for clarification.  If you have more information, you may also submit a script to the committee for consideration.

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Are You a WAFO Member?

There are 155,000 private landowners in Wisconsin who own more than 10 acres of forestland.  Clearly developing a connection with these landowners is important to let them know what our legislators and agency regulators are up to.

Membership in WAFO is FREE.  By simply providing an email address and information on where your woodland is located, you’ll become a member.  Members will receive regular updates on what’s happening at the Capitol and will occasionally be asked to contact their representatives when issues arise.  We will not sell or use contact information for any other purpose.

Charter members are those who have contributed $500 or more to help us get started also receive a preliminary analysis on how their land should be, or could be, classified by their assessor to receive a lower tax rate. One Charter Member recently found out that he could save $1,000 on his future tax bills through this analysis.

A Business Associate membership category will soon be available for our industry partners.

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Materials You Can Use

We hope you will join us in disseminating information in support of WAFO and Wisconsin’s private woodland owners.  Below are a few tools that we have developed to aid in your efforts.
WAFO Informational Flyer
WAFO Talking Points

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