(T.J. Kirkpatrick/The New York Times via AP, Pool File)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that Wisconsin’s dairy industry will get $20 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, a local stimulus Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) voted against last year.

The department’s Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives said it would award an additional $80 million equally split among four initiatives in Wisconsin, California, Tennessee and Vermont. The funds will be used “to build long-term resilience” in the dairy industry, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Wisconsin’s initiative, a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Cheese Markers Association, will receive the $20 million for the state.

“Wisconsin’s dairy businesses are a key driver of our state’s economy and with all the challenges they face I’m working to do everything I can to help,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) said in a press release last week. “As our dairy economy faces supply chain challenges, this federal funding from USDA for the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives will help Wisconsin dairy businesses to address those challenges, grow their business, modernize their dairy plants and reach new markets. It’s critical that farmers, cheesemakers, and dairy processors have tools to innovate and develop new Made in Wisconsin dairy products to build a brighter future for our dairy farms and drive our rural economy forward.”

“This is a historic investment in dairy businesses, and so vital at a time of trade volatility, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions challenging dairy farm and dairy processor businesses,” said John Umhoefer, Executive Director of the WCMA, in Baldwin’s press release. “It demonstrates the firm commitment of the Biden Administration, Secretary Vilsack, and Senator Baldwin to stabilize and strengthen the U.S. dairy industry in ways that will enable us to meet the demands of a growing international marketplace.”

Johnson joined every other GOP senator in voting against the ARP last year, the $1.9 trillion spending package for COVID-19 and economic recovery. He single-handedly delayed its passage by having the Senate do a full reading of the 628-page bill.