SPARTA, WI — State Rep. Travis Tranel (R–Cuba City), a dairy farmer and Chair of the Assembly Committee on Agriculture, today attended a “Keep Wisconsin Trucking Great” roundtable with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Congressman Derrick Van Orden at Tim Neubauer Trucking.
The discussion highlighted trucking’s essential role in Wisconsin’s agricultural economy. “If trucks stop rolling, agriculture grinds to a halt,” Tranel said. “Our commodities and supplies depend on safe, reliable hauls from farm to markets nationwide.”
Participants emphasized dependable rural roads and bridges for ag shipments in Wisconsin, where farming drives local economies. Rep. Tranel co-authored the Ag Road Improvement Program (ARIP) with Sen. Howard Marklein, investing $300 million over two budgets to modernize rural ag roads supporting the state’s $116 billion ag industry.
The roundtable also tackled “chameleon carriers”—unsafe operators who rack up violations, lose licenses, and reopen under new names—endangering shipments and raising costs for honest truckers.
“It was great meeting with Secretary Duffy—I got to propose a federal program to supercharge Wisconsin’s ARIP efforts with more funding to bolster rural roads and affordable transport for our diverse ag sector,” Tranel said. “A big thanks to our local truck drivers for all they do to support family farms in our state!”
Rep. Tranel, a southwest Wisconsin dairy farmer and Assembly Ag Committee Chair, represents the 49th District, including Crawford County, most of Grant County, and part of Vernon County.
