DATCP Designates New Agricultural Enterprise Areas in WI Counties

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) designated more than 96,000 acres in Monroe, Shawano, and Sheboygan counties as new agricultural enterprise areas (AEAs) effective January 1, 2026. With these additions, there are 54 AEAs statewide totaling 1,737,876 acres covering portions of 33 counties, 147 towns, and the Bad River Reservation.

AEA designations are important to Wisconsin’s agricultural future and support local farmland protection goals, the agricultural economy, environmental efforts, and rural prosperity. Landowners within designated AEAs are eligible to enter into voluntary farmland preservation agreements, committing all or a portion of their farm to agricultural use and maintaining state soil and water conservation standards. In return, they may be eligible to claim the annual farmland preservation tax credit.

The new AEAs include:

• Lemonweir River Cranberry Region AEA, located in Monroe County, includes more than 64,000 acres in the towns of Byron, Greenfield, La Grange, Lincoln, and Scott. Local governments and partners joined 60 landowners to petition for designation of this AEA. Petitioners want to protect shared natural resources that support the viability of the region’s cranberry and dairy production, as well as local wildlife habitat.
  
  Local contact: Bradley Robson, conservation agronomist, (608) 269-8976.