Agriculture contributes $104.8 billion annually to Wisconsin’s economy. However, the impact stretches far beyond our borders thanks to the USAID Program.
Didion President Riley Didion as well as Controller and USAID Program Manager David Silver attended for the USDA/USAID Conference earlier this year in Washington, D.C.
Through the USAID Program, Didion provides about 350,000,000 meals a year to people in 47 developing nations across the world. The conference featured a review of 2019, as well as new information about areas of need in the year ahead.
While in D.C., Riley and David visited U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan and Glen Grothman and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin’s staff to discuss a variety of issues, including:
- An update on the new Didion mill and highlights, which included over 100 new hires and the important community investments we made through the Didion Foundation;
- Our support for the USAID program as a channel for creating international relationships through food assistance;
- The importance of international trade deals that support America’s rural agriculture business and the family farms that rely on exports to sustain their operations;
- Updates about the new Didion STEAAM Program (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Automation and Math), which is being cultivated with a portion of the $78,000 raised at the Didion Strong Communities Golf Outing and will help train the next generation of agriculture and manufacturing talent;
- Discussion about the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renewable Fuel Standard and its importance to corn producers and ethanol manufacturers.
“Over 16% of our state’s economy is driven by agriculture, and it’s important for us to help raise the voice of the producer community in Washington,” said Riley Didion. “The entire Wisconsin congressional delegation represents agricultural interests and they appreciate hearing ideas and insights to strengthen that community.”
In August of last year, Congressman Mark Pocan visited Didion for a tour of the new mill and co-located alcohol facility
