A Wisconsin farming family fought a 2016 tax change as nearly 2,000 floodplain acres became harder to farm; 10 years later, the land is being permanently protected

For generations, the Hoesly family farmed rich bottomland along the Wisconsin and Kickapoo rivers in southwest Wisconsin, growing corn and soybeans on nearly 2,000 acres of floodplain. But as floods grew more frequent and severe, and a 2016 state tax change made it harder to claim agricultural exemptions on frequently inundated land, the family found themselves fighting to keep the farm viable. A decade later, instead of doubling down on drainage and levees, they have chosen a different path: working with conservation groups and the state to permanently protect the land as floodplain forest and wildlife habitat. As reported by The Daily Cardinal, the deal marks one of the largest private conservation agreements in recent Wisconsin history and a quiet admission that some land is better left to the river.

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