Wisconsin's U.S. senators said they appreciated the Obama administration's outreach to rural areas today, but encouraged Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to do more to alleviate the recession's impact on dairy farmers.

In a letter to the USDA issued Wednesday, Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl asked Vilsack to increase the purchase price for products under the federal Dairy Price Support program. Vilsack, along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Gov. Jim Doyle, visited the La Crosse area today as part of the adminsitration's "rural tour."

"During January and April this year, the U.S. all-milk price has averaged $4.80 per cwt. below the U.S. average cash cost of production," the letter states. "A meaningful but temporary increase in the Dairy Price Support program will being to restore farm level prices and help restore producers' ability to produce basic cash flow for their operations during these difficult financial times."

See more coverage of the La Crosse "rural tour" stop here.