Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 -- 7:35 a.m.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Federal spending in Wisconsin is declining, mainly due to reduced military needs.

Preliminary figures from the Wisconsin Procurement Institute show federal contract awards for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 declined about 52 percent to $3.4 billion compared to last year. The figures could be adjusted upward because of routine delays in federal reporting of contract awards.

As the U.S. winds down the war in Afghanistan, the military's needs are changing. Spending by the Army in Wisconsin is down more than 75 percent. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the Army was the biggest buyer of Wisconsin goods and services, with roughly more than $1 billion in purchases in fiscal 2012.

Copyright 2012: Associated Press