MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

UW Sheep Unit Director Todd Taylor has a smile on his face discussing plans for this coming year. He's welcoming new and ongoing research projects into the barn. And he's getting ready for the unit's annual sale which starts on Friday at wlivestock.com. Despite higher input costs, Taylor says the unit came out in the black. He also has 29 ewes lambing this fall -- a number he wants to grow to meet...

Traditionally, caustic paste or a hot iron is used to singe off the cells that cause horns to grow in calves. Paste has grown in popularity in recent years with little to no research on how much of the product to use. Charitee Seebecker talks with Sylvia Kehoe, UW River Falls Professor of Dairy Science, about an adhesive patch technology she developed for disbudding the cells. Ashley Hewin, with S...

Dr Matthew Lazzara  is a meteorologist, he is faculty and department chair for physical sciences at MATC and also a senior scientist at UW-Madison.  In both roles he is part of a team of scientists who work with automatic weather stations for the US Antarctic Program. With around 60 weather stations across Antarctica, they are observing surface weather across an area bigger than the US and Mexico...

While Christmas may seem far away for many as they are still trying to hold onto what is left of that summer weather, Christmas tree farmers are already working diligently to prepare for the holiday. Greg Hann of Hann's Christmas Farm in Oregon, shares more on what growers are doing to prepare, how the season is going, and inspections they need to pass.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

It's National Suicide Prevention Month. Pam Jahnke and DATCP's Dan Bauer discuss the resources offered through the Farm Center. This ranges from mental health services, vouchers and tele-counseling to farm transition planning and milk testing.  USDA is in town! Deputy Secretary Stacy Dean is in Milwaukee today. She's looking at how organizations such as Hunger Task Force are connecting those in ne...

Just because you call 911 in the rural community, doesn't mean you're going to get a speedy response to your situation. James Small has been hired as the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health's first Rural EMS Outreach Program Manager.  Small works with groups of rural responders in neighboring communities to see what resources can be pooled to serve everyone. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

2022 has been a pretty good year for alfalfa production in Wisconsin.  Bob Bosold visits with National Alfalfa Agronomist, Randy Welch with Winfield United, about the value of that crop not just as a feed, but also as a soil nutrient. The Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival was a big success at the Jefferson County Fair Park in Jefferson over the weekend.  Stephanie Hoff was in attendance and visi...

With another Farm Bill on the horizon, and more interest then ever on regenerative ag and sustainability - Land O'Lakes is launching a new program to help encourage farmers to enter that space. Leah Anderson, Vice President of Sales/New Markets for Winfield United, speaks with Pam Jahnke about the value farming practices brings to the table, and how they're constructing agreements that allow farme...

Wisconsin native, now national FFA officer, Cortney Zimmerman has just returned from an officer team trip to South Africa.  Jill Welke visits with Zimmerman about what she experienced and how classrooms look in South Africa. This weekend a Wisconsin community is celebrating a pepper!  Yep, a unique pepper at that. Charitee Seebecker talks with Diana Ogle from the Beaver Dam Pepper Fest.  It starte...

Maybe you’ve grabbed a pickle-in-a-pouch for a midday snack, but have you ever thought about where it started? Van Holten’s Pickles in Waterloo works with farmers growing a unique crop. As demand for pickles has increased, they’ve grown the area where their cucumbers come from. Bruce Dorn, Operations Manager shares more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may already know that Wisconsin is the number one producer of cultivated Ginseng, but did you know that more than 85% of the ginseng we grow here is exported? Taylor Schaefer, 75th Alice in Dairyland, joins us in studio to share more about the Wisconsin Ginseng Industry.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do outdoor classrooms, live animals, project-based learning, agriculture and experiential education all have in common? They are all a part of the Koshkonong Trails charter school in Cambridge.  Laura Emrick, lead teacher at Koshkonong Trails, shares more about what the school and education looks like and the type of agriculture based learning they provide. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

Rural communities face the challenge all the time.  Create jobs - but have no place suitable for your workers to live nearby. Southwest Wisconsin experienced those same challenges, but have come up with a solution that will be welcoming residents beginning in October. Cinnaire Community Development partnered with SWCAP, Southwest Wisconsin Community Action Program, to create affordable housing for...

The ninth annual Beaver Dam Pepper Festival will be Saturday, September 10, from 9am -4pm. The event will take place at the Park Village Shopping Center in Beaver Dam. It will feature many different food options such as pepper broth, apple pepper pancakes, apple pepper pie, pepper beer and more.  Diana Ogle, event coordinator of the Beaver Dam Pepper Festival shares more on how this event got star...

Sarah Kohlbeck is the Director of the Division of Suicide Prevention at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Board President of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention .  With a background in Wisconsin agriculture, she's able to understand why there's concern over the elevated number of farmer fatalities connected with suicide. She visits with Pam Jahnke about watch...

Wisconsin Senator, Joan Ballweg, has been spending a lot of time seeing where the state's resources have been invested. Pam Jahnke visits with the chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee about where she's seen money in action through UW-Extension, agricultural research and infrastructure investment.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The school bell has rung across the state of Wisconsin, but many agriculture instructors were busy long before the buses arrived.  Charitee Seebecker visits with Joelle Liddane, ag instructor at the Holmen School District.  Their approach to connecting ag class experiences with the school lunch program and community interaction has proven extremely productive.  Liddane says she actually had to tur...

Apple orchards are busy at this time of the year.  Some of the treats you enjoy at that orchard this year may cost a little more.  That's the word from Kate Farrell of Valley Bakers.  They supply orchards with some of the ingredients they use for value added products like apple cider donuts or pastries.  Those inputs are going to be expensive - even with substitutions.  Stephanie Hoff has the deta...

Shelly Grosenick is a dairy farmer and small business owner near Watertown WI. Years ago she began canning and preserving foods from her garden. That hobby turned into a way of life and eventually into a business. Shelly's business, Crimson Kitchen and Garden, recently received a grant from the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance to help her grow her raw milk based soap and lotion lines. Shelly exp...

Peak harvest is never the best time to scramble to get your tools, especially the tires that literally keep you rolling in the field. Harvest is a busy time for ag tires. And this year is not a normal year in the supply chain. You may be waiting for specific tires if you don’t plan ahead, says Kevin Rohlwing, the chief technical officer for the Tire Industry Association. He tells Mid-West Farm Rep...

Corn is starting to come off the ground for silage. Winter wheat is starting to go into the ground. And custom operators’ phones are ringing off the hook. Ray Liska is the president of Wisconsin Custom Operators. He’s a custom operator himself working around Hillsboro. He says the cost of business has gone up due to fuel and equipment, but independent operators are working to at least keep prices...

Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is inspiring and influencing consumer purchase decisions with consistent content and messaging across customer experiences from WisconsinCheese.com to retail.   Culinary content spans multiple brand channels including WisconsinCheese.com, Grate. Pair. Share., e-newsletter, press and television media, The Cheese Life blog, social media, recipe ad pages and retail displays...

School's back in session and that involves our agriculture educators.  Charitee Seebecker talks with DPI coordinator, Sally Ladsten, about teacher turnover and new programs starting this school year. From farmer to florist, that's one of the stories Stephanie Hoff brings us from Ella Johnson.  It's part of recognizing the states Century and Sesquicentennial farms. September is National Suicide Pre...

The 20th anniversary of the WI Sheep and Wool Festival will be celebrated this weekend at Jefferson County Fair Park in Jefferson.  Bob Black, one of the original organizers of the event, says they've had more inquiries than ever on what the show has to offer.  He talks to Pam Jahnke. You may witness a higher price at your local apple orchards and it's not the apples that are costing more.  Stepha...

Pheasants Forever isn’t just about hunting. And Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin isn’t just about milking cows. Recently these two organizations have developed a partnership, promoting on farm conservation and sustainability practices that also make sense to a farmers bottom line.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.