MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

We’re taking a look at the role the National Council of Farm Cooperatives has in informing policy for the next Farm Bill. This is council President Chuck Connor's ninth Farm Bill. He says his members see labor as a No. 1 issue. His message to Congress -- agriculture cannot increase production without labor, and that labor will need to be foreign labor. Connor also outlines the Food and Ag Cl...

Director of the UW-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab PJ Liesch -- otherwise known as the Wisconsin Bug Guy -- outlines how you can protect yourself from Wisconsin's top pests. Mosquitoes will take advantage of this rainfall to breed. Remove standing water from your property -- a water bottle cap of water can breed over a dozen mosquitoes. While the itching is a nuisance, ticks are the No. 1 target for...

The spring started off with below normal temperatures, putting Wollersheim 3 weeks behind schedule, but the heatwave earlier this month caused buds to leaf out in just 24 hours -- Philippe says that is unheard of. Now the winery is just a week behind if not on track, and the family is optimistic for a good crop this year. This time of year, Wollersheim is planting new vines to replace older ones,...

With the newly announced $10 million in grants available to the WI meat and poultry processing industry, small start-ups like Meatsmith Co-op in Lafayette County are finding new life!  Pam Jahnke talks to Heather Oppor, executive director of the Meatsmith board looking to revitalize a vacant grocery store in Albany into their meat processing headquarters. It's a Wyffels Wednesday, featuring L...

Pink salt?  Novelty - home decoration?  In reality it's been touted as a 'miracle' by livestock owners that use it.  What's different about pink salt?  Stephanie Hoff talks with Clayton Schimetz about the product and how it's benefiting livestock. Rodney Balvitsch, COO of Alcivia Coop, talks with Pam about coordinating resources as they move through the growing season.  It...

Wisconsin State Parks are a popular destination for the state’s residents and visitors, who saw a major spike in visitors during the pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Set to open in the summer of 2023, the Food + Farm Exploration Center will be a state-of-the-art meeting place for producers and consumers to learn more about where their food truly comes from.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cyclists will hit the road during the first weekend of June to support the next generation of farmers. This 18th annual Ride to Farm is a fundraiser for UW-Madison’s School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers. School Director Nadia Alber says she expects roughly 50 people to ride. She says this fundraising is important because enrollment -- and therefore funds -- are running low, a sit...

Satellite imagery and Artificial Intelligence are being used to anticipate risk for crop insurance policies and lending plans. Wisconsin-based Agrograph uses those tools to improve ag lending, crop insurance and more for industries that support farmers. Co-founder and CEO Jim O’Brien shares more about the agri-finance tool. If you’re concerned about your personal information being a pa...

After a small Wisconsin apple crop last year and a wide variety of weather conditions this spring, Wisconsin apple producers are hopeful for a plentiful crop this fall. COVID supply chain issues have also affected availability of some products for Wisconsin apple producers, making it difficult to keep product on the shelf.  Steve Louis of Oakwood Fruit Farm in Richland Center shares his thoug...

The Sauk Prairie FFA chapter will break ground on June 17th after raising over $11,500 for their new greenhouse built in memory of their late FFA advisor Jeff Hicken See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wisconsin Farm Center’s Farmer Wellness program offers free, confidential counseling services provided by mental health professionals to Wisconsin farmers and their families. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Doug Reinemann, Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and Jennifer Blazek, director of the Farm and Industry Short Course (FISC) at UW-Madison visit again with Farm Director Pam Jahnke about the changes they’re expecting to see within the FISC program. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meatsmith Co-op is one of Wisconsin's meat processors that may benefit from an announcement about more financial grants channeled toward the industry. On Monday, Gov. Tony Evers announced $10 million in grant monies from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), for the new Meat and Poultry Supply Chain Resiliency Grant Program. Meatsmith Co-op is a newly formed organization serving Lafayette, Green, I...

Kevin Ladwig with Johnsonville Sausage responds to the latest round of meat industry funding in Wisconsin. The most recent allocation is $10 million dollars to the Meat and Poultry Supply Chain Resiliency Grant Program. The money comes from ARPA dollars. And meat processors can apply for grants of up to $150,000. Ladwig also gives us a look at the challenges and opportunities Johnsonville sausage...

Soybeans are used in a number of different products from food oil to cattle feed, but more demand is coming from the manufacturing industries as soybeans can be used to replace petroleum. Belinda Burrier is a farmer leader with the United Soybean Board and a soybean grower in central Maryland. She explains how soybeans can be used in petroleum-based products from tires to tennis shoes. See omnystu...

Rural residents from Wisconsin’s southwestern counties rely on private wells for their water. Contaminants from septic systems, fertilizer, and manure can contaminate the groundwater that residents use, and a Wisconsin survey of private wells showed how land use, geology, and construction can also affect drinking water quality. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed into law in January of 2020, which aimed at improving dairy trade with Canada and solidifying trade relations with Mexico. Fast forward to 2022, not all players are holding up their end of the deal - specifically, Canada.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wisconsin farmers are in the home stretch of planting duties - but it doesn't end there.  Lucas Clayton, Sales Manager with Wyffels, says that farmers have been keeping an eye on where herbicide and fungicide applications need to be, and they also have to spend time monitoring insects in things like cover crop fields. Clayton's also pretty excited about what's coming up at their Wyffels test...

75 years is a milestone for any program, and on Saturday evening Wisconsin celebrated 75 years of the Alice in Dairyland program.  Along with many past "Alices" - Taylor Schaefer was named the 75th.  Bob Bosold talks with Schaefer about her background and what she finds alluring about being Wisconsin's agriculture ambassador. Ashley Huhn with the Steffes Group shares details of a livesto...

Members of the Cambridge FFA have the unique opportunity to teach their younger peers about their passions within the agriculture industry. These student-led agricultural education events create a bond between the elementary students and the older students that they look up to.  Emily Klingbeil, the Cambridge FFA advisor, shares more about Cambridge FFA's Demonstration (Demo) Day event. See o...

May is mental health awareness month, and there are multiple resources to tap into at the Wisconsin Farm Center if you or someone you know are struggling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's bittersweet when we say good bye to one "Alice" and welcome another.  That's exactly what will be happening this weekend.  Bob Bosold visits with current Alice in Dairyland, Julia Nunes, about what it's been like serving TWO years as Wisconsin's agriculture ambassador, and what she'll remember most. Stephanie Hoff introduces us to the final candidate vying to be our next "Alice" - C...

Veterinarians are still feeling the effect of the pandemic in the supply chain of pharmaceuticals they use.  Dr. Hunter Lang, large animal vet at Lodi Veterinary Clinic, says it's like a rolling blackout.  One week you have one drug - the next week it's gone.  He talks with Pam Jahnke about how they're dealing with that. Taylor Schaefer was selected as the 75th Alice in Dairyland on...

Depending on where you live in the state of Wisconsin, you may have to exercise patience on the strawberry crop.  Jill Welke talks with the operators of McIlquham Berry Patch in Foster about how their season's coming along, and its slow.  They're not expecting to open their patch until the third week of June. Stephanie Hoff visits with Samantha Schuessler, Alice in Dairyland finalist. Wi...