MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

Wisconsin depends on exports to keep our dairy engine chugging.  Bob Bosold visits with Chad Vincent.  Vincent is not only the President and CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, he is also a member of the WI Ag Export Council.  It was established in 2021 to try and put all Wisconsin commodities at the front of business development globally.  It uses $5 million of state funds to get it all done.  What's the fu...

The story begins back in 1986, when Boston Red Sox fan Barry Levenson found himself completely crushed following his team's heartbreaking loss to the New York Mets in the World Series. Consequently, while wandering aimlessly down the aisles of a Woodman's supermarket late at night with tears rolling down his cheeks, Levenson unexpectedly found solace in the condiment section.

As Ken Zuckerman—marketing director of fin...

When the combines have wrapped up the harvest, the real work of marketing all that grain starts to unfold.  Regardless of where it's going, a lot of that grain will travel the Mississippi River.  Kiley Allan catches up with Captain Jimmy "JRock" Cheatam, Hines Furlong Line Inc.  He makes trips up and down the Mississippi daily.  He says recent rains have temporarily relieved drought conditions across t...

What do corn mazes, bumblebees, comedy, and Wisconsin farming have in common? SCIENCE! The Wisconsin Science Festival is underway, and you don't need a lab coat to join the fun.

Festival Director Samantha Mulrooney and Organizer Francesca Long tell Teri Barr how more than 800 events connect agriculture, nature, and everyday life with science -- in communities across the state.

The Wisconsin Science Festival runs for 10 days, throug...

The National FFA Convention begins soon, and Cheryl Zimmerman discusses what happens at convention, as well as how so many students without a production ag background have become involved in their school's FFA chapter for everything from a class that interested them to gaining leadership training.  And for the parents without an FFA or ag background, don't worry about sending your son or daughter to Indianapolis for this event...

Someone once told Brian Turner that giant pumpkins are 90% water and 10% magic. While he can confirm that the water content is definitely high, he can't exactly prove that they're magical. However, he says the feeling of a big win at a weigh-off definitely is. Brian lives in Spring Valley, Wisconsin, and has been growing giant pumpkins for six years. For the last four years, he's been trying to grow a pumpkin that breaks the 2,000-...

Child care in rural communities is a major hurdle for families.  Child care available during the harvest is an outright nightmare.  Jill Welke finds out more about thos challenges and the complex answers from Dr Florence Becot.  Becot is a Rural Socioligist and Lead of the Agricultural Safety & Health Program at Pennsylvania University.   For over 20 years, farm safety experts have argued that one ...

For nearly two months, dairy farmers faced a relentless slide in market values, watching cheese prices stair-step lower week after week. The spot market for block cheddar plunged as low as $1.27, reaching prices not seen in nearly a decade. However, after weeks of grinding lower, the market finally hit a turning point. Extremely low prices triggered a wave of buying activity, ...

When you sign up for a social media platform, you sign up for something called a handle. It's like your digital name tag. It's uniquely yours, and people can find you easily by typing it into the search bar. In just 2010, when Dan Venteicher took the handle "IowaDairyFarmer," he had no idea what was in store. Now, the dairy farmer has nearly 3 million followers on social media where he shares the story of the American dairy industr...

The Wisconsin Beef Council recently partnered with Chef Noah and the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. culinary team to provide hands-on beef education to culinary students at WCTC and MATC, as well as an educational dinner with the ACF of Milwaukee Chapter. Chef Noah is the  Associate Director of Culinary Services with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. 

Chef Noah demonstrated how to break down a beef Chu...

Many Wisconsin growers have been concentrating on harvesting soybeans, but now the combines are heading toward the corn fields.  Lucas Clayton, district sales manager with Wyffels in southwest Wisconsin is ready for the data.

Clayton says the heat and dry weather have really helped on moisture within that ear - and the plant as a whole.  Keeping a plan in place for harvesting those fields that might have been compromised ...

"Perfect Sundays" debuted at World Dairy Expo with producer Sam Goldberg on hand.  It's a mini-series that has a dairy family at its core who suffers the suicide of its patriarch.  What happens next?  How do you go on?  How does the farm go on, or does it?  Pam Jahnke visits with the New York City native on how he found his way to this project.  The farms he met along the way, and how he hopes to partn...