Paul Mitchell, director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said farmers were already expected to receive $37.2 billion in direct government payments this year, according to projections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the department surveyed 2,871 farmers at the start of the year. It’s the first time the agency has done the survey since 2010.
The University of Wisconsin- Madison and Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association received $6.13 million to help dairy farmers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey was developed by DATCP with UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (UW-CALS) and distributed in March, just before the outbreak of COVID-19, according to a DATCP news release.
UW meat science program partners with Vita Plus to distribute surplus pork.
The Wisconsin Farm-Related Fatality Report, which was inactive between 2006 and 2020, is now being updated again to offer insight on the state’s ag-related deaths.
The report said Wisconsin farm fatalities reached 41 in 2017 and 34 in 2018, a rise from the last report, which claimed 25 deaths in 2006. Researchers Bryan Weichelt and John Shutske recently resurrected the annual report, which was not updated for 14 years.
Shutske, an extension specialist and professor in several ag health and safety programs at University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it’s important to remember that these aren’t just statistics – every number represents a real person, someone’s parent or child. He said he hopes farmers have a self-interest in preserving farm safety and preventing accidents. Growing up as a child on a farm himself, Shutske said he knew people who wore farm injuries, like a missing limb, as a badge of honor.
Noted: Sandy Stuttgen, an ag educator for the University of Wisconsin-Madison extension, says the first signs of eye irritation are tearing, tear stains and squinting, which get progressively worse as pink eye continues to develop. Pink eye may also appear as an opaque spot on the cornea. Conjunctivitis and corneal ulceration may also occur, she writes.
Paul Mitchell, director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the list is not surprising given the geographic size of the counties and the number of farmers located there.
Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that larger operations are able to contain certain costs in ways that smaller operations can’t.
In Wisconsin, for example, the state’s Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection produced an eight-point list of rules that farmers markets must follow during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services produced a four-point list—which has since disappeared from the internet—that contradicted the eight-point list. Between May 1 and mid-June, however, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension reconciled the two lists with a third set of instructions.
Joy Kirkpatrick is an outreach specialist for the Center for Dairy Profitability at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She thinks farm families will utilize the service, not only for its convenience but also for the anonymity telehealth services provide.
Planting of corn and soybeans was a week ahead of the five-year average this spring. But Jerry Clark, agricultural agent for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension in Chippewa County, said cooler-than-normal temperatures kept crops from growing at the usual pace.
Quoted: “The sharp drop in May was the result of the COVID-19 virus shutting down schools, universities, restaurants and food-service which caused a big drop in the sales of milk, cheese and butter,” Bob Cropp, a University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension professor emeritus, wrote in a recent column.
Today, wild garlic is found only in parts of Central Asia, but it may once have grown wild from China to India, Egypt and Ukraine, according to Philipp W. Simon, a research leader at the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Research Service and a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s department of horticulture. From those ancient beginnings, garlic has traveled the globe to become one of the world’s most important vegetable crops.
Rebecca Larson, an associate professor of biological systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin, has studied the climate effects of agriculture and the biological processes that take place when microorganisms break apart manure.
Rebecca Larson, an associate professor of biological systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin, has studied the climate effects of agriculture and the biological processes that take place when microorganisms break apart manure.
The number of people who are uncertain where their next meal is coming from is likely beyond anything seen in recent history, according to Judi Bartfeld, food security research and policy specialist with the Division of Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the USDA program likely focused on processors who already produce retail-size packages.
Quoted: “It’s kind of like a family that’s involved with their children in sports,” said Richard Halopka, a University of Wisconsin-Extension agent from Clark County.
“Not having the state fair would be a big letdown. But, unfortunately, this year it’s a sign of the times,” Halopka said.
“It looks like cow numbers are still going up and milk production is still going up, so there’s countervailing forces,” Jared Hutchins, a researcher in dairy economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said by phone.
Bob Cropp, emeritus professor of agricultural and applied economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the trend has already continued into 2020 despite price improvements at the end of 2019.
“We definitely can see shortage of products in the grocery stores,” said Jeff Sindelar, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences with an expertise in meat processing. If the larger processing plants continue to shut down or operate with limited capacity, certain products may be unavailable and others could get really expensive, he added.
America’s food producers set up their supply chains to cater a certain percentage to restaurants and a certain percentage to supermarkets, and while you might think, “food is food,” supermarkets and their shoppers have different needs from restaurants:
“Seldom does a consumer go to a grocery store and want to buy a 5-pound bag of shredded cheese,” said Mark Stephenson, director of Dairy Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “They wanted maybe 1-pound bags at a time. You can’t just put 1-pound bags through a 5-pound line. Not possible. You have to have a different piece of equipment set up differently. We’ve had an industry that’s had to shuffle a great deal to move product from where it was produced before to where it needs to be today.
Quoted: “I think a lot of that first buying was people loading up and now I think that demand has decreased,” said Ronald Kean, a University of Wisconsin Extension poultry specialist. “Some of our large egg producers sell a lot of liquid eggs, but that has dropped off because that’s mostly used by restaurants and schools.”
“Seldom does a consumer go to a grocery store and want to buy a 5-pound bag of shredded cheese,” said Mark Stephenson, director of Dairy Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “They wanted maybe 1-pound bags at a time. You can’t just put 1-pound bags through a 5-pound line. Not possible. You have to have a different piece of equipment set up differently. We’ve had an industry that’s had to shuffle a great deal to move product from where it was produced before to where it needs to be today.”
Producers handling rejected milk loads must also consider the challenges when incorporating into a manure system. Rebecca Larson, associate professor and Extension specialist in the department of biosystems engineering and division of Extension, University of Wisconsin-Madison, says milk has fat, which will coat mechanical systems and result in clogging.
Quoted: “This is a merger that is going to be harmful to consumers and to dairy farmers,” said Peter Carstensen, an emeritus law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former antitrust attorney at the Department of Justice. “Consumers in some regions of the country … are very, very likely to face higher prices for milk. The resulting DFA dominance will be quite substantial.”
“This is a merger that is going to be harmful to consumers and to dairy farmers,” said Peter Carstensen, an emeritus law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a former antitrust attorney at the Department of Justice. “Consumers in some regions of the country … are very, very likely to face higher prices for milk. The resulting DFA dominance will be quite substantial.”
Quoted: “I worry about additional heavy farm losses this year,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Apps, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the author of dozens of books chronicling rural life in Wisconsin and helped answer Tucker’s question.
Quoted: Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he doesn’t think the agriculture industry has seen the full impact of the pandemic yet.
Mark Stephenson and John Shutske with the University of Wisconsin-Madison say there are six specific things farmers, farm families, ag employers, and employees need to be aware of and plan for.
Applications will be accepted and reviewed by a third-party representative from the UW Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.
Joe Lauer, agronomy professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said some farmers were forced to leave corn in the field after snow started to fill up fields.
Kevin Jarek, agricultural agent for University of Wisconsin-Extension in Outagamie County, said some farmers were forced to harvest crops in wet conditions, leaving major ruts in their fields or compacted soils which will complicate planting this year.
The renovation to the dairy plant and the addition to the Center for Dairy Research will be a $72.6 million dollar project.
“When you change the conditions and those winters become more extreme, the plant is disoriented,” said Amaya Atucha, fruit crop specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Nitrogen management is a huge struggle for potato farmers, said Chris Kucharik, chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Agronomy Department.
While it depends on the style of cheese, Mark Johnson, assistant director of the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison says it averages to about 10 pounds of milk for 1 pound of cheese.
Quoted: But Peter Carstensen, professor emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, said the deal could end up hurting dairy farmers by giving DFA too much power over the market.
After hitting a historic high in 2014 of more than $26 per 100 pounds on the strength of massive buying from China, the bottom fell out. When China stopped its milk-buying spree, there was already oversupply from both American and European Union producers, said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin.
The GOP proposal also would direct UW-Madison to compile a report on ways to best serve the state’s farmers and conduct research on technology specific to agriculture.
The GOP proposal also would direct UW-Madison to compile a report on ways to best serve the state’s farmers and conduct research on technology specific to agriculture.
When China stopped its milk-buying spree, there was already oversupply from both American and European Union producers, said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin.
A University of Wisconsin System regent committee approved spending $32.6 million Thursday to cover cost overruns for two UW-Madison construction projects.
The positions, which would cost the state $2.5 million over the next two years, would be based in the Division of Extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
After hitting a historic high in 2014 of more than $26 per 100 pounds on the strength of massive buying from China, the bottom fell out. When China stopped its milk-buying spree, there was already oversupply from both American and European Union producers, said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin.
Paul Mitchell, director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said farmers also saw their income increase in 2019 thanks to crop insurance payments. He said many farmers received indemnity checks in late summer after unfavorable spring weather prevented planting.
Pam Hodgson never thought she would make cheese. Now she is one of two women in the U.S. with the prestigious title of “master cheesemaker.”
Education: Bachelor’s degree in dairy science from the University of Wisconsin
Quoted: But the only major difference between MPP and DMC, says Mark Stephenson, is the cost and coverage levels, not the basic concept. Stephenson is the director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Noted: It touted efforts it plans to focus on over the coming years, such as developing a program in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin to assist farmers to reduce leaching nitrates from fertilizer into groundwater. The report also noted the administration had started a program to monitor water chemistry and fish tissue near sites contaminated with PFAS.
Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Wisconsin usually sees a 4 percent decline in herd numbers each year. But the prolonged period of low milk prices from 2014 to 2019 have forced many farms to sell their herds.
Noted: This winter, Wisconsin farm couples can attend workshops in Mineral Point, Wausau, Appleton, Waupun, Eau Claire and Rice Lake, aimed at helping them manage stress associated with financial problems.
The workshops, sponsored by the state agriculture department and University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, will include a segment on how to talk with children about problems on the farm, and decision-making when the farm may have to shut down.
Joe Lauer, agronomy professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said this year was just behind the slowest harvest pace in 1992.
Shelby Ellison, a hemp researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the new approvals will add another helpful tool to farmers’ toolboxes.
A two-year study conducted at the University of Wisconsin found that leaving corn standing in the field tends to increase the amount lost when the feed grain is harvested and dried. Yield loss can climb from a 3-5% loss in November to 22% in December.
“In a perfect world that university staff dream about, you would treat every field separately according to its soil test,” says Dick Wolkwoski, Extension soil scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
FoodChain provides online marketplace, handles delivery.
Quoted: Dean “had bigger, industrywide issues with the consumption of milk products. But the loss of the Walmart business was just another thing they didn’t need,” said Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Paul Mitchell, director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said farmers have received a small portion of food dollars for years. He said the trend is driven by consumers’ desire to buy the cheapest food products available.
