MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON Pam Jahnke

Chelsea Wunnicke works for the Wisconsin College Saving Program and helps farm families save for their children's education, such as being a guide for the Edvest 529 program. 
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Leslie Rather's daughter benefits from the Edvest 529 program with the Wisconsin College Savings Program. She talks about her journey with saving for her daughter's education and how it has impacted all of their lives. 
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If you want a farming legacy to last for many generations, it's essential to take good care of the land by using effective conservation practices.  Bella Wood, 9th generation farmer of Ute Creek Cattle Company in New Mexico shares her family's success story. While they’re not in Wisconsin–with over 250  years of the Ute Creek Cattle Company,  the practices they use are still beneficial to us here.
Ute Creek Cattle Company was the 2021 New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award Winners.
https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award-program/ute-creek-cattle-company
*Photo Courtesy of Sand County Foundation
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No matter what state you call home, conservation is a universal priority for farmers dedicated to preserving the land for future generations.  Alice Crothers of Long Green Farms in Maryland sheds some light on how conservation has allowed their family to now be the 8th generation on the farm. 
The Crothers Family were the 2022 Maryland Leopold Conservation Award Winners.
https://sandcountyfoundation.org/our-work/leopold-conservation-award-program/caleb-and-alice-crothers
*Photo Courtesy of Sand County Foundation
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Big Sky Country is all about cattle.  Bob Bosold catches up with fellow farm broadcaster and cattle rancher, Taylor Brown, about how this season's range and markets are doing.With all the wet weather Wisconsin farmers are battling with, fields that have been tiled are paying dividends.  Charitee Seebecker learns more about the technology from Troy Aalsma, Sales Representative for Kartechner Brothers LLC in Waupun.Cheryl Zablocki Wagner is a field inspector for FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative clients.  She's out in barns across the state every week looking for sanitary issues that might get a warning or citation from federal inspectors.  She explains her job more to Pam Jahnke.  Paid for by FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.
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Wisconsin dairy operators are being asked to finish up their 2024 Dairy Producer Survey before the end of the month. DATCP mailed the survey to licensed producers in late May 2024. The survey includes about 30 questions on various topics including herd demographics, management practices, business structure, labor, and future plans. Survey responses will provide insight into industry challenges and opportunities.
Dan Bauer, supervisor of the Wisconsin Farm Center within the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, tells Pam Jahnke that previous survey's have helped guide development of programs and policy for the state's dairy industry.
Bauer said Wisconsin dairy farms are normally very good at returning the survey.  Previous survey's done in 2020 picked up about a 40% response rate.  That survey alone helped launch the Farmer Wellness Program and development of more mental health tools available to farms and their families/employees.
If you misplaced your survey, or never received one, you can contact the Wisconsin Farm Center at 800-942-2474 or email them:  farmcenter@wisconsin.gov.
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