Rural Issue
Summit to address Wisconsin’s agricultural needs
One of the challenges facing agriculture down-the-road is will there be enough skilled people to fill the jobs the industry will create in the years to come? All indications are, there are not enough people in the “training pipeline” today to meet those needs tomorrow. That is the impetus behind the Wisconsin State Legislature creating the Wisconsin Agricultural Education and Workforce Development Council. A collection of people from the ag industry, academia and government working to determine how best to fill that need.
As part of the effort, the Council is hosting an AgriFuture Summit in April. Executive Director Al Herrman says the conference is designed to determine what is the future of agriculture in the state, what are the threats and opportunities for agriculture and what do we need to do to make sure we have the workforce ready to meet those needs.
Herrman talks about the effort:
The summit will open Wednesday evening, April 8th at the Sheraton in Madison with a dinner and education panel featuring:
- Tony Evers, State Superintendent, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
- Morna Foy, President, Wisconsin Technical College System
- Dean Kate VandenBosch, UW-Madison, CALS
- Dean Rick Klemme, UW Extension
- Dean Dale Gallenberg, UW-River Falls, CAFES
Thursday’s events will be at the Alliant Center starting with presentations from:
- Reggie Newson, Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
- James Golembski, Executive Director, Bay Area Workforce Development Board
- Dennis Winters, Chief Economist, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
Next will be an industry panel featuring:
- Jim Holte, president, Wisconsin Farm Bureau
- Paul Palmby, Executive VP and COO Seneca Foods Corporation
- Karri Neils, EVP-Human Resources, Sargento Foods
- David Moyer, president, Wisconsin Green Industry Federation
- Christopher Salm, CEO Salm Partners
- Jim Sommer, president, Midwest Equipment Dealers Association
Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Ben Brancel will be the luncheon speaker.
In the afternoon, attendees will break into discussion groups to determine ways to address the challenges. Those groups will report back to a final general session.
The Summit is open to all interested parties, further details and registration available here.
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