You are here: Home / Archives for Featured / 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour

Manure runoff season is here

February 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Bauman (L) and Sisbach (R)

While every winter differs in Wisconsin, almost every winter has days when the snow melts quickly, it rains and manure runoff from farm fields becomes a greater threat. Back in 2004 and 2005 there were several runoff incidents which led to fish kills in some streams, that is when the Department of Natural Resources formed a task force to look at what could be done to prevent that from happening again. Working with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms, a plan was developed to raise farmer awareness of the risks of spreading manure on snow-covered ground as well as an advisory system which is used to assess the risk of runoff. Tom Bauman with the Bureau of Watershed Management and Runoff Management says as a result, farmers now develop nutrient management plans plus there are emergency response plans in place to deal with a spill.

Steve Sisbach works in enforcement at DNR; he says the key to any spill is to contain the spill as quickly as possible. State law does require that you report a spill to authorities and that you do whatever is necessary to contain the spill. U.W. Extension along with the Professional Nutrient Applicators of Wisconsin have conducted spill demonstrations around the state, videos of those containment exercises are now available on the web. Sisbach stresses DNR is there to help.

Bauman says February and March tend to present the greatest threat for runoff and urges farmers to pay attention to the weather forecast. If a farmer is in a position where storage is full and they need to move some manure Bauman says “work with their agronomist or the local land conservation department to try to identify fields that have the lowest risk for land application.” Another possibility is to share storage capacity with a neighbor.

Sisbach stresses the need to have a response plan in place in case of a spill, there is as one-page form available on the DNR website which is designed to have readily available should the need arise.

AUDIO:Bauman and Sisbach talk about the effort 12:23 mp3

Read more from the DNR here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured, News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Encouraging people to hunt

February 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Talk about a great job…Keith Warnke has one; he is the Hunting and Shooting Sport Coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “I get paid to recruit people to participate in hunting and shooting sports.” The fact is the number of hunters is declining across the United States so a number of states have decided to take action. Warnke says as more people move into cities, they are further removed from hunting and hunting areas. The economy is another factor cutting into spendable income, money used for hunting plus high gasoline prices don’t help. Age is another factor as younger people are not as likely to hunt as their parents or their grandparents.

In an effort to generate more interest in hunting, the DNR has developed a number of strategies like a mentor program which allows children age 10 or older to go out with a mentor to gain some hunting experience. Warnke says a majority of hunters have taken the natural path of following their parents but there are a large number of adults who missed out on that opportunity for one reason or another. “To address that we are taking learn-to-hunt programs into colleges, into these folks who want to live sustainably, locally, free-range, there’s all kinds of organizations and networks.” He cites the Badger Hunting Club on the U.W. Madison campus as an example of that effort.

Why promote hunting? Warnke says for one thing, “Hunters are a very large source of funding for conservation.” License fees go toward the funding for wetlands, prairie restoration, savannahs and recreation areas where people can view wildlife. He says hunters also have a “solid connection with the landscape, the land, the natural resources and an understanding of conservation.” There is also the tourism aspect, while Wisconsin doesn’t have the draw of the big game like the western states, “we still get hunters from all 50 states and several foreign countries every year.”

AUDIO:Warnke talks about promoting hunting 9:30 mp3

Learn more about hunting in Wisconsin here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , , , , ,

More volatility means more risk management

February 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Risk management has become a vital part of today’s farm and that’s where the folks at Stewart-Peterson help out. Nick Mueller is a Senior Market Advisor who works with producers to create a strategy to deal with the ups-and-downs of the grain markets. “Right now, due to the tight ending stocks, the market is probably holding a premium to what we should expect if we start the acreage that is expected for next year,” says Mueller. Of course a lot depends upon spring weather and planting progress, but Mueller does think we are going to see some acreage swing from corn back to soybeans at some point.

That is just an example of things that come to play in building a marketing plan; it should include what to do if the market goes up and if the market goes down. “Just because you don’t know what prices will do doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be marketing.” Mueller says when building that plan, find someone you trust and someone who can teach you about the market.

AUDIO:Mueller talks about a stragegy 4:33 mp3

Matt Mattke deals in dairy markets at Stewart-Peterson, a market which seems to be in a steady slide right now. “It seems to be supply-side driven right now with weekly cheese storage numbers increasing,” says Mattke. He says he is not sure right now if the increase in stocks is from declining exports or just increased production, “We will find out for sure with the next report or two”.

All indications are profit margins are going to be very narrow for dairy this year so Mattke says producers must be extremely cautious. “A producer has got to be ready to make some sales’ any time the market rallies in the next months. “Get some milk sold and then if you need to, you can always look to the call-option market to protect those sales if things keep moving higher.” As with grains, there are a lot of variables and therefore a lot of volatility in the dairy markets these days.

AUDIO:Mattke talks about the dairy markets 5:30 mp3

Visit Stewart-Peterson’s website here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

A very busy crew at AEM

February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) was created by the merger of two associations back in 2001. Today there are about 865 members of the association including many of the names you are familiar with in the agricultural and construction equipment industries. Operating from the AEM headquarters in Milwaukee as well as an office in Washington D.C. they provide numerous services as well as represent members on public policy issues.

A current issue AEM is deeply involved in is the proposal by LightSquared to build a broadband system across the country to better serve rural America. The problem is, the frequencies being used by LightSquared bump up against the frequencies used by Global Positioning Systems (GPS). The strength of the LightSquared system can cause interference for some GPS systems, the company has offered some solutions to the interference but O’Brien says they have not proven successful. O’Brien says the idea of providing broadband to rural America is a good thing but they need to figure out a way to do that without interfering with GPS. He believes there are engineers who will be able to figure it out.

Another legislative interest is an effort called I Make America, a grassroots movement by AEM to get Congress to create and fully fund a multi-year highway bill to rebuild the nation’s transportation infrastructure.

AEM is also going to be deeply involved in creation of the 2012 Farm Bill, he says they want to make sure that federal crop insurance and some other aspects of the safety net for farmers is in place.

A big project for AEM is Ag Connect Expo, a bi-annual trade show that attracts key customers for exhibitors, educational events along with annual meetings for a number of organizations. Charlie O’Brien is Vice President of AEM; he says they want to make Ag Connect Expo “The next generation of the trade show” and to make it a worldwide event. That last show attracted visitors from 62 countries and every state in the United States and nine provinces in Canada. The next show will be January 29 through 31, 2013 in Kansas City.

O’Brien says the association also compiles information from their members for their members to help them get a better handle on developing trends in the world of agriculture and some of that information is available to the general public on the AEM website.

AUDIO:O’Brien talks about the association 11:15 mp3

Visit the AEM webiste here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , , , , , ,

“If you drive a Magnum…it was made here”

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you have a Case IH Magnum or New Holland T8000 tractor it was made at the Case IH Racine Plant in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. Stephen Tyler is Plant Manager of the massive facility. He started as an industrial engineer with International Harvester at the combine plant in East Moline, Illinois in 1972. In 1988 he moved to Racine to manage the one-million-square-foot Case IH Plant on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 2002 Case IH decided to replace the antiquated facility and moved the tractor production to Sturtevant.

While there are 39 CNH plants around the world, this is the only plant where the transmission and tractor are built in the same building. “It’s given us nice benefits not only in cost, but in quality” says Tyler. The plant is so busy, they added a second shift to tractor assembly last spring.

Another unique feature of the plant is it does a “mix build” meaning the tractors are built by order so at anytime you look at the production line you will see a combination of red and blue tractors of varying horsepower and options. Tyler says it takes about five days to make a tractor, “If the order starts on Monday morning, the tractor will be on the truck to the dealer by Friday night.” Forty percent of the tractors built in the plant are exported; Tyler says some of their biggest customers are the countries of the former Soviet Union. No matter where you are in the world, “If you are driving a Magnum tractor, it came from Racine.”

Besides the two tractor lines, the plant also makes transmissions, final drives and pto boxes for the combines built in Grand Island, Nebraska, the front and rear axles for Steiger tractors built in Fargo, North Dakota and remote valves for the Steiger and the Puma tractors built in Antwerp, Belgium.

Tours of the plant are available; about 4,000 people from around the world visit the facility each year including farmers who can watch their tractor being built.

The facility is constantly being updated, installing new machinery to improve the operation, as Tyler states: “We are proud of the tractor, proud of our Magnum tradition and proud of our employees that build them.”

AUDIO:Tyler talks about the plant 16:00 mp3

Visit the CNH website here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , ,

Change and growth at QLF

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Roger Larson is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Quality Liquid Feeds, OLF. Based in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, the company started in 1977 with molasses products used in feed mills and lick tanks for pastured cattle. One of the key transitions for the company came in the late 1990’s when they started putting their own trucks on the road to deliver bulk product direct to farmers and today there are more than 100 of those trucks.

At the same time, the size of the average dairy herd has grown substantially as well and they are now feeding herds of up to 10,000 cows. To go with that, QLF has evolved from just a couple of products to “today, over 70 percent of our liquid feeds in dairy are customized to the specific dairy producer” says Larson.

About half of OLF’s business today is in dairy; they also do feedlot beef and cow-calf operations.

Why OLF? Larson says three reasons: a quality product, great service and that direct delivery service provided by QLF employees who take pride in what they do.

AUDIO:Larson talks about QLF 7:42 mp3

Visit the Quality Liquid Feeds website here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , ,

Wisconsin pork, corn and soybeans

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

On Wednesday we caught up with some of the Wisconsin commodity groups at Ag Day at the Capital:

A.V. Roth is in his third year as president of the Wisconsin Pork Association; he is the fifth generation on the Century Farm near Wauzeka and runs a 3,000 sow farrow-to-wean operation. He is at Ag Day to talk to his representatives about concerns about air emissions around farms. He is also hoping to get the legislature to extend the road weight limits in fall to manure haulers. Last fall some manure haulers in Central Wisconsin were ticketed for being overweight; that has prompted a closer look as to just what kind of pressure is placed on roads by floatation tires on manure tanks along with thoughts that we may need to reassess the integrity of town roads. Roth is going to serve on a Wisconsin Farm Bureau Task Force charged with seeking a solution to the problem.

Listen to Roth’s comments here 5:12 mp3

Bob Karls is Executive Director of the Wisconsin Soybean Association and the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board. He is just coming off a very successful Corn/Soy Expo last Thursday and Friday in Wisconsin Dells. “It was an amazing event, we had 1,500 people there all together under one roof discussing grain production, grain marketing and all the things that can help a corn and soybean producer become more profitable.”

Karls is as Ag Expo mainly to “support the agenda” noting the groups participating are “our number-1 customer.” He says they always want to help livestock producers in their effort to produce and raise animals “in the fashion that they deem appropriate.”

As for the Soybean Association, Karls says right now they are working on research proposals for the coming year, yield issues, disease issues, marketing projects and others.

Listen to Karls’ comments here 5:34 mp3

Dave Adams farms near Lake Geneva and serves as president of the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, he too was happy with the turnout at Corn/Soy Expo and especially the number of young producers in attendance.

As for Ag Day, he says he is basically happy with the State Legislature as it is. On the national level, Adams says he has no problem with the sunset of the ethanol blender’s tax credit and the import tariffs at the end of last year. He says the blender’s credit was going to the oil companies not to the ethanol producer or the farmer. He also says they have not noticed any diminished use of ethanol because “really it is the only oxygenate they have for gasoline.” He is concerned about some who have advocated elimination of the Renewable Fuels Standard; that would impact the ethanol industry.

Ethanol has been blamed for the price of corn and in turn the price of livestock feed. Adams says “It doesn’t matter what the price of corn is, it’s what the price of the product they’re selling is.” Adams argues he raises pigs and milked cows “and I didn’t make as much money when corn was $1.50 as they are right now when corn is $6.00.” It is all about net profit for producers.

Listen to Adams’ comments here 5:12 mp3

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Wisconsin DNR Secretary Stepp

February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Cathy Stepp serves as Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. First appointed to the DNR Board by then-Governor Tommy Thompson in 1998. That experience prompted her to run for and get elected to the State Senate. She served one term from 2002 to 2006 then chose to return home to her family’s trucking business. In 2011 she answered Governor Scott Walker’s call to be DNR Secretary.

The Secretary says she wants to show how people can produce jobs and still protect the environment in Wisconsin. “Farmers understand this, they know if they take good care of their land and they are responsible stewards and they protect waterways they are going to do better with their crops and with their livestock.” Stepp says DNR needs to do a better job of communicating with and listening to farmers and other businesses.

There have been a number of concerns about what some see as overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency. Stepp is concerned about some “rumblings” of what may be in the works and sees DNR’s job to “stand with Wisconsin citizens and folks who are producing or playing in Wisconsin and to help communicate the message to the federal government.”

Secretary Stepp also sees a lot of room for improvement when it comes to regulations regarding agricultural runoff and nutrient management plans “especially with the process.” She says when members of the Ag Committee showed her a couple of nutrient management plans she was shocked at the size of the plan and the expense involved in creating one. She says the DNR really needs to take a close look at what is needed and what isn’t in this process.

There are those in the State Legislature who have called for the DNR to be split into two agencies, one for environmental regulations and one for wildlife management, Secretary Stepp says while she believes the agency can be run better, it should continue as one.

AUDIO: Secretary Stepp talks about her agency 11:52 mp3

Visit the DNR website here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Making sure Wisconsin food is safe

February 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

State Government was the focus of Day 3 of the Brownfield Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour. We started off at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). We started-off with Steve Ingham, Administrator of the Division of Food Safety and Inspection. The Division regulates just about all food except restaurants, vegetable and fruit farms. “Our goal is to make sure that folks in Wisconsin have safe food that is honestly sold.” Ingham stresses his people want to help people get started and succeed in the food business, “We are not a roadblock.” He cites many times where people from his division can help food businesses avoid expensive mistakes but the key is to get the Division involved at the start.

Anytime you talk about food in Wisconsin you are going to talk milk and Ingham’s department is heavily involved in making sure the milk from America’s Dairyland is the best quality possible.

The department is also the lead in implementing the effort to allow the interstate shipment of state-inspected meats. Ingham says they will be submitting a packet of information to USDA by the end of this month “that hopefully will allow us to officially kick-off the program.” The Division of Food Safety and Inspection has surveyed state plants to see which are interested in participating in interstate sales, “We had about thirty-or-so which are interested and about twenty that are really interested.” Those plants will be submitted to USDA for approval. They also found that some plants were not interested in getting approval to sell all of their products across state lines, just some.

 

 

 

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The EAB fight continues

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The battle against the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) continues in Wisconsin and it isn’t getting any easier. Mick Skwarok leads the fight against the pest which is now found in 15 states including Wisconsin. A new infestation was found last year near La Crosse in addition to the known infestations in Vernon and Crawford Counties along with the expanding presence in Southeastern Wisconsin. “It’s in Wisconsin…it’s here to stay,” says Skwarok.

The pest is transported by wood with bark on and firewood is the biggest culprit. Skwarok says even though there are regulations in place designed to prevent the transfer of firewood, people either are unaware of the regulation or choose to ignore it. He stresses the key to limiting the spread of EAB is to limit the transfer of firewood. They have found three tiny wasps which are natural predators of the EAB however they feed only on the EAB which means it would be hard to establish the wasps without a large infestation.

Much of the fight has been funded by the federal government and that funding is being reduced, Skwarok says he is not quite sure how that reduction is going to affect the fight. He says more people are becoming aware of what to look for and more are reporting their findings to DATCP.

AUDIO:Skwarok talks about the EAB program 11:11 mp3

Visit the EAB website here:

Filed Under: 2012 Wisconsin Agribusiness Tour, Featured Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts