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Budget drops state funding for World Dairy Expo venue

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World Dairy Expo in Madison (File photo: Andrew Beckett)

A high profile project in Madison will have to advance without state funding. In March, Governor Tony Evers announced $30-million in his proposed capital budget, towards redevelopment at Dane County’s Alliant Energy Center. It’s the main facility for the World Dairy Expo each year.

But this week Republicans on the legislature’s budget panel eliminated that money. A disappointed Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said: “The state has always recognized the importance of the Alliant Energy Center to the entire state, and particularly to our ag community.”

Parisi said World Dairy Expo has a statewide impact, and attracts many visitors to Wisconsin. “We’ve been responsible for the debt service for 20 years on the center. The new pavilion, which is responsible for keeping World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, has been a partnership between the state and Dane County.”

Among the $600 million requested by Governor Tony Evers that Republicans cut from state building budgets this week — included the redevelopment funds for the center.

The county had planned to raise an additional $47-million for improvements at Alliant. Parisi said that will be difficult absent the state funding.

Wisconsin farmers already feeling pinch from China tariffs

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Wisconsin farmers are already feeling negative impacts from previous tariffs, as China announces more retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion dollars in U.S. goods. “It’s getting to the point now where just about everything produced in rural Wisconsin has got some kind of tariff on it, going into the Chinese markets,” said Wisconsin Farmers Union president Daren Von Ruden.

The Trump administration’s trade dispute with China follows on five years of falling commodity prices and losses from spring flooding. China is also establishing new trading relationships, as farmers in other countries learn how to cater to the Chinese markets.

Von Ruden said it’s difficult to see how a “trade war” helps Wisconsin farmers in the short-term, after they’ve spent years working to enter those same Chinese markets. “It took is 15-20 years to get into those markets,” he said. “It’s going to be another 10 to 20 year process to get back into those markets.”

State GOP hopes to fund dairy research centers to find new dairy products

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State Republicans are pushing for the creation of a network of UW based Dairy research facilities.

State Assemblyman Travis Tranel says the state produces more milk than it can handle, and that we need more markets and products for that dairy.

“We are very good producing milk. We are very good at producing high quality milk, and we are very efficient at producing lots of high quality milk, to our own demise, unfortunately.”

The 8 million dollars a year would fund UW based research locations in Madison, River Falls, and Platteville.

“And I think it’s the least that the state can do to show its commitment to an industry that we have a significant amount of our heritage tied to.”

The bill came up for a public hearing at the state capitol on Wednesday.

UW researchers get major grant to create dairy drinks of the future

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Wisconsin’s dairy farmers and state government want to create the dairy drink of the future.

Governor Tony Evers told a dairy conference in Madison that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will invest $750,000 towards the project.

“To establish the Beverage Innovation Center, a new center for excellence that would be housed in the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin campus.”

Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin CEO Chad Vincent says farmers are contributing another $250,000.

“The Center for Dairy Research and the innovation is critical, and it’s one of the best investments that we make.”

The goal of the project is to create a new technology for dairy drinks that don’t require refrigeration, and will allow for a wide scale of different tests and prototypes to find what they’re looking for. Dr. John Lucey with the Center for Dairy Research says this will allow them to purchase equipment for small batches to test many new potential dairy-based beverages.

“Looking for long shelf life, because people want convenience, and they want to be able to have this anywhere.”

That research would be made available to manufacturers and producers once it’s complete.

Bill would support Wisconsin’s hemp industry

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Proposed legislation will help support Wisconsin’s infant hemp industry. State Senator Patrick Testin said the legislation creates truth in labeling laws for hemp products, and incorporates lessons learned over the past year to create a program that better meets the needs of Wisconsin farmers and processors.

“We want to make sure that we’re able to administer our own program because we think we can administer it more effectively at the state level, as opposed to having the feds come in and mandate who it’s going to look and operate,” Testin said.

Is there money to be made? Representative Tony Kurtz is an organic farmer who grew hemp last year, the inaugural year for the state’s hemp program. “I’ll put it this way, I’m not growing it to lose money,” Kurtz said. “I think it will be profitable.”

The growing market for hemp derived products could represent an opportunity for Wisconsin’s hard-pressed dairy farmers to diversify. “Our farmers are going to run with this,” Testin said. “We’re really poisd right now to be the national leader.”
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Evers proposes state funding for home of World Dairy Expo

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Governor Tony Evers wants state taxpayers to help redevelop a major Madison venue. Evers proposed Wednesday that the state provide thirty million dollars towards redevelopment at Dane County’s Alliant Energy Center in south Madison.

“I’m excited to see this project move forward, and I know it will add value to the entire state of Wisconsin,” Evers said.

The Alliant complex attracts a number of high profile events, most notably the annual World Dairy Expo. Dane County Board chair Sharon Corrigan said the other $47 million for the project will come through public-private partnership, similar to those used to build pavilions on the 165-acre campus

The state money will be included in the capital budget Evers expects to announce next week.

State Ag department warns against mulching Christmas wreaths this year

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If you bought your Christmas wreath from a big box store this year, state ag officials want you to burn it or throw it away.

A batch of insect infested wreaths made it to a number of retailers this season. State ag spokeswoman Donna Gilson says the bugs are called EHS and they could spread to Wisconsin trees. 

“There’s landscaping trees in yards and parks, but there’s also our forests and our Christmas Tree industry is the big concern.”

Gilson says the bugs nest deep, and like to hide themselves. “If you have a wreath hanging on your wall, you wouldn’t see it. It’s on the underside of the needles where these insects feed.”

Make sure to burn the wreath entirely. If you can’t do that, bag it up and have it hauled away to a landfill. “Put them in a garbage bag, seal it up with a twistie-tie or a knot or whatever, put it in the trash can.

 

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified trees as being infested along with wreaths.

Survey finds Wisconsin bankers have questions about hemp

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Wisconsin bankers appear hesitant over hemp. Hemp and its derivatives have been removed from the Controlled Substances Act, and passage of the Farm Bill into law has intensified discussion and scrutiny of its crop potential.

But a recent Wisconsin Bankers Association survey of 95 Wisconsin bank CEOs and presidents found only 17 percent would be willing to actively seek to provide loans to industrial hemp farmers or processors in the state.


Many Wisconsin bankers say that so far, not enough is known about the crop including cost, price, yield, returns, contracts, and markets.

U.S. has record stockpile of processed cheese

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The U.S. can’t move its cheese. Trade tensions and tariffs from Mexico and China cut international demand for American cheese shortly after many producers in Wisconsin and other dairy states increased their production.

Now the Wall Street Journal reports that there’s a 1.4 billion pound stockpile of U.S. made cheese in cold-storage — the largest stockpile on record.

U.S. consumers don’t but as much processed cheese as they used to. Because cheese doesn’t last indefinitely, the growing stockpile along with falling prices could hurt the bottom line for even more dairy farmers.

Congress passes 2018 Farm Bill, sends it to President Trump for signature

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Congress has passed the 2018 Farm Bill.

Senator Tammy Baldwin voted yes on the bill, saying it will ease the pressure on dairy farms.

“I met with farmers across Wisconsin, and I brought their concerns and ideas to Washington to make sure that the farm bill works for our Wisconsin Farmers.”

She adds that current conditions are rough for farmers and their families. “Right now our farmers are facing a perfect storm of challenges, and these challenges have threatened their businesses and our communities.”

Congressman Ron Kind was one of three House Democrats to vote against the bill. He says the bill gives too much funding to corporate interests.

“It fails to reign in Wasteful subsidies and crop insurance programs that lead to overproduction by big agribusiness. It cuts $800 million from vital conservation programs, and does nothing to address the damage caused by the President’s trade war.”

Senator Ron Johnson also voted against the bill. He says it includes too much funding for food assistance programs. The bill now heads to President Trump for a signature.