The future of farming in Wisconsin includes opportunities and challenges. A wide-ranging report, a project of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters is to be released this weekend, after two and a half years of study
Project Co-Chair Tom Lyon says challenges include addressing issues such as profitability, cost and availability of healthcare, and declining school enrollments in rural Wisconsin. But Lyon notes that there's a tremendous amount of diversity in production and processing, and a lot of optimism. A lot of the future will depend, says Lyon, on how we make use of resources. "We certainly can't stop growth," says Lyons. "But I think the study points out that we can make much better use of our land and our water."
The final report of the project will be released Sunday at the Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan.