MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

Teri Barr discusses Madison School District’s Farm to School success, as students take raising food from seed to plate by learning how to grow and prepare fresh foods.

The upcoming ag weather forecast looks good until rain chances increase Sunday

Larry Lee interviews Willie Cade with Repair-dot-org, who explains how repair costs for farm machinery now exceed the cost of operating that machinery on a per-acre basis, and how the trend of dealers carrying fewer parts is keeping down machines off line longer, costing farmers even more money.  He also suggests farmers opt out of the proposed John Deere settlement on right to repair and access to diagnostic software.

Kiley Allen introduces us to Wood County Century Farmers at D&J Kundinger Farm, with John and Dorothy Hardesty.

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Willie Cade with Repair-dot-org explains how machinery down time, the lack of necessary parts at dealerships, slow dealer service, and continued problems with repair software availability for farmers and independent technicians is costing farmers a lot of money.

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Jill Welke interviewed several new National FFA officers to get their outlook on the year ahead, and the things that they will be focusing on.

Larry Lee filled in for meteorologist Stu Muck to go over the ag weather forecast for Wisconsin.

Film producer Katie Ulman sat down with Mid-West Farm Report’s Teri Barr to talk about the new movie called Cows Come Home, which depicts one family’s life on a dairy farm.

Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden explains why he’s skeptical about USDA and President Trump’s Harvest Fuel Relief program.  

Bryce Windecker with EA Risk (formerly Ever.ag) explains what’s happening with dairy markets, and how Class III milk futures in November are higher because of a major coloring problem at a large cheddar cheese producing plant.

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With so many packed agendas and talented speakers, it's never easy to decide which agricultural conference you're going to go to in Wisconsin. Steven Hall is a faculty and extension specialist at UW–Madison and one of the keynote presenters at the Wisconsin Water and Soil Health Conference. His keynote is entitled "Short- and Long-Term Steps to Decrease Nutrient Loss from Wisconsin's Agricultural Lands." He stopped by to tell Kiley Allan about just a few of the best ways to keep phosphorus out of our waterways and on our fields.

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Most of the time, a soybean harvest yields an off-white, tannish-colored soybean seed. However, this year, many farmers are seeing purple seeds instead. Damon Smith is an extension specialist and professor of plant pathology at UW-Madison. He says farmers have been submitting photos of purple, chalky, and often shriveled soybean seeds.

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It's not just the swarm of trick-or-treaters that could strike fear in your soul.  Think about the changing weather and all the creepy critters that will be looking for warmth and shelter.  Guess what?  Your home, garage, barn, or outbuilding could be just what they're looking for!  Kiley Allan finds out the habits of these critters at this time of year to help you keep them out!   Marcus Mueller joins Kiley. He's the owner at Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control. He says now is when calls come in for things like bats and rodents, but there are other creatures to consider!

A few sprinkles might slow things down in some of Wisconsin today, but not for long.  Stu Muck says that winds will pick up and temperatures will fluctuate a little over the next 48 hours.

Wisconsin is probably around the halfway point when it comes to the harvest.  Most of the soybeans are in the bin, but the story of the corn harvest is still unfolding.  Larry Lee catches up with Wyffels Regional Sales Manager, Luke Bird.  Bird says so far the yield numbers have been bigger than expected.  Growers can find out how things are pacing and where on the wyffels.com website and in the agronomy update.  Paid for by Wyffels.

It's a topic that comes up in conversation from time to time, especially if a valuable parcel of farmland is sold.  Who bought it?  Do you really know who bought it?  That's a question that's occurring not just in Wisconsin but nationwide.  Pam Jahnke reports that a new survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation shows how foreign ownership of farmland has escalated.  According to a survey from 2024, foreign entities held approximately 47 million acres of U.S. ag land. That's up about 90 percent since 2010, and accounts for about 3.6 percent of total ag land in the United States.

So everyone's curious about beef prices.  Why are they so high?  When will it change?  What does it cost to produce that beef?  One Lena, IL beef producer has literally decided to open his farm gates for people to get answers on those questions.  Chad Bickers of CDK Angus in Lena, IL tells Pam Jahnke about "his dream" of helping connect the dots for consumers with questions.

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Regional Sales Manager Luke Bird has an update on harvest, corn variety performance, and planning for 2027.

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Today's Mid-West Farm Report has information from USDA Under Secretary Dr. Mindy Brashears about aid for meat processors, and John Heinberg from Total Farm Marketing recaps the markets and explains why Brazil's elections are impacting U.S. grain markets.

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USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Mindy Brashears discusses new funding opportunities to help Wisconsin expand small meat processing operations and train additional workers for careers in meat processing.

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Farmers play a crucial role in keeping our natural resources, like our water and soil, healthy. And the folks at the Wisconsin Water and Soil Health Conference know the importance of keeping farmers at the forefront of that conversation. Laura Paletta, a co-chair for the conference, sits down with Kiley Allan. She says we can expect some exciting speaker panels that feature almost exclusively farmers.

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