MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

When McKenna Reichling was 17 years old, she lost her older brother, Myles, to suicide. Although she was still in high school, she realized the importance of mental health and decided it was time to take better care of her own. Since then, she says she has become, “ an advocate for my family, for myself, and for, you know, our whole community just to advocate for mental health and resilience.”

This series is presented by Rural Mutual Insurance. 

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Can you imagine building an orchard from scratch.  Well Deirdre Birmingham did!  She's the owner/operator of The Cider Farm.  They treat cider production like winemaking, utilizing specific tannic English and French apple varieties to create cider with distinct mouthfeel, complexity, and high quality. Because European cider apple trees were not commercially available in the U.S. in 2003, Birmingham and her husband hand-grafted their orchard trees using rootstock and scion wood learned from a local orchardist in Wisconsin. Apple seeds produce genetically unpredictable trees, requiring grafting (cloning) to maintain specific varieties; the precise process involves lining up thin layers beneath the bark of the scion wood and rootstock. Unlike mass-produced U.S. ciders that rely on table apples or imported juice concentrates, The Cider Farm grows high-quality varietals despite risks like high disease susceptibility and regional weather variations.

Stu Muck says there's beautiful weather on the way for the next few days.  Welcome relief for some people that suffered with those heavy rains earlier.

It's a Wyffels Wednesday!  Brent Tharp with Wyffels gives us a quick preharvest update.  He tells Kiley Allan that those rains didn't do a lot of damage, but they definitely added a few points of moisture to those cobs.  Paid for by Wyffels Hybrids.

You're the end of the line for the family farm.  That's a place many farmers don't want to end up at, but it happened to Randy Roecker of Loganville.  Roecker shares the elements that were brewing when he faced his own depression at the thought of losing the family farm.  He shares with Larry Lee how he managed to get through the very difficult transition, and use what he learned on the other side to help other farmers.  Sponsored by Rural Mutual Insurance during National Farm Safety and Mental Health Week.

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As farmers look eagerly look towards harvest, the professionals at Wyffels Hybrids are doing the same. Brent Tharp, Product Manager at Wyffels, sits down with Kiley Allan to talk about harvest progress across the country. He also dives into some resources that are built to help producers minimize loss and maximize ROI.

Online agronomy tools can be found at wyffels.com.

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The American Dairy Coalition is the latest dairy group to question the use of privately-funded attorneys by Attorneys General in a dozen states to work specifically on energy and environmental issues, saying there needs to be more tranparency and assurances that special interests are not buying regulatory or enforcement outcomes.

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Pageantry platforms are a crucial part of the queen's reign. It isn't often one of the ladies chooses agriculture as her advocacy project, but Viroqua ag teacher turned Miss Wisconsin USA couldn't see her reign any other way. Pam Jahnke sits down with Olivia Lulich to discuss why agricultural advocacy is so important to her.

Stu Muck says the rain will likely stay away until the weekend! Will it be enough of a dryout for our crops?

A fourth-generation Wisconsin farm family is sharing a deeply personal story about the pressures of farming, mental health, and the importance of asking for help. Brian Reisinger says his family’s history of overcoming hardship also came with an expectation to simply keep going. Paid for by Rural Mutual Insurance.

Pam catches up with Ashley Huhn. Although crops are starting to come out of the fields, there is still a lot of business to be transacted with the Steffes Group. Paid for by Steffes Group.

Global factors are the talk of the market early on a Tuesday morning. John Heinberg, market advisor with Total Farm Marketing, says there's a rumor that Iran is calling for peace. However, the source is not very reputable. More attention is turned to the US and China meeting scheduled for later this week. While primary discussion isn't expected to be agricultural, it's always an underlying factor.

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Carey Jones is still working the land of his Richland County farm in the Township of Richwood. He's raising beef cattle, growing corn and soybeans -- while also holding down a full-time job. It's important. The farm has gone through seven generations during the last 100 years. But at times, Jones had to fight to get pieces of it back.

His wife, Barb, has been part of that journey, too. A farm girl herself and his high school sweetheart, she helped work the farm so he could maintain his full-time job.

They tell Teri Barr why keeping their farm in the family is now about future generations. And how it's also a way to help young people understand the importance of agriculture. 

You can catch more Century and Sesquicentennial farm stories by visiting MidwestFarmReport.com, brought to you courtesy of Compeer Financial.

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Former dairy farmer Randy Roecker discusses his struggles with the farm financial crisis, mental health, the decision to sell the farm, and life after farming, including partnering with another affected family to start the Farmer Angel Network.

This series is presented by Rural Mutual Insurance. 

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From the northern end of the World's Longest Barn in Eau Claire, Jill Welke teases Cranfest and all it has to offer. After paying for parking, this walking festival is free and is planning to have some special activities and visitors.

Ag meteorologist Stu Muck says weekend rain gave us some varying totals across the state. He's also keeping an eye on the first frost chances we're going to see in Northern Wisconsin.

Pam Jahnke is kicking off Rural Mutual Insurance Mental Health Week with Jeff Ditzenberger. The former farmer faced mental health challenges himself. Now, he's helping others have important conversations and leverage tools that are available. Paid for by Rural Mutual Insurance.

Wisconsin Original Barnyard Beautifier, Jody Miller, joins Kiley Allan to talk about Cheese Fair Off The Square. The event is set to take place September 26, and will feature two things that make Wisconsin special: the dairy and the people. Paid for by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin

We're talking about Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) again. Dr. Keith Poulsen gives us an update on the protocol being followed be the infected farm near Rice Lake.

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A fourth-generation Wisconsin farm family is sharing a deeply personal story about the pressures of farming, mental health, and the importance of asking for help.

Brian Reisinger says his family’s history of overcoming hardship also came with an expectation to simply keep going. But after learning his father had struggled with thoughts of harming himself following the loss of the family’s dairy herd, Reisinger realized -- the two had been standing side by side -- while each privately carried the same fear.

Now, as Reisinger shares that experience with Teri Barr, he explains why it's also meant to be a reminder for other farmers -- asking someone how they’re doing can be the first step toward getting help. 

(Note: This interview is part of a special series brought to you by Rural Mutual Insurance. The Mid-West Farm Report Network and Rural Mutual Insurance reminds farmers and their families that physical farm safety and mental wellness go hand in hand.

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With Wisconsin's first fall case of HPAI confirmed at a turkey farm near Rice Lake, Dr. Keith Poulsen,  Director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, discusses farm biosecurity, the meaning of "Gold Status" and what the new findings of the virus in Texas cattle might mean for Wisconsin beef and dairy producers.

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