Dairy farmers are waiting to witness the impact of revisions to the Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO) beginning in June. How can you best prepare your farm for some of the risk that comes with these changes? Leonard Polzin is a dairy economist with the Division of Extension. He’ll be walking us through the what-ifs of 2025 wiuth Stephanie Hoff. But first, he reminds us that the Dairy Margin Coverage enrollment is open now! (Jan. 29-March 31)

Foggy start to a Friday morning.  Stu Muck says the mild weather we enjoyed Thursday is over for a little while.

Today the movie "Green and Gold" opens nationwide.  The film about a dairy farmer that bets the farm on the Green Bay Packers, was largely filmed in Wisconsin and specifically, Door County.  John Sawyer is just a regular guy in Egg Harbor.  He used to milk cows, today he raises beef along with selling real estate.  He became a critical partner to the movie's directors and producers by bringing in fields of crops, farming equipment, dairy equipment and livestock from the area to create the 90's era setting for the film.  He talks about the experience with Pam Jahnke.

Craig T. Nelson stars as "Buck" the dairy farmer at the center of "Green and Gold".  He shares with Pam Jahnke his admiration of today's farmers, and how he hopes the movie portrays them.

Feb. 1st has been touted as the day that the Trump Administration will begin deploying tariffs.  No one knows what or where these tariffs will impact, but agriculture has to be ready.  How do you get your mind around that kind of business altering adjustment?  Megan Roberts, Principal Quantitative and Economic Analyst at Compeer Financials speaks with Pam Jahnke about an upcoming webinar designed to help farms prepare.  Paid for by Compeer Financial.

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77th Alice in Dairyland Halei Heinzel joins Mid-West Farm Report in-studio for your Super Bowl party needs. She says potatoes can be used in so many ways, whether you enjoy them fried, mashed, boiled, baked, or stewed. They'll make the perfect addition to your indoor tailgate party as an appetizer or a main dish.

Wisconsin’s farmers grow six varieties of potatoes – Russet, Round White, Round Red, Yellow Flesh, Blue, and Purple potatoes – providing consumers with diverse choices for all their potato needs, even when shopping local.

Wisconsin is the 3rd largest potato-producing state in the nation, contributing to the diversity of Wisconsin agriculture.

Potatoes are low in calories, high in fiber, and are a great source of vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants. They also help to power athletic performance. When you use Wisconsin potatoes, you are gaining these benefits.

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Mass deportation, trade wars – these are phrases that we’re hearing frequently with a new administration that right now are followed with some question marks. Today, we’re getting some perspective on what President Trump’s immigration and tariff stance looks like and how it could impact Wisconsin farmers. Cody Heller joins us from Central Wisconsin Ag Services, which works in veterinary care, seed sales, and agronomy services. In addition, Cody farms 7,000 acres and operates a 3,000-cow dairy. He also works in consulting overseas on dairy and crop farm development. Tracking policy development is a part of the job.

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In rural America, agriculture is a way of life and is learned through experiences from a young age, but those who grow up in urban settings don’t get that experience. There is one school in Milwaukee looking to change that. The River Trails School of Agricultural Science offers a unique experience to their students by having an ag focus in all grades starting in kindergarten all the way through 8th grade. Josh Gonzalez a second-grade teacher and agriculture committee chairman at the school shares how they incorporate agriculture into their curriculum. He says that being able to teach the students how to produce food and see what agriculture has to offer are the goals of the system that the school has set up.

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77th Alice in Dairyland Halei Heinzel joins us in-studio as she passes the six-month mark of her role as Wisconsin’s agricultural ambassador. Travel is a big part of the job, and she’s put over 20,000 miles on her vehicle so far traveling to local events and classrooms across the state. Her work has also taken her overseas. She just returned from a trade mission in Vietnam with the Ginseng Board of Wisconsin. Heinzel tells us about the trip and why she was asked to join. She recommends visiting https://realwisconsinginseng.com/ to find local ginseng near you.

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The Trump administration plans on using tariffs – or higher taxes on foreign goods – as a negotiation tool to benefit U.S. consumers. Hiccups could come into play if our trading partners retaliate with their own tariffs. What would that mean for agriculture? Chuck Nicholson is an associate professor in ag economics and dairy science at UW-Madison. He’s created some models to predict what the exact cost would be for a Wisconsin dairy farm if our top trading partners retaliated. He reminds us, that this is not a prediction of the future, just a model to help decision-makers.

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Tari Costello is the new executive director of the WI FFA Alumni and Supporters.  Costello is a freshly retired former ag teacher from Waupun.  Despite her extensive background with state FFA, she still had to maneuver through some challenges.  Jill Welke gets an update.

Near record breaking warmth today for Wisconsin, but the winds stay noticeable.  Stu Muck brings the weather details.

There's anxiety in agribusiness and farmers too over potential backlash surrounding Trump policy decisions.  Ben Jarboe talks to Nick Paulson, ag economist from the University of Illinois and former senior economic advisor for the council of economic advisors in the white house.  He shares his insights on why agriculture can become a target for retaliatory measures even if agriculture wasn't involved in initial policy decisions.

The WI Farm Bureau delegation returned from the 106th annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation.  Pam Jahnke recaps some of their honors including receiving the Pinnacle Award and New Horizon trophy.

Matt Tranel, dairy analyst for EverAg, joins Pam Jahnke to recap the latest milk production report. Tranel says he expects that the impact HPAI has been having on California milk will dissipate fairly quickly.  He also says all of agriculture's keeping an eye on February 1st as the declared beginning of potential tariffs.

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Entries are flowing in for the 2025 US Championship Cheese Contest, coming up in March in Green Bay.  Ben Jarboe finds out about new categories and flavors for this year's events from Kirstin Strohmenger from the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association.

Mild but windy - that's the forecast from Stu Muck.

Grotegut Dairy in Netwon, WI, has been named 2025 Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year by the International Dairy Foods Association.  The 3,500 cow dairy engages with a lot of technology to keep cows healthy and happy, and harness the data the farm generates to open new markets like carbon credits.

Ashley Huhn from the Steffes Group tells Pam Jahnke that their catalog deadline is quickly approaching.  March looks like another big month for sales according to Huhn.  Paid for by Steffes Group.

River Trail School of Agricultural Sciences within the Milwaukee Public School District teaches agriculture everyday, not just a one-and-done field trip.  Josh Gonzalez is a 2nd grade teacher there and he explains what benefits students and their families gain from classes. Specifically - food.

It's not a new story.  UW-Extension in Wisconsin is struggling.  A revised model that removed county based extension services and pivoted toward regional offerings was met with a cold shoulder.  Today, UW-Extension faces funding challenges and talent shortages.  Stephanie Hoff finds out what the path is for 2025 from UW-Extension Dean and Director, Karl Martin.

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Prof. Steve Kelm chairs the Department of Animal and Food Science at UW-River Falls. This week, classes started back up for Farm & Industry Short Course students. This is the second year that FISC has been at UW-River Falls, and Kelm says enrollment is up.

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Wisconsin has another voice on the House Agriculture Committee. Freshman member Congressman Tony Wied represents District 8 in the House of Representatives. He gets started on his first full session in office after finishing the remainder of former Congressman Mike Gallagher's late last year. Congressman Wied introduces himself to us today. He also outlines his priorities for his first year in office, which include passing a Farm Bill, repealing the "death tax" or estate taxes to ease the transition of a farm to the next generation, and supporting forestry. Congressman Wied joins Congressman Derrick Van Orden on the House Agriculture Committee. He also serves on transportation and small business committees in the House of Representatives. 

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