MID-WEST FARM REPORT - MADISON

It's next to impossible to prepare the perfect amount of food when feeding a crowd, and that's exactly where Briana Boehmer comes in. She's the co-founder and COO of Goody Bag. She hates to see food go to waste. She explains the solutions brought by the program to the food service industry, as well as college campuses.

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Wisconsin farmers are still waiting on a Farm Bill.  What's the hold up?  Will it get done before the end of the calendar year?  All good questions posed by Larry Lee to Congressman Glen "GT" Thompson.  Thompson sits as chair of the House Agriculture Committee at a key time.  While the delays are frustrating, Thompson says he still feels confident they'll get the work done.

Sunshine reappears today, but we start to see a break in the pattern by tomorrow afternoon.  Stu Muck says the chance of showers is escalating for Friday afternoon but he doesn't expect a lot of rain.

Corey Scott is getting ready to take the reins of Dairy Management Incorporated (DMI).  Scott most recently was in charge of Midwest Dairy and says she's excited about projects that DMI is currently engaged with at the Mayo Clinic.  Teri Barr visits with the next leader.

There's a lot of focus on corn and soybean harvest, but cranberries are also floating in central Wisconsin.  Larry Lee got to visit Gaynor Cranberry Bog west of WI Rapids to see the event.  Heidi Slinkman says what you see floating is only part of the story.  She says that cranberry plant is already focusing on production for 2027.

Wisconsin dairy operators are still waiting for market response to low commodity prices on cheese and butter.  Traditionally there's a flurry of holiday buying by retailers, but Katie Burgess says its not happening yet.  Burgess, dairy analyst with EverAg now EA Risk Management, says retailers are anxious about consumer buying patterns going into the holidays.  Just the expense of getting products to locations is slowing down the buying process.  Kiley Allan presses for answers.

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Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) is preparing for a leadership change as Barb O’Brien retires after 25 years with the dairy checkoff. Corey Scott, who has led Midwest Dairy, will take over later in October.

The Mid-West Farm Report's Teri Barr joined a DMI news conference to learn why Scott says she is excited to represent the nation’s dairy farmers and to build on DMI’s work in science, innovation, consumer research, and demand-building for dairy. 

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Things that we see at World Dairy Expo shouldn't be taken for granted.  For some of this year's attendees, it was all brand new.  Take for example Ziv Sar (s-are), from Kirisu Farm.  Kirisui means mountain of heaven and is the first modern dairy farm in Cambodia.  Sar says it began in 2020 and currently manages 1,700 cows with plans to expand.  Kiley Allan finds out about some of the unique challenges Sar faces.  He says managing the farm presents hurdles like a lack of locally experienced staff, extreme tropical heat, and high humidity, which prevents growing local soybeans and requires importing specialized feeds.  He also says the high heat impacts cow consumption, which in turn affects milk quality and production volumes.  Sar visited Wisconsin and the World Dairy Expo to study organized industry practices, forage formulas, and genomic technologies to apply directly on the farm in Cambodia.

More beautiful weather is on the way today according to Stu Muck.  He cautions that there's a chance of light rain that could move into eastern and southeastern Wisconsin on Monday.

Growers are encouraged to continue monitoring stalk quality as the harvest rolls on.  Larry Lee finds out about the stress test from Steve Quade, district sales manager for Wyffels Hybrids.  Corn silage harvest is complete, and some hi-moisture corn is being harvested now.  Quade advises growers to refer back to the agronomy information they routinely post on their wyffels.com website for updates on area conditions.  Paid for by Wyffels.

With the delayed harvest, it's important that growers know where things stand with drying options.  Pam Jahnke reports that propane supplies look plentiful right now.  That's the word from Michael Newland, director of Agriculture Business Development at the Propane Education & Research Council.

Yes - the harvest is moving. Yes - we don't want to waste a moment. BUT, if you're not careful with that combine you could cause yourself more problems with weed control next year. Pam Jahnke visits with Dr. Rodrigo Werle, UW-Madison Extension Weed Specialist, about why cleaning out the combine from field to field, or farm to farm, is so important. Werle says that waterhemp has become one of the biggest problems faced by farms. Everytime a combine "harvests" that weed, you could be spreading between 100,000-500,000 weed seeds into the next field or farm. That's why he stresses either hand harvesting the weeds before harvest (if there's just a few) or avoiding them with the combine. If you do pull them in, then clean that combine thoroughly before moving on.

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Milk replacer has come a long way from the products many farmers may remember using years ago. Jessica Esveld, vice president of Esmilco in Fall River tells Teri Barr how research and new ingredients are changing milk replacer formulas -- putting a focus on calf growth, health, and reducing antibiotic use. It's a message of innovation she's sharing at World Dairy Expo.

Esveld also explains how Esmilco, a small family-owned Wisconsin company, is working to provide high-quality nutrition for calves and other young livestock, including lambs, kids, and piglets.

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The Wisconsin Beef Council's presence at World Dairy Expo provides an important opportunity to emphasize the role both dairy and beef producers play -- in producing high-quality beef.

Beef Council Executive Director Tammy Vaassen tells Teri Barr, the Beef Council's educational outreach during the Expo, includes conversations with students about beef's nutritional benefits and the importance of protein. She says the Beef Council provides resources for dairy farmers who are raising and finishing more dairy-beef calves, 

The interview also touches on the council's work with culinary students and chefs to promote beef, including underutilized cuts, along with new ways to prepare popular cuts. Vaassen encourages consumers and farmers to visit beeftips.com for beef recipes, nutrition information, and details about the beef checkoff.

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Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Brad Olson tells the Mid-West Farm report what prompted board members to take a position against building the high-voltage powerline that would stretch from Genoa, Wisconsin southward to Illinois.

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Before the awards ceremony at World Dairy Expo, Corey Geiger sat down with Mid-West Farm Report's Larry Lee to talk about the things that shaped his life, including early mentors in raising and showing cattle.

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Older technology pumps can damage the liquid products they move, including butterfat and protein. Using McFinn's pumps, users can move liquids and liquids with solids without sheer damage, and have fewer problems with cavitation, pump seals, and maintenance.  John McGinn explains.

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World Dairy Expo is a place for people across the globe to get together, learn more about the dairy industry, and share ideas with one another. Among this year's attendees was Dr. Deddy Kurniawan. He's the Project Lead for the US-Indonesia Dairy Partnership. Not only does he have that impressive title, but he's also a veterinarian and dairy farmer himself in his home country of Indonesia. He's been coming to World Dairy Expo since 2022. He tells Kiley Allan why it's a trip that he continues to make.

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