Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum speakers available to answer questions

Situation and outlook for dairy, corn and soybeans, livestock and meat, and farm income in Wisconsin to be discussed

The impact of COVID-19 and opportunities for Wisconsin agribusinesses are topics for the upcoming Wisconsin Agricultural Outlook Forum, which will be held virtually on Tuesday, Jan. 26.  The 2021 forum, organized by UW–Madison’s Renk Agribusiness Institute, will be live-streamed on the Institute’s YouTube page and will run from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

The program will include both academic and industry leaders and will cover the situation and outlook for dairy, corn and soybeans, livestock and meat, and farm income in Wisconsin. On Tuesday, Jan. 19, video presentations on the situation and outlook for these four topic areas will be posted on the Renk Agribusiness Institute website for advanced viewing.

On the day of the forum, sessions will include forward-looking panel discussions featuring agricultural industry members about the impacts on—and opportunities for—the food processing and manufacturing sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Updates on the Dairy Innovation Hub and the new Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery building will also be provided.

The following forum speakers are willing to answer reporter questions ahead of or after the event:

Farm Income

Paul Mitchell, UW–Madison professor and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, and director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute. Mitchell can discuss the status of Wisconsin’s farm economy, including the farm income and cost situation and outlook. Contact: pdmitchell@wisc.edu, (608) 265-6514

Grains

John Heinberg, market advisor at Total Farm Marketing by Stewart-Peterson. Heinberg can discuss the grain situation and outlook. Contact: johnh@totalfarmmarketing.com

Chris DeLong, manager at The DeLong Company. Contact crdelong@delongcompany.com

 Josh Grunnet, senior merchandiser at Landmark Services Cooperative.

Contact: josh.grunnet@landmark.coop, (608) 819-3215

Dairy

Mark Stephenson, UW–Madison director of dairy policy analysis and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Stephenson can discuss the dairy situation and outlook. Contact: mark.stephenson@wisc.edu, (608) 890-3755

Maria Woldt, program manager for the Dairy Innovation Hub. Contact: maria.woldt@wisc.edu, (608) 265-4009

John Lucey, UW–Madison professor in the Department of Food Science, and director of the Center for Dairy Research. Contact: jlucey@cdr.wisc.edu, (608) 265-1195

Livestock & Meat

Brenda Boetel, University of Wisconsin–River Falls professor and extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics. Boetel can discuss the livestock and meat situation and outlook. Contact: brenda.boetel@uwrf.edu, (715) 425-4061

 Jeff Sindelar, UW–Madison professor and extension meat specialist in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. Contact: jsindelar@wisc.edu, (608) 262-0555

Jake Sailer, owner of Sailer’s Food Market and Meat Processing Inc.

Contact: jake@sailermeats.com

Kevin Ladwig, president at MSAB Capital, LLC and previously vice president at Johnsonville. Contact: kladwig@johnsonville.com

For more information about the forum and to register, visit: https://renk.aae.wisc.edu/2021-agricultural-outlook-forum/.