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Farm Management Articles
Research-based information and tools to help with your farm business management decisions
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Holidays and Farming: Navigating family gatherings and farm life
Do you look forward to and dread the holiday season at the same time? The holiday season can be even trickier when you are a part of a family farm. Farmers are often juggling the end of crop harvest, year-end financial decisions and changing weather as we step into the full swing of the holiday season. A family farm blends home and workplace, creating a mix of family ties and work duties.
Substance Use in the Farming Community
Every day, Wisconsin farmers and farm families face financial challenges, physical demands of the job, and challenges outside of their control that impact their lives. These challenges can lead to chronic stress that can affect a farmer’s mental and physical well-being, their relationships, and decision-making and create unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as alcohol and substance use.
Summary of Proposals in Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Hearings
Understanding the proposals is critical for informed participation in the hearing process, effective advocacy, and the strategic planning of various stakeholders in the U.S. dairy industry. Testimony is in progress by subject area, in the following order proposal wise classified on the basis of
A History of Dairy in the Farm Bill and What it Means for the Current Legislation
The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues. In addition to developing and enacting farm legislation, Congress is involved in overseeing its implementation.
September 2023 Dairy Market Update
Dairy markets are facing downward price pressures from increased milk production, slower demand, and competition in export markets.
▶ Listen: Field Notes Ep. 11: Farming + Solar = Agrivoltaics
There is a lot of solar being sited in Wisconsin with some projects reaching a pretty massive scale. The traditional narrative has been hello solar, goodbye agriculture, however a new crop of farmers, researchers, and solar companies are thinking differently: how can we continue to farm this land between, under, and around solar panels?
Observe Financial Planning Month by reviewing farm & personal finances
Financial Planning Month is observed during October. For farmers, this time of year may be focused on harvesting the crops that were planted earlier this spring or summer. But in this day and age of farming, crops can be harvested all year long with many different types of crops, season extensions like high tunnels, and indoor spaces such as greenhouses.
▶ Listen: The Cutting Edge Podcast Ep.45: Agrivoltaics Part I, InSPIRE Project
Agrivoltaics is the use of land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy generation. Kick off this 3-part series by learning about the InSPIRE project, which explores the environmental compatibility and mutual benefits of solar development with agriculture and native landscapes.
Building a brand
In this video, Andy Larson, farm financial consultant with the Food Finance Institute and also the Wisconsin Small Business Development Centers, talks about financing options for a rural food or farm business. We’re going to spend most of our time talking about traditional banks and traditional lending, but also bring up a number of options that are more non-traditional, if you don’t want to use a bank or you can’t.
▶ Listen: The Cutting Edge Podcast Ep. 46: Agrivoltaics Part II, UW Kegonsa Solar Project
The Kegonsa Research Campus solar project is a collaboration between UW-Madison and Alliant Energy to develop a small-scale solar and agrivoltaics project for research and education purposes on the university-owned Kegonsa Research Campus in Stoughton, WI.
Cash Farmland Lease in HMoob/Hmong
In this instructional video, Gaonou Thao, an Extension Specialist specializing in HMoob/Hmong Farmer Outreach, delivers comprehensive guidance on completing a land lease application in HMoob. This video is specifically tailored to cater to the needs of farmers who may not be proficient in English.
▶ Watch: Negotiating Agriculture Leases
What makes for a fair, robust and resilient ag or farm lease agreement? This video is part of a series that will include an example dialog between land/farm owner and renter as they negotiate the specific details of a lease agreement, highlighting important resources, tools and considerations to inform a resilient and robust agreement that serves both parties as well as discussing specific leasing topics
▶ Listen: The Cutting Edge Podcast Ep. 47: Agrivoltaics Part III, Agronomic Research
Dive into the agronomic research studying different types of cropping and grazing systems that may be compatible with solar arrays, and get the latest information on grazing cattle underneath solar panels.
Navigating Federal Milk Marketing Orders: Administrative Actions, U.S. Code, and Ex Parte Communication
Federal Milk Marketing Orders play a vital role in shaping the dairy industry, and the mechanisms through which these orders are amended and refined are governed by a complex framework of administrative actions. This article delves into the intricacies of Administrative Action Governing Federal Order Hearings, a process rooted in 5 U.S.C. 556 and 5 U.S.C. 557, and Ex Parte Communication.
It’s okay to talk about farm suicide risk
Farming is an occupation that stirs passions in the hearts of those connected to agriculture. It is also important to admit that the risk of suicide among farmers is real. In fact, the rate is over three times higher among all who live in rural areas as compared to those who live in urban places.
Resources to help landowners explore solar leases on agricultural land
Development of solar arrays across Wisconsin for electric generation is expanding as interest grows in solar as a renewable energy resource. Solar developers prefer level sites free of trees, buildings, and other obstructions to the sun, and land located near roads and needed power transmission facilities, including three-phase transmission hubs and power substations.
