ALBANY — The annual meeting of the Farmers of the Sugar River will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at the Albany Lions Club (402 Cincinnati St, Albany). 

Networking and registration will begin at 9 a.m. The meeting will kick off at 10 a.m. A hot lunch will be provided by the Albany Lions Club. The day should wrap up around 3:30 p.m.  

This meeting is open to anyone that is interested in learning from and networking with other farmers. There will be updates from the board, a review of 2021 and discussing plans for the coming year. There will also be a chance for farmers to share their experiences with cover crops, no till and any other innovative practices they’ve tried.

The featured speakers this year are Keith Berns and Rodrigo Werle. Berns comes from Nebraska where he no-tills 2,000 acres. He co-owns and operates Green Cover Seed, a major provider of cover crops seeds. He has experience using over 100 different cover crop types. He will be speaking on “carbonomics,” the term he uses to compare exchanges in the soil to our currency system. Berns will also share some cover crop tips for producers that he’s learned through experience. Dr. Werle is an Assistant Professor and Extension Cropping Systems Weed Scientist at the Agronomy Department at UW-Madison. He will be talking about how cover crops can help manage weeds in our cropping systems.

RSVP with Tonya Gratz at the Land and Water Conservation Department by calling 608-325-4195 ext. 121 or email Tonya.Gratz@wi.nacdnet.net by Feb 11. There will be a $5 charge at the door to help offset costs for the day. Funding for this event is made possible, in part, by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

Governor touts farm support, calls on GOP for further help

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday touted his financial support of dairy farmers and processors during the past two years and pushed Republican leaders in the Legislature to help do more.

“Because we’ve done so well economically during the pandemic, we have very, very low unemployment — the lowest we’ve ever had — and the state has the largest surplus we’ve ever had. I’ve tried time and time again to convince the Legislature … to step it up,” Evers said at the Dairy Strong conference.

“At this point in time, when we’re hopefully toward the end of this pandemic and moving into even better times, we could invest some of that money in dairy right now,” he said.

Evers said state investments in agriculture have been historic and his administration has directed federal pandemic aid to farmers.

He noted that although some agricultural initiatives were removed from the most recent budget, many farmer-friendly items remained in the package, which was approved with bipartisan support in the Legislature and signed by him. Dairy processor grants have been doubled annually, a new meat processor grant program is in place, more money is available for farmer-led watershed conservation groups and there is additional funding for county conservation staffing. 

Evers said funds for farmer mental health are also an important part of the budget as are increased investments in rural transportation and high-speed internet.

“While all these investments are major steps forward, we still have a lot of work to do, especially as the pandemic has disrupted not only lives but supply chains,” he said. 

“We have readily available resources that could be invested to help support our farmers, our families, our dairy and agriculture industries,” Evers said.