National agribusiness news program to tape town-hall event

“Market to Market,” the nation’s longest-running agribusiness news show, will host a rural economic summit on Wednesday, Jan. 20, immediately following the Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook Forum.

This summit, the second in a series examining the impact of the economic recession in rural America, will include an expert panel and a town-hall discussion focusing on the economic challenges confronting America’s dairy industry.

It will follow an annual forum, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the UW-Extension Cooperative Extension, that examines the state of the Wisconsin’s agricultural economy.

Individuals may join the summit’s live audience at 5 p.m. on Jan. 20 at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St. There will be an opportunity for audience questions and feedback in the second half-hour.

This special edition of the program will air in more than 20 states on more than 100 PBS stations. Wisconsin Public Television will broadcast the episode at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 24. An expanded town-hall discussion from the forum will air later this month.

The first Rural Economic Summit was recorded in Shenandoah, Iowa, in October, and future summits are scheduled for Nebraska and Kansas in the coming year.

The third annual Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook forum will review the impact of the 2009 economic downturn on the financial condition of the state’s agricultural sector and consider its prospects for 2010.

Forum presenters will be on hand to visit personally with media representatives from 10:30-11:15 a.m. in Room 313 at the Pyle Center. Contact Arla Dauscher, adauscher@cals.wisc.edu or 608-262-5784, to attend this media availability session.