UW will present 2011 Wisconsin Ag Outlook Forum Jan. 19

Agricultural economists and commodity specialists from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and UW-Extension will talk about the financial health of Wisconsin agriculture and the outlook for the year to come at the fourth annual Wisconsin Agricultural Economic Outlook forum in Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 19.

The event coincides with the release of the 2011 edition of Status of Wisconsin Agriculture 2011, a report by the UW–Madison Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

“As go milk prices, so goes the farm economy in Wisconsin,” says Bruce Jones, a UW–Madison agricultural finance specialist who helped write the report. “In 2009 we saw a substantial drop in net farm income primarily caused by a decline in milk prices. Things were much better in 2010 because milk prices improved.”

The forum will begin with an overview of how Wisconsin’s farmers fared in 2010 and a look at how national and worldwide economic events will affect the state’s farmers and agricultural firms in the year to come. The discussion will then turn to the supply and demand situation for key Wisconsin commodities, including milk, corn and soybeans, livestock, and fruits and vegetables, as well as for the products and services that farmers purchase.

The forum will take place from 12:45-4 p.m. on Jan. 19 at the Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., Madison. It is free and open to the public. The event is presented by the UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and UW-Extension Cooperative Extension in partnership with the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and Wisconsin Farmers Union,

The forum will be webcast live and archived for future viewing at http://www.cals.wisc.edu/agoutlook. That website also has details about the event, including information on parking, topics and availability of Status of Wisconsin Agriculture reports.

Online participants will be able to ask questions of the speakers in Madison by e-mailing their questions to agoutlook@cals.wisc.edu.