Our first stop of the trip was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Shawn P. Conley, State Soybean and Small Grain Extension Specialist, discussed his role at the campus, history of the campus, the agricultural sector in Wisconsin, the US Farm Bill, and the production sector.
An extension specialist is a cross between an OMAFRA employee and a University of Guelph employee; Shawn’s role at the campus is 60% extension and 40% research.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is the most highly regarded agricultural research facility in Wisconsin and the surrounding area. The university campus sits 933 acres, and also has over 10,000 acres of research plots and trials throughout the state.
The university is driven by the “Wisconsin Idea”, which means everything done on the campus is not only done for the students or supporting industries, but also done for all the people of the state of Wisconsin. The majority of their financing for research comes from producers and companies, and then they can take advantage of the research data.
The US Farm Bill system began after WWII, to support the domestic agriculture industry. To describe it simply, it is a minimum price guarantee for agricultural commodities which is re-negotiated every 5 years. In reality, it is a complex program with many variables and loopholes, and often viewed as a subsidy by other nations.
One interesting fact is that if you look at a map, Wisconsin and Southern Ontario are parallel with each other. In turn a lot of the crop production data from Wisconsin could be applied in southern Ontario and vise versa.
Susan Simpson
