Friday Explores Trends In Calf Care & Online Farmers' Markets

·50 min·4 clips

Ryan Milligan reveals how seven competing equipment manufacturers secretly united to create plug-and-play tractor electronics.

The episode begins with host Stephanie Hoff introducing the day's topics: calf care trends and online farmers' markets. She shares data from the Feeding the Economy Report, noting agriculture supports $10.4 trillion in economic output and 49 million jobs in the U.S. Ben Jarboe reports on the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation (AEF), interviewing Ryan Milligan about its formation to standardize tractor-implement electronics via ISOBUS certification and PlugFest events. Ag meteorologist Stu Muck provides a weather forecast for Wisconsin, predicting cooler temperatures with possible light snow before warming by the weekend. Natalie Brakefield from New Leaf Symbiotics explains their pink pigmented bacteria technology, which works with plants to boost yields and protect against pests and fungi. Dr. Kendra Wells of Valley Vet Clinic discusses precision calf care, highlighting increased investment in calves due to fewer replacements from sexed and beef semen, and emerging technologies like lung ultrasounds and monitoring ear tags. Market updates include dairy and grain prices, and the Born to Dairy campaign by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. Kylie Allen reports on Recco Rings, online farmers' markets founded by Thomas Snellman, with Julie Schrader detailing how they operate via Facebook groups for year-round, prepaid local sales. The episode concludes with reminders to follow the show on social media and visit its website for updates.

As heard by us

A practical Friday farm report shaped by weather, calving-season questions, and local listener voices.

Farm information lands as a practical Friday morning service here, starting with a rain-cooled weather setup and the hint of warmer air before turning toward listener questions around calving season and early fieldwork.

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Why you'd press play

You get a Friday Wisconsin farm morning with chilly wake-up weather, a warmer forecast ahead, and an open-mic invitation for voices from the field.

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