Wednesday, April 16 – 12:00 pm
Van Wychen Farms, W656 Golden Glow Rd. Kaukauna, WI 54130

• 12:00 pm Lunch – All You Can Eat *Assorted Pizzas, Snacks, and Refreshments
• 12:20 pm The Impact of Increasing Input Costs on Crop Enterprise Budget Profit Potential for 2025
  Kevin Jarek, Regional Crops & Soils Educator, UW-Madison Division of Extension
• 12:45 pm Farming in Uncertain Times: Farm Market and Policy Update
  Dr. Paul Mitchell, Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics, UW-Madison
• 1:30 pm Do You Like Protecting Your Soils & Your Pocketbook? Legume Cover Crops Are for You!
  Chris Bandura, Conservation Cropping Outreach Specialist, UW-Madison Division of
  Extension

This event is designed to provide insight and strategies to consider as we approach what could be a challenging 2025 planting season. We will once again be ordering enough pizza so there will be leftovers to take back to the farm.

We will start the day with a look at how our Crop Enterprise Budgets look as we are ready to head to the
fields and put seed in the ground. Unfortunately, we all know the trend that has developed as we move
from winter towards spring… input costs like fertilizer have been rising, but commodities have
unfortunately continued to trend downward. Kevin Jarek, Regional Crops and Soils Educator, UW-Madison
Division of Extension will walk through our latest projected returns for crops commonly grown across the
state of Wisconsin including corn, soybeans, winter wheat, and established alfalfa as we head into the
2025 growing season.

Dr. Paul Mitchell, Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics, UW-Madison has been helping farmers
understand the myriad of challenges they face beyond the farmgate for years. Paul’s efforts have focused
on agricultural policy, market updates, and adapting information from government programs into a usable
form for the end users… you, the farmer. Paul will spend time addressing some of the things farmers may
want to focus on or think about as a part of this rapidly changing environment farmers find themselves in
this spring as final planting decisions are being made. Don’t miss your opportunity to ask questions that I
suspect many of you have thought about over the last few months but were not quite sure where to go to
get the answer.

Last, but not least, Chris Bandura, a Conservation Cropping Outreach Specialist with UW-Madison Division
of Extension, will provide an overview of strategies that we can use to implement cover crops successfully
in a variety of cropping systems in WI. Additionally, he will highlight the Berseem Clover Cover Crop Plot
at Van Wychen Farms which was established on August 23, 2024. During my discussions with farmers and
agricultural professionals, particularly those in agronomy, the question remains… “How many units of
nitrogen (N) are available as a credit for this year’s corn crop as a result of my previous cover crop planting?”
Chris, in collaboration with myself and Scott Ruess, has set out to answer this question not only with
projects at the Van Wychen Farms, Triple T Dairy (Randy Dorow), and 3 additional farms in the region this
year, but also at 11 additional farms across the state of WI through the Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Project
(NOPP). Two of those 11 projects are also with additional Outagamie County cooperators beginning later
this year. The research plot is in the field south of the farm shop where we will be meeting, so if the
weather permits, the plan is to have Chris evaluate the site ahead of planting and answer any questions
those in attendance may have. This is a great opportunity for those who have not been utilizing cover
crops to see the firsthand impact they have had on the Van Wychen Farm. Chris will also answer any
questions for those who have been cover cropping may have about any potential changes they may want
to consider to be more effective in achieving the goals they may have for their own cover cropping
systems.

Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) will be Available for this Event