The Outagamie Forage Council will be conducting the Annual Meeting and Educational Program on Thursday, February 20, 2020. The meeting will be held at Jackson Point Sports Grill and Banquet (N8055 French Rd., Seymour, WI 54165) beginning with registration at 9:30 a.m. and the program beginning promptly at 10:00 a.m.

The program will highlight three particularly timely topics as we head into 2020. 2019 proved to be a spectacular disaster for many area farmers as we battled what many will call from this point forward the worst growing season experienced in 50 years. Troy Brown, Forage Quality Specialist with FormAFeed will begin our day discussing what producers need to do to Make the Most of Their Forage Crop and Inventory moving forward.

The old expression “If you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change” proved to be anything but reliable this past growing season. If it seems like the weather has changed, data from the past 10 years in Appleton indicates we have received on average 3 inches of precipitation more in each year of the past decade compared to the 40 years of records prior. While it doesn’t take a National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Meteorologist to tell us we have experienced some difficulties in the farm fields this past decade, we are fortunate to have Roy Eckberg, NOAA Meteorologist on hand to discuss what patterns and trends have developed as well as tools and resources available to producers and agricultural professionals. Lastly, Roy will share what the current models suggest for the upcoming months and 2020 growing season.

When Industrial Hemp was first made available to producers, there were a lot of questions that growers had about the crop and what exactly the market potential may be. A few years down the road and we find we still have a lot of questions about the production and marketing of Industrial Hemp as an agricultural commodity in Wisconsin. Liz Y. Binversie, Agriculture Educator, UW-Madison, Division of Extension, Brown County will discuss the resources that are available through UW that may help you navigate some of the risks associated with the decisions you need to make if you are thinking it may be time to enter this new-again market.

At the end of the day, it really comes down to profitability. Farmers need to be able to assess their own farm operation’s potential to take on the management of another commodity. We are fortunate to have John Read, The Assure Group, discuss not only what he has seen in Wisconsin, but beyond the Badger state as well. 2019 was proof of how important crop insurance is to the agricultural industry. John and the Assure Group are the only organization that has developed insurance products to assist potential growers looking to safeguard their crops. John will share his multistate perspective on Industrial Hemp and discuss what anyone in the audience may need to know in 2020.

As always, we will have Chelsea Russell, Local Council Director, Midwest Forage Association (MFA) provide a short update, followed by the annual business meeting where we will have much to discuss. In addition, we will recognize individuals who have gone above and beyond when it comes to supporting and participating in Forage Council related activities/events. Lastly, we will finish with our once a year auction fundraiser which helps support all of the Outagamie Forage Council activities and events throughout the year. Hope to see you on February 20 in Seymour!

Registration is due to the Extension Outagamie County Office no later than Thursday, February 13, 2020.

Download the registration form below:

Forage Council Annual Meeting Registration PDF

Topics Include

• Make the Most of Your Forage Crop/Inventory, Troy Brown, Forage Quality Specialist, FormAFeed, Reedsville, WI
• Let’s Talk About the Weather…Patterns, Trends, Tools, & 2020 Outlook for WI Ag, Roy Eckberg, Meteorologist, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Green Bay
• Does Industrial Hemp Production Fit into My Farm’s Financial Future? John Read, The Assure Group
• Resources to Help Mitigate the Risks of Growing Industrial Hemp in Wisconsin, Liz Binversie, Agriculture Educator, UW-Madison, Division of Extension, Brown County
• MFA Awards/Update – Chelsea Russell, Local Council Director

Download the flyer to register:

https://outagamie.extension.wisc.edu/files/2020/01/2020-agenda-registration-form.pdf