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DAIRY ST R
October 26, 2019
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 21, No. 17
Panelists share insights on Wisconsin’s ag economy
Discussion held at UW-Platteville By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on the presentation, “Navigating the New Economy Series.” PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Those interested in learning about the difcult economic times facing dairy farmers in Wisconsin and what the future may bring congregated at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Markee Pioneer Student Center Oct. 17 to listen to a panel discussion held as part of WisBusiness.com’s Navigating the New Economy Series and moderated by Wisconsin farm news personality Pam Jahnke. Members of the discussion panel included Brad Pfaff, Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary designee; Travis Tranel, Wisconsin’s 49th District Assem-
blyman and dairy farmer; Dr. Paul Mitchell, agricultural economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of Renk Agribusiness Institute; Dr. Charles Irish, emeritus Volkman-Bascom professor of law and former director of the East Asian Legal Studies Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Anna Landmark, owner of Landmark Creamery. “Wisconsin agriculture is very closely related not just to China and southeast Asia but to the world marketplace as a whole,” Jahnke said. Jahnke began the discussion by asking Irish to share his thoughts about the potential trade agreements with China. “Don’t bet on exports of
DANIELLE NAUMAN/DAIRY STAR
Representa�ve Travis Tranel (from le�), Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture designee Brad Pfaff, Anna Landmark of Landmark Creamery and Dr. Charles Irish from the East Asian Legal Studies Center and Dr. Paul Mitchell, agricultural economics professor, par�cipate in a panel Oct. 17 at the University of Wisconsin-Pla�eville. The panel discussed issues going on in agriculture, and par�cularly in the dairy industry, involving trade, markets and stress on the farm. $50 billion,” Irish said. “The Chinese haven’t conrmed. They haven’t mentioned a number. $50 billion would be higher than ever. The exports peaked at $29 billion about six years ago,
and the last 12 months have been running under $10 billion.” Irish pointed to the looming additional 15% tariffs on $156 billion of Chinese imports that
President Trump has set to begin Dec. 15 if the Chinese do not come to an agreement with the United States. Turn to ECONOMY | PAGE 5
Cozy Nook Farm’s fall market supplements dairy income Oberhauses sell pumpkins, gourds, squash alongside milk, Christmas trees By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
WAUKESHA, Wis. – Every autumn, for more than 50 years, Cozy Nook Farm, of Waukesha, Wis., has welcomed the public to its doorstep. Fall is the busiest time of year for the farm’s owners, Tom and Joan Oberhaus, who sell pumpkins, gourds and squash along with corn shocks, miniature straw bales and other décor as part of their fall market. The couple also hosts eld trips for more than 1,000 school children. Cozy Nook Farm is a pumpkin lover’s paradise, lled with pumpkins of nearly every color, size and shape grown on 20 acres. “We raise 60 to 65 different varieties of pumpkins in all different colors, shapes, textures and hardness,” said
STACEY SMART/DAIRY STAR
Joan and Tom Oberhaus sell pumpkins, gourds and squash along with corn shocks, miniature straw bales and other décor as part of their annual fall market on their farm Cozy Nook Farm in Waukesha, Wis.
Tom, who milks 75 registered Brown Swiss and Guernsey cows, and farms 250 acres. “We also produce 10 to 12 varieties of squash and many varieties of gourds in all shapes, sizes and colors.” Opening day was Sept. 28, and the fall festivities will carry through until the end of October. Pumpkins color the front yard orange and overow into a nearby shed, giving visitors a vast assortment to choose from. Guests can also go on a hayride, pet a calf, climb around in the straw mow and take a peek at the cows. Cozy Nook Farm was established by the Wendt family in the 1840s. Joan’s grandfather, W.L. Wendt, relocated the farm to its current location in 1958 after being forced to sell his land to the state for the building of Interstate 94. Tom, an Ohio native and graduate of Ohio State University, majored in genetics and worked in the A.I. industry for seven years before joining Joan at her family’s farm in 1985. Pumpkins have been gracing the elds of Cozy Nook Farm since 1962 Turn to COZY NOOK | Page 6