Dean Edge hails from Rimbey, Alberta, Canada. Edge became only the third Canadian to win the World Livestock Auctioneer Champion contest, which debuted in 1963. Edge made a trip to Thorp, WI to appear at the Premiere Livestock Auction yard. Jill Welke had a chance to find out why this young man decided to pursue this field as his career.

“This world championship might be connected to my name for the next year, but it’s not mine,” Edge said. “It’s ours. I’m going to be working for us for the next year to the very best of my ability to get out there and promote what we do.” As the reigning World Livestock Auctioneer Champion, he will spend the next year driving the custom-wrapped World Livestock Auctioneer Championship pickup all over the country to showcase his talents and promote the livestock industry. Edge can’t wait.

Some storms and strong winds are on the way for the weekend. Stu Muck estimates rainfall amounts and temps for the weekend.

Coming from a dairy farm in Watertown, Michelle Stangler has a deep skillset to offer as an Alice in Dairyland candidate. Stangler, a graduate from UW-River Falls, has spent a lot of time traveling the state gathering stories about Wisconsin agriculture. She's also ventured beyond the state to get perspective on what the state has versus other geographies. The Alice in Dairyland finale will be Saturday in Wausau.

Greenhouse operators in Wisconsin faced some steep heating bills earlier this year. For Bergmann Greenhouse in Clayton, WI, starting those plants begins in January. This operation, located in Polk County, decided it was prudent to try and invest in equipment upgrades. Focus on Energy became their partner on smart renovations that brought them great rebates, and tremendous energy savings. Evan Croft, Energy Engineer and Technical Reviewer for Focus on Energy, worked with Jeanne and Invanna Bergmann. Bergmann's is a six-generation greenhouse operation that pays close attention to details. Jeanne explains the savings they've witnessed, and the ease they found in dealing with Focus on Energy. Paid for by Focus on Energy.

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Regenerative agriculture is finding favor in the dairy industry. Stephanie Hoff gets some practical knowledge from Mara Cloutier, program manager, and Jack Herricks, Cashton dairy farmer, of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration project. It's an eight-year, multi-state project that began in 2021, focusing on dairy-heavy states including California, Idaho, Texas, Wisconsin, Vermont, and New York. Major global players like Nestle and Starbucks are involved, signaling an industry-wide urgency to create more resilient supply chains. Dairy Management Inc. provides support through the dairy checkoff program to find better tools for farmers.

Beautiful day on the way for Wisconsin. Winds settle down and temperatures keep climbing. Stu Muck says there's a chance of rain creeping in overnight.

Meet Anastasia Poull from Port Washington! Poull doesn't come from a farming background, but she definitely has found her passion in production agriculture. During her first four years at South Dakota State University, Poull earned three bachelor's degrees in animal science, agricultural leadership, and agricultural science, with two minors in agricultural business and communication studies. Her extracurricular involvement, including the 2020 Wool Judging Team and ambassadorship for the College of Agriculture, helped develop important connections for her Master of Arts in communication and media studies. Through her studies and work opportunities, Poull found a strong disconnect between producers and consumers and hopes to help bridge this gap through agricultural communications.

E-15's year round use was approved by the House yesterday! Now it's up to the Senate. Illinois Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski, explains why this is a game changer for consumers and corn growers.

The cheese export market keeps rocking! Katie Burgess, dairy analyst with EverAg joins Pam Jahnke to discuss international access that dairy counts on. How are prices trending with global uncertainty? Burgess shares some topics to keep an eye on.

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Spring field activities have been accelerated because of the cool, wet start. Ben Jarboe finds out about insects adding more pressure to the system. Dr. Emily Bick, UW-Entomologist says that alfalfa weevil seem to be a little delayed in their presence this spring. Bick says it's important that farmers don't lose sight on the threat the small insect can bring to an otherwise healthy alfalfa field.

It'll be another breezy day around Wisconsin which continues to help with drying field conditions. Stu Muck says milder temperatures may be hard to notice with the breeze.

With those drier field conditions, more acres of corn have been planted. Pam Jahnke finds out what worries Cooper Humphries, district sales manager with Wyffels Hybrids. Humphries says his biggest concern is proper field preparation. Humphries notes if sidewalls are compacted around that seed, it will cost yield in the end. Paid for by Wyffels Hybrid.

Meet Jessica Moor from Wilson! She's another candidate for the 79th Alice in Dairyland position. Moor has dabbled in several different career areas, including completing a business administration degree at UW-River Falls. She's currently a dental assistant, but ready to take on Alice's duties!

Good ideas were swirling on the UW-Madison campus Tuesday during the annual Dairy Innovation Hub's spring summit. Chuck Nicholson, professor of supply chain management at Penn State University and a UW-Madison affiliate in the Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences presented on Tuesday. He's completed a survey showing consumers would love a lactose-free ice cream option. Nicholson says reducing lactose in ice cream is a relatively simple process that involves adding a substance to the mix to break lactose down into its two component sugars. A study using a real-life auction revealed that lactose-intolerant consumers significantly value lactose-free ice cream over regular or reduced-lactose options. The study found that a person's specific degree of lactose tolerance is a major predictor of how much they value lactose-free dairy products. Despite the higher value placed on it by certain consumers, both local outlets like the UW Babcock store and national brands like Breyers currently price lactose-free ice cream the same as regular ice cream. Initial rough evaluations suggest that the increased costs of ingredients and labor to produce lactose-free ice cream are lower than the value consumers are willing to pay for it -- a valuable opportunity for ice cream manufacturers.

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