The Wisconsin potato harvest has been underway for a few weeks.  How does it look?  Kiley Allan gets a grower perspective from Heidi Alsum-Randall, Chief Operating Officer at Alsum Farms & Produce in Friesland.  Alsum-Randall says the company is having a high-quality potato harvest, utilizing integrated pest management and new precision drones to scout fields and target pesticide applications only where needed. She says French fries remain the top potato product in the U.S. (where potatoes have  been named the favorite vegetable for nine straight years), with frozen  processing projected to grow 1% annually as processors experiment with  new cuts and scrap utilization. The global market is highly competitive and costly, though European potato production saw significant drops last year, including double-digit declines in countries like Germany, France, and Poland. While the Russet Burbank remains the leading variety for fries, processors are adopting new potato varieties that offer higher bruise resistance and ideal gravity/sugar levels.Consumer perception of potato healthiness is improving nationwide, supported by industry outreach highlighting potatoes as rich sources of vitamin C and fiber.

There is rain in the forecast, but so far it has manifested itself on radar.  Stu Muck explains what has to happen for that rain to really materialize, and where.

Walk into most elementary school classrooms and you're likely to see a white board, staplers, erasers - stuff like that.  Walk into a third grade classroom in Green Bay and you'll see chickens!  Not just for a day - but everyday!  They're the teaching tool for Ashley VandenBush.  She teaches third grade at Father Allouez Catholic School in Green Bay. VandenBush did not grow up on a farm, but as a student teacher, she realized very little is taught about Wisconsin agriculture. She educated herself about agriculture so she could share what she learned with her third graders. Early on, she was dismayed when asking the kids about where there food comes from, which prompted her to add lessons in agriculture to her curriculum each year. This led to her class not only adopting a cow, but more recently they adopted chickens! The chickens are IN THE CLASSROOM, so the kids have to care for them. And during the Brown County Fair in August, several of her students took the chickens to the fair. Teri Barr takes us on this unique classroom tour.

Wisconsin ag lenders are keeping an eye on farms bottom line.  Rose Oswald Poels, President and CEO of the WI Bankers Association says right now there's no cause for alarm, but the state's crop farmers are facing some really depressed prices.

Normally when it comes to gauging cheese prices, the Wisconsin markets eyes look to Europe.  Katie Burgess, dairy analyst with EverAg tells Pam Jahnke that normally the EU would dictate the direction of global cheese prices.  However, lately New Zealand's been stealing the spotlight with lower cheese prices while the EU's go up.  Burgess says that's a concern since a lot of WI/US cheese has found solid markets in Australia.  Given the proximity New Zealand is to that country/continent - it bears monitoring.