Farmers are sharing their voice on state policy and the lack of a national farm bill.  Jill Welke visits with Brad Olson, president of the WI Farm Bureau Federation, about a group of young farmers that went to Washington, D.C. to make their points on policy.

Another hot, sticky day on the way for Wisconsin.  Pam Jahnke gives a rundown on the forecast and also shares crop tips from Anastasia Kurth, UW-Extension Regional Crops and Soils Educator.  She says the heat and humidity tax the energy of a plant, at the same time that insect populations are burgeoning.

What if dairy could help you keep a slim waistline? Karen Antunes is a PhD candidate in the nutritional science department at UW-Madison. She’s working with the UW Dairy Innovation Hub to figure out if colostrum (the first form of milk produced by cows after calving) can restore gut health after taking antibiotics to reduce obesity later in life. She explains that antibiotics kill bad bacteria -- that's why humans take it when they're sick. But antibiotics also kill good bacteria -- microbes that can be tougher for children and young people to gain back leading to an increased risk for obesity. In mice, colostrum successfully brought back good bacteria, and those mice gained less fat when eating a "Western diet." It's just the beginning, as she explains to Stephanie Hoff.

Wisconsin crops aren't improving just because of the heat and rain.  Pam Jahnke highlights some of the weekly notes from the state crop progress report.  She also notes displeasure from the WI Farmers Union in the lack of funding support for the WI Local Food Purchase Assistance Program.  Federal funding for that program will be exhausted by August, and the Joint Finance Committee has opted not to include it in their current state budget.

Monday's USDA acreage report showed farmers planting less soybeans and more corn this year.  Numbers didn't really surprise the marketplace according to John Heinberg, market advisor with Total Farm Marketing in West Bend.  He joins Pam Jahnke to break it down.  Also developing, USDA allowing live cattle and other livestock back into the U.S.  The border restrictions were connected with stopping movement of the New World Screwworm.  Heinberg says it's going to be closely monitored, but it will be opened.