Preparation of the Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin final report required the engagement of hundreds of voices from across the state and beyond. Below are white papers cited in the written report. These contributions were either requested for the final report, provided during other stages of the project or deemed central to the work of the project. They are included here for exploration by interested citizens who seek better understanding of major issues affecting Wisconsin agriculture and rural life.

The Wisconsin Academy and the Future of Farming and Rural Life project team are grateful for the time, effort and expertise provided by contributors.

COMMUNITY

Building Community (as if our lives depended on it)
Victor D. Phillips, director of the Global Environmental Management Education Center (GEM) at UW-Stevens Point, offers a lively look at community building and its relationship to sustainability.

Putting Culture Back in Agriculture
Maryo Gard Ewell reaches into the past and then focuses on the present to highlight the role of arts and culture in rural Wisconsin. She is a specialist in the area of community development and the arts and lives in Gunnison, Colorado. Her roots and closeness to Wisconsin bring her back to the state frequently for presentations and project work. Her father, Robert E. Gard, was a long-time UW-Madison professor and an author, playwright and a one-time president of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

CONSERVATION

Wisconsin's Conservation Legacy and Its Role in Our Working Lands Future
Tom Hunt, assistant professor at UW-Platteville, asserts that Wisconsin's rich conservation history is important to the future of agriculture and rural life.

FARM BILL

Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Farm Bill Task Force Report
The discussion represents the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation's recommendations for the 2007 Farm Bill proposals as analyzed by its Farm Bill Task Force and summarized by Jeff Lyon, director, Government Relations.

Wisconsin Farmers Union Farm Bill Study Committee
In early 2006, a Wisconsin Farmers Union Farm Bill Study Committee (WFUFBSC) was appointed to identify what the next Farm Bill should include. The report of that committee is summarized in this white paper submitted by Susan Beitlich, state president.

FOOD SYSTEMS

An Overview of the Wisconsin Food System
Economist William Walker provides perspective on the current food system landscape by analyzing trends and their impacts on producers and consumers. Walker is a Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) staffer, but the views in this paper are his own.

LAND USE

Zoning for Agriculture Protection
Eric Olson looks at how current state comprehensive planning tools can help to preserve healthy rural areas and healthy communities. Olson is an instructor and land use specialist in the UW-Stevens Point College of Natural Resources Center for Land Use Education.

How Countywide Comprehensive Planning Can Inform, Educate and Lead to Good Decisions
Douglas Alan Miskowiak explores how comprehensive planning serves a strong educational function in addition to being a zoning tool. Miskowiak is an outreach specialist with the UW-Stevens Point College of Natural Resources Center for Land Use Education.

PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE

Organization in Food and Agriculture
Wisconsin native Michael L. Cook, professor of economics in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Missouri, explores farm and cooperative ownership issues in this paper originally used as the basis for at report to the Future of Farming and Rural Life inaugural gathering at Wingspread in Racine.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Bioenergy and the New Rural Economy: Challenge and Opportunity
Gary Radloff, a longtime observer and participant in issues of importance to rural Wisconsin, provides a white paper titled "Bioenergy and the New Rural Economy: Challenge and Opportunity." Radloff offers locally based approaches and policy steps addressing the potential for renewable energy production and generation in rural Wisconsin. Radloff is director of policy and communications at DATCP. The views here are his own.