Tuesday Trends sample: Ag diversity rising, Madison mixed and Frontier Airlines falling

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RISING

Ag diversity: A new report from Wisconsin’s agricultural statistics service shows the Badger State led the nation in production of at least 10 commodities during the past year — the largest number in the country and well ahead of California’s total of six top rankings. Wisconsin ranked first in overall cheese production — and in subcategories American and Muenster cheeses — along with dry whey, milk goats, cranberries, ginseng, mink pelts, silage corn, and snap beans for processing. The state finished behind only California in total milk and butter production, and finished second nationally in total of milk cows, carrots for processing and total oat production.

MIXED

Madison: In the three-year span from December of 2007 to December of 2010, the eight-county Madison region lost more than 24,000 jobs. Since then, the economies of both the state and the region have been “sluggish,” continuing to shed jobs as other similar metros experience new growth, according to a report released by south-central Wisconsin economic development group Thrive at its annual Leadership Summit. From 2004 to 2009, the number of new companies with between one and four employees grew a dismal .01 percent compared to a gain of nearly 15 percent in Austin, Texas. In addition to Austin, the study compared the Madison area to Des Moines, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska. It found that Austin had the most resilient economy during the recession, with employment remaining essentially flat. The report said UW-Madison and local technical colleges are a strength of the region, and that economic diversification is crucial — particularly in the health care and life sciences, scientific and technical services, information technology, and agriculture and food processing sectors. But the report also showed that the poverty rate in the region is growing faster than in peer areas, both because of in-migration of poor people and long-time residents who have lost their jobs. How the Madison region bounces back from the so-called Great Recession will be key to its future, the competitive assessment report stated.

FALLING

We Energies: A strong third quarter earnings report is overshadowed by the collapse of a bluff at the utility’s new coal-fired power plant in Oak Creek, likely spilling coal ash into Lake Michigan. The mudslide swept an area about the size of a football field into the lake, including several small buildings and railroad cars. Production at the plant has not been affected, according to utility officials, and investigations of the collapse’s cause and environmental impact remain ongoing. But We Energies concedes that the debris likely included coal ash, which contains low concentrations of arsenic, selenium, lead and mercury. Environmental advocates say the spill could impact drinking water supplies along the Lake Michigan coast and urge federal officials to step up oversight of areas where coal ash is stored.