— Federal officials have announced nearly $640,000 in new funding for a Wisconsin-based project aimed at helping farmers markets reach new customers.
The national nonprofit Farmers Market Coalition and UW-Madison were selected for this funding by the USDA Agricultural and Food Research Initiative grant program. Their project’s main goal is to help farmers markets attract new consumers to buy products from small and medium-sized farms, according to a university submission.
Through a partnership with communication researchers, the coalition will identify current and potential market segments through a national survey, with a focus on those that are currently underrepresented among farmers market customers.
“Informed by those findings, we will test messaging strategies on social media through partnerships with diverse farmers markets,” researchers wrote. “This innovative approach will allow us to examine the efficacy of message frames at increasing interest in farmers markets among audience segments.”
Results will be incorporated into the coalition’s existing message resources for farmers market organizers around the country. And the FMC and UW-Madison will hold a series of webinars to share their findings through food systems networks.
The researchers say their work will “encourage a new generation” of customers to buy their food directly from local farms, many of which rely on farmers markets for marketing support.
Bret Shaw, a professor in the university’s Department of Life Sciences Communication, is the principal investigator on the grant. In a statement on the federal award, he notes this project will conduct the first national survey about farmers market participation in 20 years.
“Our results will inform more effective strategies to promote farmers markets,” he said. “For example, the reasons why people go to farmers markets — and the reasons why they may not — may differ in urban versus rural settings. By understanding the needs of different communities, we can communicate more effectively about the value of farmers markets in ways that resonate most with them.”
As part of the project, UW-Madison is also partnering with state farmers market leaders in Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin, where new messaging informed by the survey will be tested.
Wisconsin has more than 300 local farmers markets, according to Travel Wisconsin. The Dane County Farmers’ Market, held on Madison’s Capitol Square from June to November, is the largest producer-only farmers market in the country.
See the release: https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/university-of-wisconsin-and-fmc-awarded-usda-afri-grant-to-grow-customer-base-at-farmers-markets/
See project details: https://portal.nifa.usda.gov/enterprise-search/ss/1505
Find information on farmers markets in Wisconsin: https://www.travelwisconsin.com/things-to-do/food-drink/farmers-markets
— Federal officials at a stop in Wauwatosa touted newly announced grant funding for EV charging-related projects, including a training program in Wisconsin.
Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su argued “too many people have been left out of the promise of a good job” during remarks at the Milwaukee Electrical Joint Apprenticeship & Training Center north campus building.
“Not this time,” she said Friday. “We’ll build workforce system infrastructure that’s as strong as our physical roads and bridges, and as powerful as the new charging stations that you all are going to build.”
The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday announced more than $46 million in new funding for dozens of projects that touch the electric vehicle industry, from developing resiliency plans for states to testing business models for public charging services and much more.
One of these plans is being led by the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership, one of the groups that hosted Friday’s announcement event. With just over $1.5 million in federal funding and $135,000 cost share, WRTP and other partner organizations will advance the EV Skilled Trades Employment Program, according to a White House fact sheet.
This program aims to address systemic workforce barriers for women and people of color — as well as those involved in the justice system and underserved youth — seeking employment in the clean energy sector. Partners plan to establish new career pathways through pre-apprenticeship programs focused on work in the EV sector.
The project has a stated goal of exposing 200 people to employment opportunities and starting training for 100 workers.
Other local partners in the effort include the Milwaukee Urban League, The Way Out and My Way Out — which help people with criminal history find work and housing — and EmpowHer, an organization supporting women in the trades.
See more: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/bcnC.pdf
— Microsoft has donated $1.2 million for UW-Milwaukee’s Connected Systems Institute, where businesses and university researchers work together to develop advanced manufacturing processes.
The Washington-based technology company previously donated $1.5 million to the institute in 2019, according to the announcement. The facility was established in 2017 by the university alongside corporate partners including Rockwell Automation, We Energies, UScellular and others.
UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone thanked the company for its support in a statement.
“This gift allows us to expand innovation among Wisconsin manufacturers through the adoption of Industry 4.0 and AI technologies and to meet the ever-increasing demand for a highly skilled workforce,” he said. “Together, we are advancing the economic growth of our region.”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella graduated from the university’s College of Engineering & Applied Science in 1990, the release shows.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2024/uw-milwaukee-microsoft-gives-uwm-1-2-million-for-connected-systems-institute-at-uwm/
— Dem lawmakers are blasting Republicans for a proposal to ask voters on the April ballot whether to implement a 14-week abortion ban in Wisconsin.
The Assembly Health, Aging and Long-Term Care is set to hear testimony on the bill Monday. The hearing will coincide with the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion. It will also fall on the same day Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Waukesha County to highlight the anniversary.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer argued Wisconsinites should have the freedom to make their own health care decisions.
“Attacks on abortion care have had devastating impacts on patients and providers across the country. It is extremely disappointing that Legislative Republicans are fast tracking this legislation,” the Racine Dem said.
Assembly author Amanda Nedewski, R-Pleasant Prairie, told WisPolitics she introduced the legislation because she believes “the Wisconsin Supreme Court will be looking for a way to make abortion legal until birth in Wisconsin.”
“I believe that abortion until birth is the extreme and that there is evidence, from referenda in other states and existing laws in other states and in other civilized countries, that people do not support the extreme,” she added. “This referendum would give the people a voice in this contentious matter on which we have not been able to find consensus.”
See more at WisPolitics: https://www.wispolitics.com/2024/240119report/#story-3
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report…</b></i>
— ThedaCare has completed a $100 million overhaul of its Neenah facilities,doubling the size of its emergency department and installed new robotic surgery equipment, among other upgrades.
The health system first announced plans to renovate the ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah in October 2021 before starting construction at the start of 2022. About $40 million of the total project cost came from the ThedaCare Foundation-Neenah, including $15 million from community donors, according to the release.
The project completion comes just weeks after ThedaCare and Froedtert Health in Milwaukee officially launched as a combined organization at the start of the year.
“The updates will advance coordinated care throughout the ThedaCare service area, including critical access hospitals, giving patients greater access to innovative and specialized care,” Froedtert ThedaCare Health President Dr. Imran Andrabi said in a statement.
Along with expanding its emergency department to include 20 exam rooms, the health system built a new helipad for the ThedaStar Air Medical Program and four dedicated robotics suites, added new services for the birthing center, upgraded specialized facilities for stroke patients and more.
See more project details: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2024/thedacare-celebrates-completion-of-100m-modernization-of-thedacare-regional-medical-center-neenah/
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
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#TOP STORIES#
# Quad closing three plants, idling over 500 workers
# Wisconsin lawmakers want study into reviving income tax deal with Minnesota
# Late MMoCA leader Stephen Fleischman shaped Madison’s art scene
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– Wisconsin farmers lobby for rural future
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=59&yr=2024
– Women farmers quantitatively linked to better community well-being
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=56&yr=2024
# CONSTRUCTION
– Wisconsin adds 1,000 construction jobs in December
– Milwaukee church picked for $4 million historical preservation grant
– Dane County will spend $207 million on its jail, despite criticism
– Kaukauna’s $38M downtown apartment project delayed. Here’s what we know
# EDUCATION
– Microsoft gives UWM $1.2 million for Connected Systems Institute
# ENVIRONMENT
– Snapshot Wisconsin continues to document state’s wildlife, hits milestone
# HEALTH CARE
– GOP bill would restrict abortions after 14 weeks
– Wisconsin Republicans introduce a bill to ban abortions after 14 weeks of pregnancy
– Wisconsin has another deadly drug on the rise, and now a policy debate
# MANAGEMENT
– Wisconsin Center District board approves pay raise for CEO Marty Brooks
# MANUFACTURING
– Johnson Controls, salespeople dispute pay impact of sales incentive changes
# POLITICS
– Wisconsin Senate passes bill giving seniors more time to transfer facilities
# REAL ESTATE
– Senior housing developer Jim Tarantino of Capri Communities dies unexpectedly
– Vier North makes new home at old Vitucci’s on city’s east side
– Brokerage for The Couture’s commercial space seeking national tenants
# SMALL BUSINESS
– Cafe Slovenka coffee shop is worth a trek to Poynette
– Take a look inside Butterbird, now open on Regent Street
# SPORTS
– More studies show younger athletes across sports are at risk of developing brain disease
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
Dairy Business Association: Dairy Strong conference celebrates strength through sustainability
Bank of Sun Prairie: Customer Just for Me Family Center awarded $25,000 grant
