THU AM News: State ag industry project aims to boost commercial viability of research; MMAC report shows ‘solid upward turn’ for Milwaukee area

November 7, 2024

— The Wisconsin Forward Agriculture project, which recently advanced in a federal innovation funding program, will tap industry expertise to improve the commercial viability of research in the state.

The project hinges on the concept of “use-inspired research,” a model for bringing together academics, state government, businesses and others to support research with clear real-world applications. Arjun Sanga, president of project lead WiSys, says “it’s about bringing businesses and industry to the table on the front end” of efforts to develop new technologies or solutions.

Project partners this week announced the National Science Foundation has selected Wisconsin’s plan for a full proposal submission under the Regional Innovation Engines program. Due in February, the proposal will outline elements of the project and how participating organizations will help make it a reality.

If successful, the effort could land up to $160 million in total funding over a 10-year period, supporting a wide range of activities focused on agriculture. Goals include translating practical research, growing the workforce and boosting tech startups, as well as identifying future workforce needs for the farming industry.

“February seems like it’s a long distance away, but it really isn’t in terms of pulling together all the parts of a full proposal that we need to show the National Science Foundation that we have all the capabilities to execute an engine that could be transformative for Wisconsin,” Sanga said in an interview.

He added: “It’s our topic, right? We’re the dairy state, and we should own it. We believe that we could be a global leader in resilient agricultural practices. So we’re using this to think about, what’s that next generation for agriculture? How are we thinking about the challenges ahead?”

After reviewing the February proposals, the NSF will conduct virtual site visits likely followed by in-person site visits for finalist projects, Sanga said. He expects a decision on initial funding to be made by the end of 2025 or early 2026, though later rounds of funding will be spread over a longer period.

The agency will first award the initial two years of the grant, which would be $15 million in federal funds. After a review following those two years, the NSF will decide on renewing projects for another three years, before a third review covering the final five years of the project timeline. The overall funding total would be split over those segments of the project, according to Sanga.

He touted the $40 million in financial commitments from project partners, noting that support will be key to convincing the NSF of Wisconsin’s readiness to deliver on the project’s potential.

“At the end of the 10 years, this money is a catalyst, right? So how are we showing that all of our partners in Wisconsin are committed to this process, and will continue to support it beyond the 10 years,” he said.

Sanga also tied the broad project to WiSys’ existing VentureHome network, which the organization launched to establish “startup hubs” in communities where Universities of Wisconsin regional schools are located.

“The idea is, that each VentureHome’s physical space in the community … entrepreneurs can come to to get connected to our universities and our intellectual property portfolio, but also get connected to the resources they might need to build a company,” he said.

While Madison and Milwaukee have more well-established entrepreneurship support, Sanga noted other parts of the state don’t have that framework. Underpinning this network, WiSys is building a “digital community” to connect startup founders in places like Oshkosh, Eau Claire and elsewhere.

“In that way, we’re trying to connect the entire region, both physically and digitally, to be able to make this regional engine work,” he said.

See more in this week’s announcement.

— The latest MMAC trends report shows a “solid upward turn” across multiple measures of the Milwaukee region’s economic strength.

But Bret Mayborne, vice president of economic research for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, says it’s uncertain “whether this turn represents a true change in the direction of metro area business activity, or a one-month aberration” in the data.

Of the 23 indicators tracked by the group, 11 saw improvement over the prior year in September. That’s up from seven upward-trending indicators seen in the two previous months.

“One of the more positive changes was a larger set of major industries posting job growth, with five of 10 such industries showing year-over-year employment gains,” Mayborne said in a statement.

That’s an increase from the three of 10 that added jobs “for most of the calendar year,” the report shows. The strongest growth seen in September was in the government sector with 1.8%, while the greatest decline by percentage — 6.1% — was in the information sector.

The Milwaukee area’s overall job trend “remains sluggish,” as nonfarm employment dipped 0.5% in September over the year. That’s slightly less than the 0.6% decline from August.

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed people in the area fell 14.7% over the year to reach 23,200 in September, after a 20.4% decline was logged in August. September’s unemployment rate was 2.8%, below the 2.9% state rate and the 3.9% national rate.

The report also shows mortgages registered in Milwaukee County increased 6.5% over the year after declining 2.2% in August. But at the same time, home sales in the metro area dropped 2.6% to 1,159 in September.

See the report.

— Wisconsin is set to receive up to $21.8 million from a multi-state settlement with Kroger related to the opioid epidemic, according to the state Department of Justice.

Attorney General Josh Kaul and 30 other state AGs yesterday announced a $1.37 billion settlement agreement with the Ohio-based grocery chain to address the company’s role in the opioid crisis. Wisconsin’s share of the funding, allocated for opioid abatement, is expected to start being paid in early 2025.

The company has also agreed to a requirement that its pharmacies monitor and report data on “suspicious activity” related to opioid prescriptions, the DOJ release shows.

“We’ve made major progress in getting accountability from companies that contributed to the opioid epidemic,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “With more resources available, more can be done to combat this epidemic.”

Including the newly announced settlement, Wisconsin will now be getting more than $780 million from national prescription opioid settlements with companies that played a role in the crisis, ranging from manufacturers to pharmacies and distributors.

Kroger has more than 100 grocery stores in the state, both under its main brand and more than a dozen others including Pick ‘n Save.

The company last year announced an “agreement in principle” to settle most opioid claims it faced, and a Kroger spokesperson yesterday said “we are pleased that Kroger’s previously announced multistate settlement received enough state and subdivision participation” to take effect.

“The finalization of this settlement, originally reached in September 2023, will deliver over $1.2 billion in support of opioid abatement efforts nationwide while resolving nearly all the outstanding opioid-related claims against the company,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Kroger will continue to combat opioid abuse, and it remains focused on providing fresh and affordable groceries to communities across the country.”

See the 461-page settlement agreement and see more in the release.

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