FRI AM News: WisBusiness: the Podcast with Ben Miller, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin; Milwaukee-area higher ed institutions gearing up for ‘enrollment cliff,’ AI shifts

January 10, 2025

— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Ben Miller, vice president of industry relations at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

He discusses the impact of the dairy industry in Wisconsin and the landscape going into 2025, touching on dairy farmer worries and opportunities as well as what’s ahead for the industry more broadly. Miller references findings from a recent report on the state’s ag industry, which contributed more than $116 billion to the Wisconsin economy in 2022, including $52.8 billion from dairy alone.

“You don’t have to be an economist to look at this report and get excited for dairy, and in fact, all of Wisconsin agriculture,” he said.

He highlights the rise of dairy processing firms in the state, noting the role these businesses play in getting more dairy products into the hands of consumers worldwide.

“Demand for dairy is also strong, and I should say, as a result our processors are investing in those operations, both here in Wisconsin and across the country, which will mean more demand for high-quality milk,” he said.

The podcast also touches on the Center for Dairy Research and innovations happening there, ranging from integrating new technologies on the farm to improving long-term freshness for Wisconsin dairy products such as cheese curds.

“You and I know about squeaky cheese, and what it means … they’re studying how that happens, why that happens, and how we can extend shelf-life and freshness and quality so people all over the world can bite into that cheese and experience the same things that you and I experience,” he said.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Miller points to continued interest in expanding dairy exports and reaching new markets. He says “there’s a little bit of anxiety and uncertainty” around prospects for international trade, but adds efforts are underway to capitalize on the opportunities for Wisconsin dairy products.

“For every pound of cheese purchased in Wisconsin almost $17 runs through the state’s economy, and for every gallon of milk about $15 goes through the economy,” he said. “So we’re the heart and soul of the state in many different ways.”

Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.

— Milwaukee-area higher education institutions are forging partnerships to prepare for a coming “enrollment cliff” as well as technology trends.

“For those paying attention to higher education, the headwinds are upon us right now,” Marquette University President Kimo Ah Yun said yesterday during a Wisconsin Technology Council meeting in Milwaukee. He spoke as part of a panel of education leaders, discussing how their institutions are driving the economy of southeastern Wisconsin.

He said demographic concerns will come to a head in 2026, 18 years after the financial crash of 2008, when fewer children were born. As a result, colleges and universities are expecting to have fewer incoming enrollees next year, with Ah Yun noting “the supply is drying up.”

“Because of that, there’s two things you can do,” he said. “You can really compete against one another and try to take students from the other, or you can say … ‘How do we all survive?’ As we think about how do we share classes, how do we share faculty, how do we hire joint faculty?”

Dr. John Raymond, president and CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin, said the college has agreements for joint degrees and dual degrees “with pretty much everyone at the table here,” referencing Marquette University, UW-Milwaukee, the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Both MATC President Anthony Cruz and MSOE President John Walz said the collaborations between these institutions are unique, noting they’re not seeing this level of cooperation elsewhere in the country. Cruz added he wants to see more statewide collaboration in addition to regional efforts.

And UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone touted the efforts of the Higher Education Regional Alliance, or HERA, a regional partnership between 16 public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities. He noted the group’s top priority is to help more students to finish college.

“We have to get more students through, because if we leave students in debt without a degree, that’s an incredibly unfortunate thing,” he said.

Multiple speakers emphasized the importance of preparing students for the jobs of the future, and Mone underlined efforts around data science and AI as a top priority. Ah Yun said building AI talent in the region requires institutions to work together, as “the cost for each of us individually to build that is not sustainable” for any of the organizations.

“If we can do it together, and we can offer classes across universities, that’s what makes it doable, and that’s what allows us to attract our students,” he said. “If I can say, we have a robust AI program and that you’ll be able to take classes at these other institutions … not only does it expand their network, but it also gives them that type of experience that they need.”

Marquette University is also looking to expand its recruitment efforts nationwide to help address demographic constraints, Ah Yun added. The university currently gets about 70% of its students from Illinois and Wisconsin, but aims to shift that within 10 years to 50% coming from those areas and the other 50% from elsewhere.

“So launching initiatives to get a greater number of our students from California, Colorado, Washington, Arizona — these are growth states,” he said.

— Gov. Tony Evers has declared an energy emergency in response to severe regional cold weather, noting in an executive order its impact on distribution of residential heating fuel.

Yesterday’s release announcing the order notes multiple suppliers are experiencing long lines at fuel terminals and needing to drive further to collect “needed products,” citing the state Public Service Commission’s Office of Energy Innovation.

The executive order creates a 30-day waiver of state and federal restrictions on hours of service for carriers and drivers of commercial vehicles transporting residential heating fuel to or from a terminal. It also establishes an energy emergency exists statewide and bars motor carriers from requiring ill or fatigued drivers to operate their vehicle.

Evers in a statement yesterday noted the impacts of Winter Storm Blair across the country.

“This has increased demand for heating fuel and caused strain on delivering essential products across our state, including fuel for home heating, which is critical for the health and safety of folks during the Wisconsin winter,” Evers said.

See the release.

— Wisconsin is set to receive about $335,000 through a $17 million multi-state settlement with financial advisory firm Edward Jones, the state Department of Financial Institutions announced.

DFI yesterday said Wisconsin has joined the settlement, which comes after a four-year investigation related to the Missouri-based company’s supervision of customers moving from brokerage to advisory accounts.

That investigation found the firm charged what’s called a “front-load” commission for investments in certain mutual fund shares in cases where the customer sold or moved the shares “sooner than originally anticipated,” according to the release.

Under the settlement, the company will pay about $320,000 to each of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Wisconsin is also getting $15,000 in administrative and investigatory costs, DFI says.

See the release.

— The state Department of Health Services awarded more than $21 million from Wisconsin’s share of opioid settlement funds over the last three months of 2024, the agency announced.

That’s the most allocated in a given quarter since the state started getting opioid funds in 2022 from settlements with drug companies and other businesses, according to the release. Funds have gone toward opioid abatement, addiction treatment, building projects and more.

DHS has gotten about $75 million in opioid settlement dollars so far, and will receive another $153 million through 2038. In yesterday’s release, the agency says it’s seeking public input on how to use state fiscal year 2026 funding to address the opioid crisis.

“Everyone’s voice is critical as we plan for using this next round of settlement funds,” DHS Director of Substance Use Initiatives Michelle Haese said in a statement.

See the release.

— Marquette University has announced Prof. Matthew Hearing has received a $2.42 million federal grant to explore treatments for stress-related neuropsychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression.

These illnesses affect both the brain and mind, and Hearing aims to develop better ways to address them. Examples include anxiety, depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder and others. The announcement notes “deficits in cognitive flexibility” are a common thread among many such conditions, often taking the form of ineffective problem-solving or “negative thought patterns” that supersede healthy ways of dealing with stress.

“Flexible behavior — the ability to adapt behavior in response to changing environmental contingencies — is a critical component of everyday life,” Hearing said in a statement.

The research team will investigate how chronic unpredictable stress leads to neurological changes resulting in lower mental flexibility, according to the announcement. William Cullinan, dean of the university’s College of Health Sciences, says the award provides an “exciting opportunity” to expand on existing research in this area.

“This particular approach has strong implications for understanding and treating a range of debilitating stress-related neuropsychiatric conditions,” he said in the release.

The funding comes from National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health.

See the release.

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