Wisconsin Agribusiness Classic

 

2023 Speakers

2023 Speakers

Phillip Alberti

Phillip Alberti

Wednesday
Vegetables

Research Program Manager, Department of Horticulture, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison
As Research Program Manager for the Ellison lab, my focus is to coordinate lab, greenhouse, and field research activities. In addition to coordinating hemp variety evaluations and production research trials, my role prioritizes grower-cooperator participation and digital outreach strategies including the Midwestern Hemp Database and Cultivar Check programs.

Bio
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Nick Arneson

Wednesday
Weed Management

Nick Arneson is the Outreach Program Manager for the UW-Madison Cropping Systems Weed Science Program (aka WiscWeeds). Nick is originally from Nebraska and received with BS and MS degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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Francisco Arriaga

Wednesday
Soil and Water Management

Dr. Francisco Arriaga is an Associate Professor and Extension State Specialist with the Department of Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Extension. His research and outreach programs focus on sustainable soil management practices for enhanced crop productivity while remaining protective of the environment with an emphasis on soil health. Dr. Arriaga is the recipient of the Rothermel-Bascom Professorship in Soil Science and is a fellow of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.

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Grant Barnes

Thursday
Agribusiness Safety & Compliance

(Federal Programs Specialist, USDOT/FMCSA-WI)
Grant Barnes began his employment with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Wisconsin Division in August of 2011. Prior to that Grant was an investigator with Missouri Department of Transportation and was part of the CSA 2010 test state roll out. As a Federal Programs Specialist, Grant assigns, reviews and approves all investigations and enforce-ment actions in Wisconsin. Prior to becoming the Federal Programs Specialist Grant was a safety investigator in the Wisconsin division. Grant has also been the acting State Program Specialist and he is currently an associate instructor with FMCSA’s National Training Center.

Bio
Jeffrey Bewley

Jeffrey Bewley

Wednesday
Animal Health & Nutrition

Jeffrey Bewley is from Rineyville, Kentucky where he grew up working on his grandfather's dairy farm. He received a BS in Animal Sciences (dairy option) from the University of Kentucky in 1998. In 2000, he completed his MS in Dairy Science at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison under the direction of Dr. Roger Palmer with a focus on dairy modernization. His PhD work under Dr. Mike Schutz at Purdue University focused on the application and economics of Precision Dairy Farming technologies. For 9.5 years, Jeffrey was on the faculty at the Univ. of Kentucky as an Extension Dairy Specialist. He has also worked with IceRobotics, PerforMix Nutrition, BoviSync, and Alltech. Dr. Bewley is currently Dairy Analytics and Innovation Scientist with Holstein Association USA.

Bio
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Emily Bick

Wednesday
Forages & Insects

Dr. Emily Bick is an Assistant Professor of Precision Pest Ecology for field and forage crops at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison. She focuses on applied agroecology, digital entomology (through modeling and technology), and spatial population biology. Her background is in entomology - with degrees from Cornell University (BS in Entomology) and the University of California, Davis (MS and PhD in Entomology). The goal of the Bick Lab is to develop tools and strategies in support of data-driven precision management practices.

Bio
Brenda Boetel

Brenda Boetel

Thursday
Economics & Special Topics

Brenda is Professor and Department Chair of Agricultural Economics, and Agricultural Marketing Specialist, Agricultural Economics, Univ. of Wisconsin-River Falls. She received her PhD from Univ. of Minnesota; MA from Univ. of Kentucky; BA from Moorhead State University. Brenda is an Extension Agricultural Marketing Specialist focusing in the areas of livestock marketing and price analysis. Her teaching program and extension research provides leadership in educational programming for problems facing the livestock/meat and corn/soybean industries. She teaches classes at UWRF on price risk management, has authored articles on livestock issues and been interviewed by high impact outlets, including the US Farm Report.

Bio
Maxwell Chibuogwu

Maxwell Chibuogwu

Thursday
Disease Management

Maxwell Chibuogwu is a 3rd year PhD student in the Department of Plant Pathology at UW-Madison. Before beginning his graduate studies in the US, Maxwell obtained his bachelor's degree in Plant Science and Biotechnology and worked for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in his home country of Nigeria.

For his PhD research, Maxwell works with the UW-Madison field crop pathology lab (Badger Crop Doc) led by Professor Damon Smith. Specifically, Maxwell works with diseases and toxins produced by Fusarium in silage corn. He is interested in disease management, agricultural extension, plant-microbe interaction, and formulation of agricultural policies.

Bio
Jed Colquhoun

Jed Colquhoun

Wednesday
Vegetables

Jed Colquhoun is a Professor of commercial specialty crop production and IPM Program Director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his BS and MS degrees from Cornell University and his PhD from UW-Madison. Prior to returning to UW-Madison, he was a faculty member at Oregon State University.

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Shawn Conley

Wednesday
Agronomy

Dr. Shawn P. Conley is a Professor of Agronomy and the State Soybean and Small Grain Specialist at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Conley's research goal is to generate science-based solutions to address real-world problems in soybean and small grain production. This knowledge is then integrated and delivered through his Extension program. Dr. Conley has authored or co-authored 93 refereed journal articles and has spoken at >710 events and to nearly 53,000 clients since beginning his academic career. Dr. Conley's commitment to agriculture and the Wisconsin Idea has also led him to co-author a children's book entitled "Coolbean the Soybean." All of Dr. Conley's information can be found on his webpage www.coolbean.info or follow him on Twitter @badgerbean for in-season updates.

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Walker Crane

Wednesday
Soil & Water Management

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Kelly Debbink

Thursday
Disease Management

Kelly Debbink is a master’s student in Plant Pathology at the Univ. Of Wisconsin-Madison. As part of Dr. Damon Smith’s lab, I focus on integrated disease management in organic field crops. The goal of my research is to provide organic farmers with disease management recommendations by conducting field trials on genetic, input-based, and agronomic disease management techniques.

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Jason DeBeau

Thursday
Disease Management

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Ryan DeWerff

Wednesday
Weed Management

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Luiz Ferraretto

Luiz Ferraretto

Wednesday
Animal Health & Nutrition

Luiz Ferraretto is a Ruminant Nutrition Extension Specialist in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests are applied dairy cattle nutrition and management with emphasis on starch and fiber utilization by dairy cows, forage quality and digestibility, and the development and evaluation of assays for feed and forage analysis.

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Alyssa Foss

Thursday
Agribusiness Safety & Compliance

Alyssa Foss is a Pesticide Program Manager for the Wis. Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Her programs focus on the worker protection standard, special pesticide registrations, and facilitating inspections of pesticide-producing establishments across Wisconsin. Alyssa has been in her role for 5 years with DATCP and has previous experience as an agrichemical sales representative.

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Amanda Gevens

Wednesday
Vegetables

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Kim Gibson

Wednesday
Agronomy

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Russ Groves

Wednesday
Vegetables; Forages & Insects

Russell L. Groves, Professor and Department Chair, Department of Entomology, 537 Russell Laboratories, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. (608) 262-3229 (office) groves@entomology.wisc.edu
Russell L. Groves is a Professor in the Department of Entomology and also Department Chairperson with a majority of his effort devoted to Vegetable Insect Pest Management. He has responsibilities for insect pests affecting commercial, organic and fresh market vegetables. His research focuses on the development of integrated pest management systems for vegetable crops and applied insect ecology with an emphasis on insect vector-borne disease epidemiology, insect dispersal and movement, and insecticide resistance management.

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Shane Hansen

Shane Hanson

Wednesday
Vegetables

Shane Hansen is a PhD student in the Dept. of Plant Pathology at UW-Madison. Plant Pathology is a perfect blend of his love for plants, developed while growing up on a small potato farm, and an affinity for conducting research, discovered during his undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University-Idaho. Since graduating with his undergraduate degree in biology, he has worked for a plant pathologist conducting private agricultural research. He enjoys interfacing with growers and has deep respect for the challenge they face: finding the line between economic feasibility year-to-year and environmental sustainability over the decades. He is excited for the opportunity to study the pathogens that present a significant challenge to both of these goals.

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