WED AM News: UW-Madison working group issues report on university’s entrepreneurship climate; DATCP survey reveals dairy producers’ practices, plans for future

October 2, 2024

— A report from a UW-Madison working group says the university’s culture around entrepreneurship “emphasizes gatekeeping and risk management,” weakening its ability to attract startup talent.

The university yesterday released a report called “Empowering the Wisconsin Idea: The Future of Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,” authored by a group of business experts assembled by UW-Madison leadership.

Along with highlighting areas of weakness within the university’s framework for supporting entrepreneurship, the report also includes a series of recommendations aimed at improving related programs, internal coordination and private sector collaboration. The No. 1 finding from the working group is that UW-Madison is “well-positioned to achieve greater excellence” in this area.

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, who commissioned the study, touts the university as a “thriving hub of innovation and entrepreneurial excellence” but notes the opportunity for improvement as well.

“This report, and its recommendations, provide a roadmap not just to unify our existing programs, but to chart a new direction to further empower our entrepreneurial community to lead in ways that truly differentiate us on a national and global scale,” she said in a statement.

While the report critiques the university’s “bureaucratic environment” for hampering interaction with the private sector, it also notes the venture capital model of entrepreneurship dominates most training programs on campus, excluding other approaches to starting a business.

Authors also pointed to UW-Madison’s “respectable” portfolio of decentralized entrepreneurship programs, but said gaps exist in program goals, topics covered and coordination. They also said the university should engage more with outside experts in the private sector, including bringing in business experts to help craft entrepreneurship programs.

Recommendations include: making an “institutional commitment” to excellence in entrepreneurship with a focus on startup founders; creating an executive-level position to refine and execute this strategy as well as a related entity such as an institute to coordinate related activities; adjusting UW-Madison’s culture to put more of a focus on entrepreneurs; and improving access to capital.

While this last factor is outside the direct scope of the university, authors say the university should seek to establish processes that boost the “quantity and quality of investable companies” coming out of UW-Madison.

The report calls for working closely with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation — the patenting and licensing organization for the university — as well as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., the Wisconsin Foundation & Alumni Association and UW Athletics to improve capital access. It also urges the university to leverage alumni networks and other relationships to attract more investment dollars, though authors caution it should “carefully consider” and manage possible related conflicts of interest.

“However, the goal should be to create pathways to finance business through conflict management instead of viewing conflicts as barriers to harnessing insights from external experts who become involved in companies by providing capital,” they wrote.

The report committee was co-chaired by Jon Eckhardt, a professor of business leadership within the Wisconsin School of Business, who also has a position in the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. Mnookin recently appointed Eckhardt as a special advisor for UW-Madison’s entrepreneurship initiatives.

“An intended impact of the founder-first strategy is to spur the formation of more companies across the region and state, extending our impact beyond Madison,” Eckhardt said.

See the report and release.

— Two-thirds of dairy producers that responded to a recent DATCP survey say they have a nutrient management plan in place, while nearly that many are implementing cover crop practices.

The agency recently released findings from its 2024 Dairy Producer Survey, which was sent to more than 5,400 dairy producers and got 1,611 responses.

Of that number, 99% are family-owned and 81% said they expect to still be dairy farming five years from now. Fifty-one percent of respondents say they’ve identified a successor, largely spouses, children or other family members.

DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski said the results confirm Wisconsin’s tradition as “America’s Dairyland” will continue for future generations.

“Wisconsin, with its rich land and water resources, is the place for dairy, and producers are committed to ensuring the industry is sustainable for years to come,” he said in a statement.

The survey found 81% of respondents can grow 80% to all of their own feed, while 67% have a nutrient management plan. Another 60% are using cover crop practices, and 57% work with a conservation professional to maintain or improve land and water resources.

In a statement on the survey, Sen. Joan Ballweg, R-Pardeeville, said these results show “farmers care about conservation.” Ballweg is chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Tourism.

Of the 81% who say they expect to still be dairy farming in five years, 77% expect to be milking about the same number of cows while 71% expect to be farming the same number of acres.

Top challenges identified in the survey include: regulation; balancing milk supply and demand; aging facilities; day-to-day expenses; and an inability to find labor.

See full survey results and the DATCP release.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is backing a GOP-led bill aimed at assessing and addressing threats to domestic food production.

In a release yesterday, the Madison Dem announced she is joining Republican lawmakers to introduce the “Securing American Agriculture Act.” The release notes China now has a major market share in the production of “essential” inputs for agricultural production, such as vitamins, veterinary drugs and crop protection tools, warning of a “serious threat” to ag productivity, food prices and national security.

An overview on the issue from GOP U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska notes China currently controls more than 90% of global production of essential vitamins for animal feed and 85% of certain essential amino acids also used in animal feed.

Baldwin warns of “major downstream impacts” of farming supply chains being vulnerable to foreign adversaries, such as higher food prices.

“I’m proud to work with my Republican colleagues to safeguard our farmers and agricultural supply chains, strengthening our national security and protecting Americans from unnecessary price hikes at the grocery store,” she said in a statement.

The bill would require the USDA to work with the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce to annually assess threats to critical food and ag supply chains, the release shows. It would also require the department’s leader to provide recommendations for addressing potential threats from China as well legislative and regulatory actions to “reduce barriers” to domestic production of critical ag inputs.

See the release and bill text.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— The state’s Medicaid fund is in slightly better shape compared to three months ago.

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