Public Issues Series: Tapping into Global Markets for Jobs

“Because their economies are growing so fast, the demands (of foreign markets) for agricultural products are rising more than they can keep up with,” says Ben Brancel, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Brancel will present a discussion titled Central Wisconsin: Tapping into Global Markets for Jobs on Thursday, August 23, 2012, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the UW Center for Civic Engagement Sonnentag Room at 625 Stewart Avenue in Wausau.

In his Wausau speaking engagement, Secretary Brancel will address trends in global demand for agricultural products, ideas and plans for strategic positioning in the global agricultural marketplace, and agriculture industry-related jobs that could be created in Marathon County. Brancel’s appointment to a post he has held before has been applauded by many Wisconsin farmers, for his experience and proven track-record, his work with UW Research Stations, his pursuit of global agricultural connections, and his interest in renewable energy.

Brancel, a fifth-generation beef farmer from Marquette County, was appointed by Governor Walker in January 2011. He served in the Wisconsin Assembly from 1986-1997 as a member of the Joint Finance Committee and as Assembly Speaker in 1997; during his service, he helped craft the state’s Right to Farm law and the use-value assessment for taxing farmland. Brancel was appointed by Governor Tommy G. Thompson to serve as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection from 1997-2001, and later worked for the Wisconsin Farm Service Agency until 2009.

This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact connie.nikolai@uwc.edu