Steve Deller is a Professor of Agriculture and Applied Economics and an Extension Specialist at UW Madison. He recently presented at the Wisconsin Agriculture Outlook Forum on the state of Wisconsin’s economy as well as what areas of concern he sees on the horizon.
So what did Professor Deller have to say? Wisconsin’s economy has not been growing as fast as the national economy. Slower growth is a trend we have seen for a number of years in our state and he attributes that to the labor shortage here in the Badger state. But slower growth may not be bad news as we look towards a possible recession.
Doom and gloom headlines paint a dire picture. However Deller says he expects any upcoming recession to be mild and Wisconsin could be situated to weather the storm well. Of course there are factors out there that could change the picture drastically. Both the war in Ukraine and further COVID variants could upset the apple cart.
Agriculture exports are vital to the Wisconsin Agriculture Economy, and there are concerns we need to be watching for. Of course China is important to keep an eye on. There is population decline there and only modest growth, which could trigger a recession. He is keeping a closer eye on Europe’s economy, which Deller says is more closely tied to our own. While Germany and France are doing ok, Brexit has caused financial issues for England and a recession there could spell trouble for farmers here in Wisconsin.
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