Special Report

The U.W. Extension agent is the key link

Since Wisconsin Farm Technology Days is actually a project of University of Wisconsin-Extension, the U.W. Extension Agriculture Agent in the host county is automatically the Executive Secretary of the show. Those duties fall to Heidi Johnson this year. She actually came to Dane County after they were selected to host the show and just before they announced the Statz Brothers as host farm. She says it provided a great opportunity to get to know a lot of people in the county quickly. Johnson says Dane County has a tremendous dairy industry and lots of acres of corn and soybeans but they also have many small, direct-market operations raising vegetables and the like. She says the county is an excellent example of how large dairy operations with the latest technologies like anaerobic digesters and nutrient management plans can be good neighbors to a large population center. “The farmers in this county have done an excellent job of trying to inform the people what they’re doing and being responsible with their agriculture.” She says the Statz Family is a perfect example of that.