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Ripp named Wisconsin’s 65th “Alice”

May 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Wisconsin’s 65th Alice in Dairyland is Rochelle Ripp. The Lodi native has an agribusiness degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and is an associate marketing executive at Filament Marketing in Madison. She chairs the Dane County Farm Bureau Ag Promotions Committee, volunteers with the annual “Cows on the Concourse” promotion in Madison, the Lodi Agricultural Fair and coaches volleyball.

She said she first aspired to be “Alice” while studying abroad when she developed a deep appreciation for Wisconsin agriculture and “I knew that I needed to continue sharing our agriculture industry.”

As Alice in Dairyland; Ripp sees one of her biggest challenges will be influencing consumer perception of agriculture in various ways including through the use of social media to tell the story.

Alice in Dairyland is a one-year, full-time marketing position with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

AUDIO: Ripp talks about becoming Alice 2:47 mp3

Also on Saturday evening, the 64th Alice, Katie Wirkus presented long-time farm broadcaster Bob Middendorf of WGLR, Lancaster with the “Friend of Alice” award.

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Alice in Dairyland looks back on her year

May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

DATCP photo

The Alice in Dairyland Finals are underway in Grant County culminating in the naming of the 65th Alice on Saturday evening. Katie Wirkus looks back on what she describes as “a fantastic year” as Wisconsin’s 64th Alice in Dairyland:

Her biggest challenge? Overcoming the idea that Alice is a “princess”, “How do you explain to a five-year-old that you are an ambassador?” She says that while the tiara and sash do bring attention to Alice, it does contribute to the challenge.

She says her greatest accomplishment was all of the school visits and the opportunity to tell them all about agriculture in Wisconsin.

Wirkus says the only regret she has for the year is that while touring a cranberry operation last fall she didn’t ask to put on the waders and get into the water.  She hopes one of the state’s growers will invite her to do that this fall.

Her advice to the 65th Alice? “Be ready for a fun year and be flexible because everything changes as you are going along.”

As for those who are considering seeking the position at some time in the future? If you want to do it, “I would strongly encourage it but I would never force it.” She says the job is demanding so “you have to have a passion for it.”

Wirkus will finish her year in early June and then become a middle-school math teacher.

Alice in Dairyland is a one-year, full-time paid marketing specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

AUDIO: Wirkus talks about her year 4:51 mp3

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Marshalltown students win state contest

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Marshalltown Whooping Cranes, members of the East Marshall FFA beat out 14 teams from around Iowa this week in the 14th annual Iowa Environthon. The Marshalltown team receives an expense-paid trip to participate in the Canon National Environthon competition held in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania in July.

The Environthon is a program for Iowa high school students who want to learn more about natural resources and current environmental challenges. Teams are tested in wildlife, aquatics, forestry, soils and current issues. This year’s current issues oral competition theme was nonpoint source pollution, low impact development design and storm water management.

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Four Wisconsin FFA chapters get fight hunger grants

April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Four Wisconsin FFA Chapters have received grants of up to $2,500 from the National FFA “Living to Serve” program to help fight hunger in their communities. The Big Foot FFA “Fuel Foods 4 Families” plans to fight hunger by making their school greenhouse available all year. Additionally, they plan to raise layer hens for eggs and meat and will conduct educational workshops on sustainable food practices.

The Neillsville FFA “Learn to Garden at the Neillsville School Garden” will use the school garden as a living classroom for students and community members through a unique outreach program. They will use this living classroom to teach families throughout their community how to grow their own garden and preserve the harvest.

The Pulaski FFA “Fresh Grown for All” plans to design, plant, grow and maintain a community garden to provide their community with a space to grow their own vegetables. The area will be used to teach students about gardening and the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables in their daily diets. Students will also build Garden Boxes for the elderly in their community.

The Unity FFA “The Unity CommUNITY Garden” aims to provide fresh produce for their weekly backpack program during the school year. The ag education students will then present handouts and food samples from the garden to the elementary students to encourage them to try new types of fruits and vegetables.

The chapters applied for the competitive grants by explaining their plans to implement a year-long, sustainable project to address hunger in their communities. The projects needed to include educational outreach to the community and must involve youth in the design and implementation. The chapters will submit a series of reports throughout their projects and will participate in a “program showcase” display at the 2012 National FFA Convention. Just over $330,000 was granted to 140 chapters in 41 states.

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Five named to World Dairy Expo board

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Five new members named to the World Dairy Expo Board of Directors. Buster Goff of Hobbs, New Mexico will represent Dairy Farmers of America: Callum McKinven of Quebec, Canada will represent Purebred Breeders of World Dairy Expo: Paula Bovre of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin will represent the Wisconsin Holstein Association: Jim Crowley, Jr., as World Dairy Expo Dairy Cattle Show Superintendent board representative will also serve on the Executive Committee: Kate VandenBosch, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will represent CALS.

World Dairy Expo’s 2011 Executive Committee members include, Front Row (L to R):Jim Crowley, Jr., Dairy Cattle Show Superintendent; Bill Barlass, Secretary/Treasurer; Debbie Crave, 1st Vice President; and Mike Holschbach, President. Middle Row (L to R): Alan Deming, Finance Committee Chair; Tom Morris, Dairy Cattle Exhibitors Committee Chair; Steve Strickler, Dairy Farmers of America; and Dean Hermsdorf, 2nd Vice President and Commercial Exhibitor Committee Chair. Back Row (L to R): Mark Clarke, General Manager; and Jeff Lyons, WI DATCP.

World Dairy Expo is October 2nd through the 6th in Madison, Wisconsin.

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World Dairy Expo honorees announced

March 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

World Dairy Expo has announced their four individual award winners for 2012; Dairyman of the Year-John Fiscalini, Fiscalini Farms, Modesto, California; Dairy Woman of the Year-Mary Shank Creek, Palmyra Farm, Hagerstown, Maryland; Dairy Industry Person of the Year-Dr. Sheila McGuirk, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin; and International Person of the Year-Dr. Abelardo Martinez, Editor and Publisher of Hoard’s Dairyman en Español, Tlalnepantla, Mexico. 

The four will be honored October 3rd at the annual Dinner With the Stars at World Dairy Expo.

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Wisconsin launches “Why Ag”

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Wisconsin Agricultural Education and Workforce Development Council has developed a website to help make students more aware of the job opportunities in agriculture. WhyAg.com has a number of tools which first allow an individual to identify their talents and then match those talents with agricultural careers which best utilize those talents. The website goes on to present the various educational programs available for their talent as well as a list of current employment opportunities in agriculture.

The whole idea was launched at the Wisconsin School Counselors Association Conference this past weekend. The presentation was made by Natalie Killion, a guidance counselor at Green Bay Preble who serves on the WAEWDC. “The business climate in Wisconsin is very much in support of promoting agriculture. People are often very surprised to learn that one-in-ten jobs in the state is related to the agricultural industry.”

Killion was an agriculture teacher who became frustrated that students were not being guided into agriculture classes so she decided to become a counselor. She says school counselors are often “very surprised to hear how large agriculture is as an employer in our state.” Once they get the information about the opportunities available, they want to meet the needs of their students and answer the questions their parents may have about the student’s potential in an ag-related field.

To go along with this effort, ag teachers across the state are seeking to align their programs with the career opportunities out there. That includes the high school ag teacher being in communication with colleges and technical schools to make sure students have the proper background to advance to the next level. Of particular note, Killion says only 56 percent of students who pursue a bachelor’s degree actually complete it and just 29 percent complete an associate degree. Research has found that once a student actually connects with a career, it becomes a motivator to complete the degree. “If we can connect people early-on to what is at the end of the road, we will have better success in our educational pursuits here in Wisconsin.

The Why Ag effort will pan-out across Wisconsin in the months to come in an effort to make people aware of the website and the opportunities in agriculture.

AUDIO: Killion talks about the effort 8:34 mp3

Visit the Why Ag website here:

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CDC finds raw milk disproportionally responsible for illnesses

February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds raw milk is proportionally responsible for 150-times more disease outbreaks than pasteurized milk. In states where raw milk sales are legal, the outbreaks occur twice as much as in states where it is not legal.

The data was collected from 1993 through 2006. In those 14 years, a total 2.7 trillion pounds of milk were consumed of which 1 percent was nonpasteurized. During that time there were 121 disease outbreaks related to dairy products causing 4,413 illnesses, 239 hospitalizations and three deaths. 73 of the outbreaks (60%) and 202 of the hospitalizations (83%) were attributed to raw milk products. Three-quarters of raw milk-related outbreaks (55) occurred in states where sales of raw milk and raw milk products were legal at the time.

The study also found 60 percent of the people made ill by raw milk products were under age 20 while 23 percent of those suffering illness attributed to pasteurized milk were under age 20.

The report, published in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Disease Journal on Tuesday states:

In summary foodborne outbreaks involving dairy products continue to be a public health problem in the United States, and this problem is disproportionately attributable to nonpasteurized dairy products. Pasteurization is the most reliable and feasible way to render dairy products safe for consumption. Although warning labels and signs or government-issued permits are prudent where the sale of nonpasteurized dairy products is legal, they have not been shown to be effective and, given the results of this analysis, do not seem to reduce the incidence of outbreaks involving nonpasteurized dairy products to the degree that pasteurization does.

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Expanding opportunities through FFA

February 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This is National FFA Week and throughout the nation FFA members are celebrating in various ways. It is a very busy week for Ethan Gieble, he serves as President of the Wisconsin FFA Association this year, he is participating in chapter events across the Badger State while also stopping to take in some of his classes at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville where he is majoring in agricultural education.

Giebel says one reason for the success of agricultural education has been the expansion into science fields, as more ag instructors become certified to teach science courses, more students find an interest in science. He notes a student may not grasp a certain concept but if that concept is explained through an agricultural application they may very well get it. Another interesting statistic Giebel cites: while the state-wide graduation rate in Wisconsin is just under 90 percent, students enrolled in agriculture classes have a graduation rate of 97 percent.

Part of the success has been the expansion of the agricultural curriculum and the FFA with it. For an organization that started out for farm boys, “Today we have students from every walk of life, rural, urban, every gender you name it, agriculture is a broad field and FFA is trying to encompass just how broad agriculture is.” Giebel points to the more than 300 career opportunities available from farming to food science. He says the biggest opportunities today are in “biochemistry, veterinary medicine and marketing.” As a result, “Students can find a place to belong.”

AUDIO: Giebel talks about the opportunities in FFA 14:00 mp3

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National Outstanding Young Farmers named

February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The 2012 Outstanding Young Farmer Awards Congress held in Springdale, Arkansas this past week and the four national winners are:

  • Andrew and Karlie Bowman of Oneida, Illinois
  • Brian and Renee Schaal of Burlington, Wisconsin,
  • Troy and Bobbie Jo Uglem of Northwood, North Dakota
  • Paul and Joy Tallamy of Wantage, New Jersey.

Candidates were judged on the progress in their agricultural career, soil and water conservation practices and contributions to their community, state and nation. The Congress is sponsored by John Deere, supported by the U. S. Junior Chamber and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) and administered by the Outstanding Farmers of America Fraternity (OFA). This is the 58th year for the national awards.

Read more here:

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