Alice in Dairyland Travel Journal by Cheryl O'Brien

Welcome to my Alice in Dairyland Travel Journal! 2811 Agriculture Dr. PO Box 8911 Madison WI 53708-8911 Phone (608) 224-5127 DATCPAlice@wisconsin.gov

Industry Training at Zimbal Minkery
Jul. 02, 2009

Back when I was a finalist for the 61st Alice in Dairyland, the finals were held in Sheboygan County. During the finals, we toured Zimbal Minkery, one of the farms in Wisconsin’s nation leading mink industry. At that time in May, the baby mink, or kits as they are called, were just born and were only the size of my pinky finger. I learned so much that day, and was excited to get to tour their farm again today to learn even more!

Bob and Linda Zimbal are a third generation of the Zimbal family to be involved in the mink industry here in Wisconsin. They met me at their feed plant to first talk about the diet the mink need to grow quality fur. Because mink are carnivores, they need a diet that is high in protein. The Zimbals mix their own feed for the mink by purchasing the byproducts from different agriculture industries from around the state. Basically, mink are the recyclers; they can eat things that have been deemed inedible for human consumption that would usually get tossed into land fills. Mink farmers like the Zimbals will buy the products like the lungs from beef animals, the carcass of turkeys, and scarp cheeses from plants in Wisconsin and bring them to their feed plant. They mix those products with some grain for carbohydrates as well as vitamins and minerals for a balanced diet and make like a casserole for the mink so they are getting all the nutrients they need. Bob said they are mixing 140,000 pounds of food a day for all the mink they have. Because the kits were recently weaned off their mothers, the Zimbals are getting close to their peak in the amount of food they mix for feeding.

After learning about the diet, we took the short trip from the feed plant to the largest of the three Zimbal mink farms. The farm I toured is home to 40,000 breeder females. The population on the farm right now is above 250,000 because they had about 230,000 kits born this year. After the kits are weaned off their mothers, one male and one female are placed in a cage together. The mink are fed twice a day and always have water available to them. The kits will be full grown by September but won’t be harvested for a couple more months because they won’t have their winter coats yet. Mink know when to grow their winter coats based on how much sunlight they get each day. That’s why mink can only successfully be raised on a certain latitude around the world; they need the difference in the seasons. Wisconsin is the perfect climate for mink production. We walked through many on the barns and saw some of the different color mink the Zimbals raise: black, mahogany (dark brown), pastel (light brown), blue iris (dark grey), sapphire (medium grey), violet (light grey), and white.

Bob and Linda also took me to the building where they process the mink pelts after harvesting. The pelts go through drums of sawdust to help remove any water or grease. Then the pelts are stored in a room where the temperature and humidity are controlled to dry for about three days before they are sorted by size, color and quality to go for sale. The best quality fur in the world is produced here in Wisconsin. Zimbals won the top price for every color fur during the sale last year!

After the tour, Zinda took a few moments to measure me for my mink coat that I will receive as a very generous gift from the Kettle Moraine Mink Breeders. The gift of a coat is given to Alice each year to help promote the mink industry. I won’t get my coat until this fall, but I want to say thank you to the Kettle Moraine Mink Breeders in advance. And thank you to the Zimbals for once again welcoming me on their farm and teaching me about mink production.

July Already?
Jul. 01, 2009

I couldn’t believe it this morning when I walked into the office and saw that all the calendars had been flipped to July. It seems like just yesterday it was June 1, and I was walking in on my first day as the 62nd Alice in Dairyland. I had a great first month on the job, traveling the state, and promoting Wisconsin’s $51.5 billion agriculture industry. Thank you to everyone who made my first month so memorable!

I am sad that I can’t wish everyone a Happy June Dairy Month anymore. I can wish everyone a Happy Beef Month and Happy Ice Cream Month though! Today, I got to work on my first media campaign of the year celebrating July as Ice Cream Month. I will travel all over the state to tell people about the different Wisconsin ice creams as well as different ways to make your ice cream treat special like with using fresh Wisconsin berries, some different toppings, or even trying a float with some Wisconsin sodas. Be on the look out for me on your local television station (or listen out on radio) so you can learn more about ice cream!

Back on the Road
Jun. 30, 2009

I was back on the road today to a couple of really neat events. I started my day at Shorehaven Health Center in Oconomowoc. They were having “State Fair Day” at the center for all the residents. They had a quilt display, a petting zoo, ice cream sundaes, and even cream puffs. I even got a blue ribbon at the fair! I had a great time visiting with the residents; many of them grew up or lived on farms. It was great to hear their stories about what it was like when they were farming. I talked with them about all the advances farmers are making like using rotary milk parlors and harvesting methane gas for power like I saw at Holsum Elm Dairy on Sunday. Farmers are business men, and agriculture is a business like any other, so it needs to keep modernizing to remain profitable and competitive. I had a great time at “State Fair Day” at Shorehaven. It made me even more excited for the Wisconsin State Fair, August 6 – 16 in West Allis.

After my time in Oconomowoc, I was back in Madison for some work in the office, wrapping up some things from the month of June and preparing for what is ahead for me in July. But I still had one more event to go to before the month of June ended. I went to Whole Foods on University Avenue in Madison for Tandoori Tuesday. The event was all about grilling delicious burgers using some spices from the company White Jasmine. The company’s owner, Huma Siddiqui, grew up in Pakistan. She now lives in Wisconsin, but wanted to bring some of her home here. So she did by starting a company to sell spices. And we got to sample one of them, Tandoori Marsala, cooked in with the burger. I had a piece of Swiss cheese on my burger, and it was delicious. Huma also told me that she has been working with a Wisconsin cheese factory to include some of her spices in the cheese! I also had a great time visiting with a lot of people who stopped by for a burger before they went grocery shopping. I think the event went really well, and it was a perfect way to transition from June Dairy Month to Beef Month in July!

Radio Interview with WJMC
Jun. 29, 2009

After a very busy and exciting day yesterday, I was ready for a little rest and relaxation today. But, I was still so excited about how much fun I had at all the events yesterday that I had to tell someone! Good thing I had an interview scheduled with Amber Gonske at WJMC radio in Rice Lake so I could tell her and all her listeners about it. And we had plenty of time to talk about everything. This was the longest radio interview I had done as Alice; we filled 30 minutes talking about my background in agriculture and communications, how I became Alice, what Alice does throughout the year, and all the different events that I had been to during June Dairy Month. I had a great time, and I look forward to talking with Amber every month for our monthly update!

3 Events!
Jun. 28, 2009

When I look back at today, all I can think is what an amazing day it was!

I started off bright and early driving in the Flex Fuel Tahoe to Fond du Lac County. I have driven through Fond du Lac County many times this month, but this was my first stop there for the Agribusiness Council Breakfast on the Farm at Circle H Dairy near Van Dyne. I started off the day by helping serve milk during the breakfast. Then I kicked off a half hour of live radio broadcasting from the farm as I was interviewed by Wade Bates of KFIZ radio. After that, I was up on stage talking to the audience about how important the $20.6 billion dairy industry is in Wisconsin. Every time I tell the audience that if we break that big number down, that’s $653 every second the dairy industry is contributing with the state’s economy, I can always hear people in the audience say “wow.” After speaking, I roamed around the tables handing out Got Milk? stickers and key chains and talking more with people about how important agriculture is here in Wisconsin. But before I knew it, I had to hit the road to the second event of the day.

From Fond du Lac County, I traveled around Lake Winnebago to Calumet County for their “Sundae” on the Farm at Holsum Elm Dairy near Hilbert. Having the “Sundae” at Holsum Elm was a great way for people to see how a larger farm operation works. Holsum Elm is home to 4,200 cows, and roughly 15 new calves are born there every day! But for being a larger farm, they are still family operated with 70 employees and family members working on the farm. Kenn Buelow is the manager of the farm, and takes great pride in keeping it environmentally conscious. Holsum Elm is home to an anaerobic digester that converts the cows’ waste into electricity for the Holsum Elm farm and 800 homes in the area. Because of the use of the digester and other practices, Holsum Elm is listed as Green Tier with the Department of Natural Resources for exceptional environmental practices. I think every one who visited the farm learned a lot; I know I did. It was great spending my early afternoon there before heading to my third event of the day.

From Calumet County, I drove south to the city of Waukesha for the final stop on the Tour of America’s Dairyland cycling series. I was at the kick-off event in Waterloo the week before, so I was excited to see how all the racers had been doing as they traveled across Wisconsin. Right when I got to the Start/Finish line, I helped present the awards to the winners of the Pro Women’s race. It was great to see the overall winner Jesse Maclean’s face light up as I presented her with a 25 pound wheel of cheese. Speaking of cheese, I was put to the test there playing “Spot the Phony” with one of the race announcers. Todd would list off three types of cheese and include a word that could be confused for a name of a cheese. I would have to pick out the one that wasn’t cheese to help someone in the crowd win a block of cheese. I’ll admit, I haven’t studied the whole list of more than 600 types, styles, and varieties of Wisconsin cheese, so I didn’t get them all correct, but I did help some people win cheese. I visited with people during the race, including the family of the winner of the Pro Men’s race that day, James Stemper from Wauwatosa, and the family of Chad Hartley, the overall series winner. And it was a great way to finish the day with an exciting race, and the cyclists drinking the ultimate sports recovery drink, chocolate milk. I even got to finish my day with fireworks as I pulled in to Madison just in time for the start of Rhythm and Booms!

I had so much fun today, and I’m glad my older sister, Wendy, was along with to help me capture the day on video! Now that you read about everything that I did, you can see it for yourself by checking out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xab2uZTaDQ4

Pierce County Dairy Breakfast
Jun. 27, 2009

Today was a really special day, and some morning rain showers didn’t dampen the mood one bit. After a 10 year absence, the Pierce County Dairy Breakfast returned, and it was amazing! The Pierce County Dairy Promoters worked really hard, and their hard work paid off with around 1,000 attendees to the breakfast. I had so much fun talking to so many people as they enjoyed their breakfast of waffles on the farm. I talked with many people about the revival of the breakfast in Pierce County and why it’s so important to have these events on the farm to help people connect with agriculture. Everyone around the state no matter where they live is connected to agriculture by being a consumer. And when local products are purchased, the money spent is going to stay in the community longer, and support the farmers, the producers, the community, and Wisconsin agriculture as a whole. Thank you to everyone who worked hard to bring back the Pierce County Dairy Breakfast! I think you have revived a great tradition.

Dairy, Berry and Cheese
Jun. 26, 2009

I started my day in Wisconsin Rapids for the Dairy and Berry Breakfast to celebrate June Dairy Month and the Cranberry Blossom Festival. Wood County is very diverse in agriculture. It is home to 21,000 dairy cows and is the largest cranberry producing county in Wisconsin. During the breakfast that took place at Lincoln High School, I got to talk to lots of people about diversity in Wisconsin’s $51.5 billion agriculture industry as they enjoyed their pancakes with cranberry syrup. I also got to meet the Blossom Festival Princesses. I was very excited to hear that they were selected after giving a two minute presentation about the importance of cranberries in their community!

After the breakfast, I drove from Wisconsin Rapids to State Fair Park in West Allis for the State Fair Cheese and Butter Contest Judging. I met Bill Schlinsog, the chief judge of the contest. Bill walked me through the whole process of judging cheese. At the State Fair Cheese Contest, there are two judges at each table. First, the judges look at the outside of the cheese for any imperfections. Then judges use a tool to pull a plug of cheese from the block. After pulling the plug, the judges first smell the cheese. Then they break it apart and feel it. After all of that, then they finally taste the cheese, but they don’t eat it. The judges will put a small piece of cheese in their mouth to taste the flavors, but they don’t swallow it so it doesn’t change their taste buds as they judge the other pieces of cheese. As they taste the cheese, they take points off if it had any negative flavors like a woody, flat, or acidic flavor. The judges make notation of any deductions on a score sheet. The scores are averaged between the two and then ranked in order. The top three cheeses in each category will be on display in the Ag Products Pavillion at the Wisconsin State Fair, August 6 – 16. All the first place cheeses go up against each other for the title of Grand Master, which won’t be announced until State Fair. I learned so much and got to taste some really, really good Wisconsin cheese!

Back in the Office
Jun. 25, 2009

I was back in the office today getting ready for a busy three days ahead of me. I started my morning with a radio interview with Bob Meyer, the farm director for the Brownfield Network and WDLB in Marshfield. Bob and I talked about all the different events I’ve been to as we celebrate the $20.6 billion dairy industry during June Dairy Month. We also talked about my year ahead, and to what other things we’ll be able to talk about during our monthly interview as my year goes on. Thanks Bob for all the interviews and for everything you do to promote agriculture!

After my interview, I met some more people in the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection when I met with some of the staff from the Departments of Trade and Consumer Protection. I learned how they work to make sure consumers are being treated fairly by investigating consumer complaints whether they are from illegal telemarketers, deceptive business practices, incorrect food scanners, questionable food, and many more things consumers can come across. One thing I found really interesting is that they make sure all the different weights and ways of measuring are accurate like scales at the grocery store and pumps at the gas station. So, when I’m filling the Flex Fuel Tahoe with E85, I know that I’m getting the amount of fuel that is listed on the pump. Thanks to all the employees in Trade and Consumer Protection for all they do!

After my day in the office, I loaded up the Flex Fuel Tahoe and hit the road for Wisconsin Rapids to get ready for an early morning event the next day.

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Contact the Alice In Dairyland Program at:
2811 Agriculture Dr. PO Box 8911
Madison WI 53708-8911
Phone (608) 224-5127