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

Spend 10 in 2010: La Crosse
Feb. 04, 2010

Today, I hit the road for a stop on my “Spend 10 in 2010” campaign to help shoppers find Wisconsin products in their grocery store. If we all spend 10% of our food budgets on Wisconsin products, we can help keep near $2 billion re-circulating in our state’s economy. There are lots of ways to buy locally in your grocery store. Look for Wisconsin labels on your products. It just takes a couple extra seconds to look for a Wisconsin label on a packaged food item. We are very lucky to live in Wisconsin and to have such a great variety of products available to us from agriculture. Our state is very diverse in food, fuel, and fiber, so we can get a lot of different products locally. And buying Wisconsin products helps support our local farmers, producers, communities, economies, and all Wisconsin agriculture. I visited with lots of shoppers today at the Quillin’s grocery store in The Village Shopping Center in La Crosse. I helped a number of shoppers locate some Wisconsin products that were on their shopping list. Hopefully they will all strive to buy a few more Wisconsin food items this year.

Verona and Dodgeville
Feb. 01, 2010

This morning, I made the quick trip from Madison to Verona to stop in at Miller & Sons Super Market. This store has been a great supporter of locally grown and produced items. So, I decided to stop there to make sure the shoppers were taking notice of all the Wisconsin products as part of my Spend 10 in 2010 campaign. I’m going to be visiting some stores all across Wisconsin to talk to shoppers about this campaign and encourage them to make sure they are spending 10% of their food budget on Wisconsin products. To start off the day, I visited with some of the employees at Miller & Sons as they made sure all the shelves were stocked for the day. One person I talked to was stocking some fresh Schoep’s Ice Cream in a freezer. Schoep’s is one of the more than 300 companies that carries the Something Special from Wisconsin™ label. These companies guarantee that at least 50% of the ingredients in their products are from Wisconsin or at least 50% of the production is done in Wisconsin. You can find them in grocery stores like Miller & Sons with a bright red logo on them or with a red shelf display. And ice cream seemed to be a popular grocery item today. I talked to many people who were looking for Wisconsin ice cream, and I was happy to point out all the different Wisconsin brands like Shoep’s, Cedar Crest, and Sassy Cow.

After spending most the morning at the store, I headed a little further down the highway to Dodgeville for their Kiwanis Club meeting. Jim Massey, The Country Today editor and Dodgeville Kiwanis Club member, invited me to speak to the group about agriculture in our state. I talked to them about how much agriculture impacts all of us. Agriculture in Wisconsin generates $1,875 every second to our states economy – that adds up to $59.16 billion in economic activity for the year. Also sitting in on the meeting were some FFA officers from Dodgeville and Mineral Point High Schools. I reached out not only to the FFA members but everyone in the room to be good advocates for agriculture.

125th Farm & Industry Short Course Reunion
Jan. 30, 2010

Today, I headed to the Alliant Energy Center in Madison for a really neat celebration – the 125th Reunion of the Farm and Industry Short Course. The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison first started back in 1885 when the school began offering short courses during the winter months to train young farmers. The program grew and led to the creation of four year degrees in agriculture. The Farm and Industry Short Course continues to offer students a unique, hands-on, and alternative way to higher education. When I spoke at the luncheon, I commented on how I’ve enjoyed teaching middle school and high school students about the variety of school options in agriculture. I would like to share a portion of my speech with you. It was inspired by a quote that was printed on the invitation: “In seedtime, learn. In harvest, teach. In winter, enjoy. While I like the quote, I’d like to offer up this change: In seedtime, harvest, and winter, learn, teach, and enjoy. As we live and work in agriculture, we know that our learning is never done. As the business of agriculture continues to modernize and be innovative to remain profitable and competitive, we must learn the new technology and new practices. Our job to educate others is never done. There are so many out there, especially after seeing negative news reports about agriculture, that don’t understand what we do, what we provide for them. We must be good advocates for agriculture to help show consumers how we care for our land and animals. And hopefully your job of enjoying what you do is never done. Share you enjoyment everyday with your classmates, colleagues, friends, and family to support each other. Enjoy today your accomplishments in your education, in your agriculture, and your tradition in the Farm and Industry Short Course.” Both before and after the luncheon, I had a chance to visit with some of the Short Course graduates. There were members of graduating classes dating back to the 1930’s. It was really interesting to hear some of their stories and relate that to how the industry has changed. Agriculture is a business just like any other, and it too needs to keep modernizing and being innovative to remain profitable and competitive. Thank you to the Farm and Industry Short Course for helping teach the future of agriculture!

WI Corn/Soy Expo & Taste of Elegance
Jan. 28, 2010

It was pretty cold when I got on the road bright and early this morning. I headed to the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells today for the Wisconsin Corn & Soy Expo. When I arrived on site, the first thing I did was park my E85 Flex Fuel Chevy Tahoe right in front of the convention center. The Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board provides that vehicle for Alice, and they wanted to have it on display during the Expo along with the vehicle they provide for the American Lung Association. Wisconsin ranks in the top ten in ethanol production in the United States. This renewable source of energy provides jobs, supports our corn farmers, and give us a fuel that burns cleaner for our air. After parking the Tahoe, I headed inside to grab a seat for a live taping of This Week in Agribusiness, an ag news show hosted by Orion Samuelson and Max Armstrong. For the show, Orion and Max talked with a couple panels of people in agriculture. One big topic of the day was about the relationship that the corn and soy growers have with animal agriculture. The number one customer for our state’s corn and soybean growers is animal agriculture. If animal agriculture were to be shut down like some organizations would like, our corn and soybean growers would also be greatly affected. Orion and Max both talked about how everyone in agriculture needs to reach out to others and to the media to show the good things that are happening in agriculture. I talked about this point as well when I was interviewed by Orion and Max! We talked about how all of us in Wisconsin need to band together to be good advocates for our state’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry. It was a great honor to be interviewed by these two amazing supporters of agriculture. Look for me on an upcoming episode of This Week in Agribusiness found on RFD TV or at www.agbizweek.com.

After that opening session, I sat in on the Wisconsin Corn Growers Association and Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board’s annual meetings. During the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board meeting, I addressed the group and thanked them for their continued support of the Alice in Dairyland program by providing the Flex Fuel Tahoe. It has been a great partnership, and it’s one that I hope will continue for many, many more Alices.

After the meeting, I visited with Darlene Arneson. She is the Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom director. At the expo, she was leading some seminars for children who might be at the expo with their parents. During the seminars, they did some of the activities. I joined in for the seminar doing the activities from the soybean science kit. After I told the kids about Alice, we made some really neat things like lip balm and hand lotion that contained soybean oil. Making the lip balm was my favorite. All you do is melt some beeswax, stir in some soybean oil, and ad your favorite flavor (we used cherry which just happens to be my favorite). The mixture begins to cool quickly once removed from the heat, so I had to pour the balm into little containers quickly. Everyone got a new lip balm to take home and use. Ag in the Classroom has more activities like these. Contact your local Ag in the Classroom director to learn more.

Then I had some time to walk the trade show floor to visit with a number of different vendors and producers. I ran into some familiar faces like Renee Schaal. Renee and her family hosted the milking contest between Orion Samuelson and 61st Alice in Dairyland Ashley Huibregtse during the 62nd Alice in Dairyland Finals in Racine County. It was great visiting with her and everyone else who I had the chance to talk with.

As the Expo began to close for the day, the day wasn’t over yet. We still had some really good food to eat. The day ended with the Wisconsin Pork Association’s Taste of Elegance. This is a very unique event that happens across the country. The contest features local chefs and menu items featuring pork. The winner of the state contest then goes on to compete for that national award. Tonight, there were eight chefs showcasing their pork menu items. Everything was so delicious. I’m glad I wasn’t a judge because it would’ve been a tough choice. Chef Miles Breed from The Great Karoo in Wisconsin Dells was named the winner with a delicious braised pork roast. After we ate the delicious food, it was time for dessert and the pie auction. The pork association has a pie auction each year to help raise money for the youth in the organization. Dave Konig, a Cattleman’s Association member I’ve worked with a number of times this year, was the auctioneer. Before the auction started, he warned me that he was afraid his voice might not hold out, and I might have to auction a couple of pies for him. So, I did. It was a lot of fun. The whole day was really fun!

I Rock With Milk!
Jan. 26, 2010

When today’s event came up on my calendar, I was extremely excited that I was asked to participate. Today, I traveled to Longfellow Middle School in La Crosse for a stop on the I Rock With Milk Concert Series! Right now, only about one-third of teenagers are actually getting the calcium they need in their diets. To reach out to the youth, the dairy farm families of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board started this concert series to encourage teens to drink more milk, a great source of calcium and eight other vitamins and nutrients. The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board found a great band for this event. The group is 2nd Thought, and they are a teenage, classic rock inspired band from Whitefish Bay, near Milwaukee. They perform some cover tunes as well as their original work. And they talk about milk between songs. To help it feel like a real rock concert show, the band members are dancing with the crowd and throwing out I Rock With Milk t-shirts. They put on a great show! These young musicians are very talented! I was really excited to be able to sing with them for a song too and to tell the more than 600 students in the audience about Alice. After the concert, I helped WMMB pass out some free chocolate milk to all the students along with the official I Rock With Milk/2nd Thought posters and my postcards. Chris Collins from the La Crosse Radio Group was there playing music for the students too. I’ve been interviewed by Chris a couple times this year, so I know he is a big supporter of the dairy industry and agriculture. During one of the breaks between lunch sessions, Chris and I joked about having a chocolate milk chugging contest. Well, with the lunchroom full of students, he challenged me to it! Chris and the students were pretty confident that he was going to win, but I showed him up and took home the victory! It was great seeing all the students drinking an extra serving of milk today and having fun too. I made a video from the day’s activities which you can watch right now on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UghvBj75bw

After the event, I headed back on the road to Madison. This evening, I met with the AAUW of Monona, a women’s organization. They were interested in having me speak to their group about what Alice does to promote agriculture. Not only did I tell them about how I travel more than 40,000 miles across the state promoting Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry, but I also talked with them about how they can support agriculture by buying Wisconsin products. They were a great group to speak to, and I know they are going to be advocates for agriculture!

Monthly Interview with WJMC & a new video
Jan. 25, 2010

Today, I called in to Amber Gonske’s Morning Discussion program on WJMC radio in Rice Lake. Amber and I chat once a month to keep her listeners up to date on all the different things I do as Alice. I told Amber about the Wisconsin Association of Fairs Convention, and the International Mink and Fox Show, and we talked about the upcoming Superbowl and some of the delicious Wisconsin foods you could serve. Talking about all the different things that are grown and produced in Wisconsin gave us a chance to again remind her listeners to Spend 10 in 2010 – to spend 10% of their food budget on Wisconsin products. As I told Jim Walsh on Friday, there are a number of different ways to buy local. It’s really easy to look for Wisconsin products in your local grocery stores. Buying Wisconsin products helps support our local farmers, producers, communities, economies, and all Wisconsin agriculture.

After visiting with Amber, I had some time to catch up on editing a video to post on YouTube. I was pretty busy through November and December with the Something Special from Wisconsin™ Holiday Campaign that I didn’t have much time to edit the video from the Christmas tree cutting. Watching the video and editing it made me remember how much fun I had that day even though it was cold and rainy. Hopefully you will see how much fun it was too when you watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nKIzMpFZ8c

Monthly Interview at RCCA
Jan. 22, 2010

I met again today with Jim Walsh at River Cities Community Access TV in Wisconsin Rapids. Jim and I have been getting together once a month for a 30 minute live interview. Jim said he was suffering a bit from a cold today, so he said I could talk as much as I wanted. I was ok with that because I felt like I had a lot to talk about. I told Jim all about my Spend 10 in 2010 campaign – encouraging residents to spend 10% of their food budgets on Wisconsin products. We talked about the different definitions of buy local. One definition might be finding foods within a certain mile radius of your home. You can buy these local products at local farmers markets, through CSAs, through the producers themselves, or in your local grocery store. To find all the products that are in your local area, log on to www.savorwisconsin.com where you can search for products within a radius from where you live. Another definition of local can be within the state. Wisconsin is so diverse in the food, fuel, and fiber that make up our state’s $59.16 billion ag industry, that you can get a variety of products from within our state’s borders. There are both large and small companies that carry a Wisconsin label on their products. When you are in your local grocery, take a look at the package to see where the product is made. If it says Wisconsin on it, it is a local product. But there are other ways I think you can buy local too. There are large companies that contract with Wisconsin farmers and have processing facilities here. For example, companies like Ocean Spray, Del-Monte, Green Giant, and McCain Foods all contract with Wisconsin farmers to get fresh foods for processing. They all have processing facilities here and hire local workers. No matter what your definition of local is, be sure to buy local all year. This year, make is your goal to Spend 10 in 2010 to help keep more money here in Wisconsin to support our state’s farmers and producers.

Pine Crest Nursing Home
Jan. 21, 2010

After spending a little time in the office this morning, I was back on the road with a pretty long drive ahead of me. I traveled from Madison to Merrill to visit Pine Crest Nursing Home. Jean Curtis, the Recreation Director at the home, invited me to visit after meeting me over the summer at the Festival of Flavors in Eagle River. She thought the residents would enjoy a visit from me. When I arrived, many of the residents were ready for me to speak with them. I told the group all about myself, about Alice and about Wisconsin agriculture. We even played the Taste Wisconsin game. Even though I will be using this display a lot with 4th graders in the coming weeks, this is just a great way to teach anyone about the diversity of products grown and produced that make up Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry. After the presentation, the residents and I enjoyed a delicious ice cream cone and visited some more. It was really great to talk with the residents and to hear about their past in agriculture. I met people who were raised on farms or had farms themselves. I met a family who had a big chicken farm. And I met a lady who was a cheesemakers daughter. Thanks Jean for arranging such a fun afternoon at Pine Crest!

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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