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

Goat Cheese Reception
Oct. 30, 2009

After another day of holiday campaign planning and catching up on some other work in the office, I was getting a little antsy to get back on the road. And I was excited to go to a place I hadn’t been yet as Alice: Grant County. All year, I’ve been keeping track of all the places I’ve been by putting pins in a map of Wisconsin. And today, I put my first pin down in Grant County. Today, part of the 3rd Annual Focus on Goats conference was held in Sinsinawa. Tonight, I met everyone at the UW-Platteville campus for a Goat Cheese Reception after their day of activities. I greeted everyone as they arrived at the UW-Platteville Pioneer Student Center where they could sample many different kinds of Wisconsin goat cheese and meet some of the cheesemakers. After spending some time visiting with everyone, I had an opportunity to talk to the whole crowd. I told them that I was proud to promote Wisconsin’s dairy goat industry too as an important part of Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion ag industry. Wisconsin ranks first in the nation in the number of milk goats. There are more than 33,000 milking goat females that live here in Wisconsin; that’s enough to fill every seat in the Kohl Center in Madison twice. I also thanked everyone in the room for their dedication to the goat industry and for helping grow Wisconsin agriculture. It was a great first trip to Grant County as Alice in Dairyland!

Holiday Campaign Planning
Oct. 29, 2009

Yesterday and today were busy days in the office for me as I prepare for the annual holiday media campaign. Yesterday, I met with Lois Federmann, Senior Agriculture Marketing Specialist, who talked with me more about the Something Special from Wisconsin™ Holiday Campaign. This campaign will highlight a wide variety of products from all across the state that all carry the Something Special from Wisconsin™ label. These products can give a unique twist to a holiday meal, make a great gift, give your room some holiday décor, and can be used every day throughout the year. Lois and I went through the boxes of products the various companies donated to help me get acquainted with the products and the people who make them so that I can better promote them.

Today, I worked with Nicole Breunig to help me figure out how to best show off the products during interviews. Looking at the whole table of products, I’m still just amazed at everything. The products are all so unique. Food products range from breakfast to any of the main meals, to desserts, snacks and beverages. There are great gift items for décor, books, and hygiene products. I don’t want to give too much away because I want to be able to tell you about each of the 30+ companies that are apart of the campaign this year. I’ll have some great recipes too. So don’t forget to put Something Special from Wisconsin™ products on your shopping list; buying Wisconsin grown helps support our local farmers, producers, communities, economies, and all Wisconsin agriculture.

I spent both days trying to contact media too to schedule interviews. I already have some lined up. Be on the look out for me soon on your local television station (or listen out for radio).

School Visit: La Crosse Lincoln Middle School
Oct. 27, 2009

After a foggy drive up the Great River Road along the Mississippi River, I spent my morning at Lincoln Middle School in La Crosse. I was visiting a couple of the 8th grade classes of food students. We talked about nutrition. We started by talking about the diversity of products that are grown here in Wisconsin, all the healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables and the meat products. We spent much of the time talking about milk and the nine essential vitamins and nutrients it has. And we took a look at what they are getting in other beverages they drink - lots of sugar and few if any nutrients. On a school visit last week in Sparta, I was shocked by the number of students that were drinking energy drinks. So, I added that to the lesson. One 8 ounce can of Red Bull has 8.5 teaspoons of sugar in it. A 16 ounce can… you guessed it – 17 teaspoons of sugar. While the students in today’s classes all said that Red Bull and other energy drinks taste good, they didn’t think drinking all that sugar was very good for them. Hopefully, they will turn to chocolate milk, the ultimate sports recover drink, for a little pick-me-up.

And I got a little extra treat today too. After the first class, all the students were called to the gymnasium for special performances by the La Crosse Logan and La Crosse Central High School Bands. I was in band in high school, so I really enjoyed getting to see that.

A Day in Prairie du Chien
Oct. 26, 2009

Today, I headed back to a place I spent a lot of time growing up: Prairie du Chien. I headed to Prairie du Chien Senior High School to visit Mr. Pedretti and his ag classes. I told them what I’d been up to since I graduated from PdC High, told them all about what I’ve been doing as Alice in Dairyland, all the things I’ve learned, and talked to them about their futures after they graduate from Prairie. We talked about the more than 300 different careers available in agriculture, jobs that take place on and off the farm. And I talked with them about all the different food products that are grown and produced here in Wisconsin.

That night, I spoke at the Prairie du Chien Women’s Civic Club. And this was not the first time I had been before this community group. I sang in front of the club along with chorus groups in high school and spoke at a meeting after attending Badger Girls State in high school too. So, it was fun seeing some familiar faces. Many of the women knew about Alice in Dairyland, but it was fun talking to them more about the history of the program. Alice has always had the responsibility to promote Wisconsin agriculture. Today, that responsibility includes all of Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry. Thanks to everyone who made my visit home a good one!

Madison Food & Wine Show
Oct. 25, 2009

I don’t know if I’ve ever been in one room with as much good food as I saw at the Madison Food & Wine Show yesterday and today. This year was the 8th Annual Madison Food & Wine Show held in the Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center. This year, there were more than 150 vendors, and many of them were from Wisconsin. And not just from Wisconsin, but several of the companies were Something Special from Wisconsin™. Companies that use this bright red label guarantee that at least 50% of the ingredients in their products are from Wisconsin or 50% of the production is done here. There are over 300 different companies that have made this guarantee and use the label to help show shoppers the products that come from Wisconsin. During the show, many of the vendors had samples of their delicious food. Food shows like these are a great way to introduce consumers to new products. I saw many of the attendees sample and then purchase products because of how good they were.

During the two days of the show I was there, I got a chance to visit with all the Something Special from Wisconsin companies. I will be working with them and their products over the next few weeks for the annual Something Special from Wisconsin Holiday Campaign. I will travel across the state promoting these products and showing people how easy they are to give as gifts and to use in their holiday meals. And I sampled all the food too, so I can tell you from experience how good these products are! I’ll be sure to tell you all the details on the products here, so check back!

River Valley Ranch & Kitchen
Oct. 23, 2009

This afternoon, I visited with Eric Ross at River Valley Ranch, a mushroom farm. Eric has been growing mushrooms since the 1970s. Eric’s father had worked in the restaurant business and sold a Chicago area restaurant to a former mushroom farmer. That sparked Eric’s interest in the business. In the late 1970s, Eric started the mushroom farm. And in the 1980s, Eric began construction on an expanded growing complex that he still uses today. Mushrooms are grown indoors in dark temperature and humidity controlled rooms. The process starts with gathering materials for the bed. At River Valley Ranch, they use used horse stable bedding, chicken feces, and distiller’s grain to make a compost soil to grow mushrooms. The soil must be conditioned to get the right growing properties. After about a week of conditioning, 450 pounds of soil is packed into each bed or growing tray. The soil is then planted with mushroom spawn. In darkness and a controlled environment, the spawn begins to grow little buds that will develop into mushrooms. After just a few short weeks, the mushrooms are growing quickly and are ready to be picked. Mushrooms must be hand picked with just a little downward pressure and a twist to the side. The beds will be picked over for the next seven to ten days until all the mushrooms are picked. Each bed, about 28 square feet of growing space, produces about 60 pounds of fresh mushrooms. With 160 beds in each crop, that’s about 10,000 pounds of mushrooms! From the start of the soil conditioning until the last of the mushrooms are picked is only about 55 days. River Valley Ranch grows four main varieties of mushrooms: white, portabella, baby bella, and shitake.

After the mushrooms are harvested, they are all washed, and the stems are trimmed. Across Highway 50 from the growing complex of River Valley Ranch is River Valley Kitchen. They pickle many of the mushrooms grown across the highway and put them in jars. River Valley Kitchen also makes mushrooms salsa and pasta sauce. They use mushrooms and other ingredients like tomatoes and garlic that they grow themselves. You can purchase these jarred items from their store at 39900 60th St, Burlington, online at www.shroomskitchen.com, or at area farmers markets. Buying Wisconsin products helps support our local farmers, producers, communities, economies, and all Wisconsin agriculture. Thank you Eric for the great tour!

School Visit: Sparta
Oct. 21, 2009

Today, I was in the Sparta area on some school visits. I started the day at St. Patrick’s Elementary School where I worked with all the kindergarten through 8th graders. The first group was all the kindergarten through 3rd grade students. I talked to them about who Alice was and what she did. Then I read a story to them, “Mooing, Milking, Munching: Wisconsin’s Dairy Tale,” and we all talked about the state’s dairy industry. The next group was the 4th through 8th grade students. We talked more about Alice and the dairy industry. And we talked about the importance of drinking milk. Milk had nine essential vitamins and nutrients.

After those two presentations, I headed to Sparta Middle School to visit with some more students. Before lunch, I met with two classes of 7th graders. Then after lunch I met with all the 4th grade students. We talked a lot about some of the different food products that are grown in Wisconsin. We also talked about more than just food, but about the fuel and fiber in Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion ag industry as well. We spent most of the time talking about nutrition like the nine essential vitamins and nutrients in milk. We also took a look at some of the other beverage choices out there and what they have in them. We counted out how many teaspoons of sugar in are other beverages like sports drinks, soda, and fruit dinks. The kids were amazed after counting out all the teaspoons of sugar in each of the different drinks. Many of the kids asked about how much sugar is in energy drinks. I didn’t have that information, but I’m going to add that to the presentation. Look for that information here soon.

School Visit: Stevens Point
Oct. 20, 2009

Today marked my first school visit to a high school. I traveled to Stevens Point to visit SPASH (Stevens Point Area Senior High). Ione Hausler, the ag teacher at SPASH, had a very busy day set-up for me. I taught six class hours at SPASH today. Some were double classes with Mrs. Hausler’s ag classes, and the foods classes were invited. Since I had a combination of classes, I thought this would be a good time to talk to the students about ag careers. Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion ag industry also contributes more than 350,000 jobs here in the state. With over 300 different careers available, anyone could work in agriculture. I also taught one class at PJ Jacobs Middle School in Stevens Point that Mrs. Hausler also teaches. These students were also very excited for my ag careers presentation.

At the beginning of every class, I would take a little poll of the students to see how many people have heard of Alice in Dairyland before. Not many hands were raised, so I talked to them about what I do. I also told the students about how they can follow Alice on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. I already have some new friends and followers!

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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