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Alice in Dairyland Travel Journal Archive |
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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!
Tailgating with the Troops
Oct. 18, 2009
Today was a really amazing day, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of an incredible event. Today, I headed to the Alliant Energy Center for Tailgating with the Troops. Right now, members of Wisconsin’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team are serving our country in Iraq. A group, Serving the 32nd, formed to help honor those Wisconsin Army National Guard soldiers who are overseas. They decided to put on today’s event to help keep the families connected. I arrived just before the program started. We had a satellite connection with the troops in Iraq, so we could hear from some of the commanders there, even though it was getting pretty late in Iraq. They also got to hear from us in Madison. Gov. Jim Doyle was there and spoke to the troops. Then we all watched the Packer game together. In Madison, we also had food like Johnsonville brats, cheese from Sargento, and Culver’s frozen custard. There was a rock climbing wall, crafts area, and music. And all the families could have a video conference on the computer with their loved ones overseas. I got to visit with lots of the kids and adults. I handed out lots of my postcards that some people said they would send to family in Iraq. It was just such an amazing event. Thank you to the organizers who invited me. And THANK YOU to all our service men and women!
Milk & Cookies at The Building for Kids
Oct. 17, 2009
Today, I went to Appleton to visit The Building for Kids, the children’s museum. They invited me to have milk and cookies with all the kids. I brought some great books about Wisconsin with me so the kids could look through them too while drinking the milk that comes from cows. I was really impressed that all the kids knew that milk came from cows, and that milk doesn’t just come from the grocery store. I talked with the kids about the more than one million cows there are in Wisconsin and how milk can be made into lots of other yummy things like ice cream, yogurt, and cheese. I talked with the parents and grandparents too about all the different kinds of cheese we have. One person asked which kind of cheese was my favorite; that is a tough question to answer when you haven’t tried all 600 types, styles, and varieties of Wisconsin cheese.
The room where I was serving milk and cookies was also near where lots of kids were painting. One little girl who visited me a couple times during the afternoon, Brittany, even painted me a picture! Thanks to everyone who visited me at The Building for Kids!
Splash of Red Cranberry Tour
Oct. 16, 2009
With the cranberry harvest still in action, I got to visit another marsh today. This tour was given by the Cranberry Science students at Pittsville High School. Pittsville is home to the only Cranberry Science class in the country. The students learn a lot about cranberries, and then share what they learned by giving tours. The tours include visiting a new cranberry bed, one that hasn’t produced fruit yet, a marsh being harvested, and a cleaning station. People come from hundreds of miles away for the tour. A couple weeks ago, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune came to Pittsville and wrote a review about the tour. There were a lot of people from the Chicago area on the tour today. There were also two buses full of 4th graders from Marshfield on the tour. They had already studied cranberries in class, but now they got to see the harvest in action. The kids were all very, very excited to see the harvest and to try fresh cranberries straight from the marsh. After the tour, we all headed back to the school. The 4th graders had a snack of a cranberry cereal bar, and they headed back to their school. I ate lunch with the adults. The food was all prepared by students from Pittsville High School too that included a cranberry salad. Everything was really good. And I learned some more that day about cranberries too. Did you know, that if Wisconsin cranberry growers gave out cranberries to every person in the world, each person would get 26 cranberries? That is a lot of cranberries. Thanks Pittsville Cranberry Science students for a great tour!
A Busy Thursday
Oct. 15, 2009
Even though it rained all day, that didn’t stop me from making 3 stops today. I started my day by visiting with Darlene Arneson, the state coordinator for the Ag in the Classroom program. They have a plethora of resources to help incorporate agriculture into lessons in every subject. I learned about a lot of great resources that I can use for upcoming school visits. I’m looking forward to handing out some materials about ag careers when I work with high school students
After that, I headed to Milwaukee to have lunch at the Professional Learning Institute. PLI is a high school that has classes all year round. Right now, the school is in break, but some students were still coming for enrichment classes. One of the classes was a cooking class, so the students made lunch for us. They invited me and some other people from the community for the Lunch with Leaders program. This is a program to help the students talk to adults about what it means to be a leader and about goal setting. It was a really nice program just to visit with people. I got to tell them about Alice, and I got to hear what the adults were doing and what the students want to do. It was fun, and the food was delicious.
My final stop of the day was in Janesville at the Pontiac Center. There, the Rock County Agribusiness Council was meeting to visit with other people from the community and tell them about the Alice in Dairyland Finals. Rock County has been working hard already on preparing for the event. Each committee gave a little report on what their committee does and how more people in the community can still get involved. I also address the group and told them about what the finalists do during the three day event. It was really neat to see the Pontiac Center; that is the place where the Finale Program will be held to announce the selection of the 63rd Alice in Dairyland. This year is going so quickly for me, I know that the finals (May 20-22) will be here before I know it.
Curiosity Quest
Oct. 14, 2009
Today was going to be an office day, but a very neat opportunity came up last minute. I was glad I was able to fit it in my schedule. I headed out to Crave Brothers Farms by Waterloo. When I arrived, I met with Liz Fitsimons from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. She introduced me to Joel Green and the staff from Curiosity Quest, a television show on PBS. They travel all across the country to help educate kids about lots of different things. They came to Wisconsin to record a show about dairy cows and cheese; of course the best place to do a show about that is in America’s Dairyland! When I arrived, I read some facts on camera, like how you need 10 pounds of milk to make just 1 pound of cheese. I also did an interview with the host, Joel, about Wisconsin and the dairy industry. After I told Joel that Wisconsin cheesemakers make 600 different cheeses, he asked me to name 20 cheeses. I was making my way through the list when Joel stopped me after I reached 10, but he was pretty impressed that I was up to the challenge. It was really fun working with the crew and telling them about what I do as Alice and the interview process to become Alice. Thank you Curiosity Quest for coming to Wisconsin!
Gays Mills Ridge Fest
Oct. 11, 2009
Today, I headed back to my home county for a new festival – Ridge Fest. The hills above the village of Gays Mills are full of apple orchards. In fact, the Gays Mills area is one of the most concentrated areas of apple orchards in the state. Each fall, thousands of people come from miles around to visit the orchards and buy fresh apples and other apple treats. A lot of times, people will come to the area and just stop at one or two places. The apple orchards decided to encourage people to visit all the orchards and other business in the area, and that’s what started Ridge Fest. Orchard visitors could pick-up a passport with eight area business listed. If they received a stamp at each visit, they could send it in and possibly win prizes from the businesses. Lynne Teach from Sunrise Orchards invited me to be a part of the new festival too. At Sunrise, I handed out cheese curd samples to the orchard shoppers and talked to them about Alice. I also visited a couple other orchards to visit with lots of people. There were a lot of people from Iowa who came to the orchards; I enjoyed telling them all about what I do as Alice. I also stopped at Mt. Sterling Co-op Creamery to visit with people too. The little cheese store was packed with people sampling and buying cow and goat cheese. It was so great to see so many people buying Wisconsin products at the orchards and the cheese factory. Buying Wisconsin grown and produced items helps support our local farmers, producers, communities, economies, and all Wisconsin agriculture.
Before the day was over, I got to do something I have never done before. There was a helicopter flying around Sunrise Orchards all day doing aerial tours of the Kickapoo River Valley. My mom and I took a ride together. It was incredible seeing all the fall colors, the river, the village, and the orchards from above. I’m not afraid of heights, but do get a little nervous about flying. But it was so amazing; I’m so glad I did it!
Meuer Corn Maze
Oct. 10, 2009
I heard it was supposed to be really cold today, so I was already planning on wearing lots of layers. I made sure to pack my ear warmers and gloves when I saw snowflakes falling from the sky this morning. I saw snowflakes most the way from Madison to Fond du Lac. But by the time I got to Chilton, the sky was clear blue. But the cold weather didn’t stop me or a lot of other people from visiting the Meuer Corn Maze near Chilton. The Meuers operate a dairy farm, and this year decided to add the corn maze to their farm for some fall time fun. The maze itself is in a 10 acre corn field with images of the Wisconsin Cheese emblem and Louie the Cat from a local radio station. I didn’t tackle the maze until the end of my time there. I visited with lots of people who were coming to the farm. There were so many other activities for everyone too. There was a petting zoo, a corn box, a fort made of straw bales, an 80 foot tube slide, and a corn cannon. And there were hay wagon ride through the farm. I went on the ride with a whole group of Girl Scouts from Fond du Lac. Dave Meuer took us on the ride and made some stops along the way to help educated the girls about the farm. We saw dry cows and heifers grazing in a pasture. We went through a wooded area and talked about maple trees and maple syrup. I told the girls that Wisconsin ranks third in the nation in maple syrup production. Even though it was a cold, blustery day, I think everyone, including myself, had a great time at the Meuer Farm.
River Cities Community Access Television
Oct. 09, 2009
Today, I traveled to Wisconsin Rapids to meet with Jim Walsh at River Cities Community Access Television. I first met Jim at the Dairy & Berry Breakfast in Wisconsin Rapids back in June. Jim invited me to come up for an interview on their local channel. Good thing we had 30 minutes because we had a lot to catch up on. We probably could’ve talked for an hour! We talked about so many of the different agriculture industries here in Wisconsin like dairy, cranberries, pork, honey, cherries, apples, and more. And every time Jim would switch to another industry, I was able to share an experience about touring one of those farms. I thought about it on the whole drive back to Madison. I have learned so much already in the first few months. I’ve gone out on more than 20 industry training where I tour a farm or facility and learn from the people who work in those areas each and every day. And I love sharing all my experiences learning about the diversity in Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry with people all across this state. Thank you Jim for inviting me back to Wisconsin Rapids!
Food For America & a Pork Chop Dinner
Oct. 08, 2009
Today, I met with about 300 4th and 5th graders from Brodhead, Juda, Monroe, Monona, and Beloit. I met with them all at Spring Grove Dairy just outside Brodhead. That’s where the Brodhead FFA members had set-up their Food For America event to help teach the area students about where their food comes from and to learn about agriculture in general. The students visited 15 different stations around the farm learning about lots of different animals and the people who work in agriculture. When the students visited my station, we talked more about working in agriculture. Even though these kids are still pretty young, many of them already did have ideas about what they wanted to do when they grow up. It was great talking to them about maybe working in agriculture someday like some of the jobs on or off the farm. Even though it was rainy and cold all day, it seemed like everyone had a really good day at the farm.
After spending the school day at the farm, I headed in the Flex Fuel Tahoe to West Bend for the Tri-County Pork Producers Pork Chop Dinner at the Washington County Fair Park. The Pork Chop Dinner is a fundraiser for the group so they are able to give scholarships and support swine exhibitors as the local fairs. When I go to the grounds, the parking lot was filling up quickly with people coming for the dinner. It was incredible! I walked around and visited with people as they ate a delicious meal. I thanked everyone for coming out to support the pork producers; they need our help, and we can help them. The pork producers were already seeing a down market before other industries. And then they got hit with the H1N1 virus that many people use a slang term for that puts pigs in a bad light. I talked about the virus with many people tonight and asked them to share the truth about it with their friends and family. Pigs do not carry H1N1, but they can get it from humans. Even if the pigs did get the virus, the meat would not be affected since the virus is an air-borne illness. I saw lots of clean plates around the room, and I encouraged everyone to be sure that pork products are on their shopping list to help our pork producers. Pork is an important part of Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry.
Office Time and Hilldale Farmers Market
Oct. 07, 2009
After a couple days off, I knew I had some work to catch up on, so I was looking forward to having some time in the office. But I did get a chance to get out of the office on a very nice fall day. I headed to the Hilldale Farmers Market in Madison with Lora Klenke, the Director of the Agriculture Market Development Bureau for DATCP. Lora’s daughter’s class was taking an outing to the market, and she thought I might like to go along too. As soon as Lora and I walked up to the market, students were cheering for me! I was so surprised! There were some students who saw me at World Dairy Expo last week. I guess they were excited to see me again! I met lots of the students from a couple different schools that were visiting the market. We walked around and saw all the different fruits, vegetables, meats, cheese, and baked goods for sale. The students each had a couple dollars to spend, and they bought some really great stuff like carrots, pumpkins, and kettle corn. Everything was locally grown. Before the students got back on the bus to go back to school, I talked with them about some of their purchases. I gave them some fun facts about their items to tell their friends on the bus or back at school. For one boy who bought an apple, I told him to tell his classmates that Wisconsin grows nearly 60 million pounds of apples. I didn’t have any fun facts about egg plant for the boy who bought some. But I did tell him to tell his class that all of Wisconsin agriculture is a nearly $60 billion industry.
When I returned back to the office, I worked on a couple articles for newspapers and prepared myself for a couple upcoming events. My October schedule sure is filling up. But, if there is an event you think Alice should be at, contact Nicole Breunig, the Alice in Dairyland Program Manager, by emailing DATCPAlice@wisconsin.gov, calling 608-224-5080, or logging on to www.datcp.state.wi.us to fill out a request form.
American Lung Association Lung Walk
Oct. 04, 2009
You read the title right. This morning, I went to the Milwaukee County Zoo for the American Lung Association Lung Walk. I know what you are thinking – what is Alice doing at a Lung Walk? How is that related to Wisconsin agriculture? I’ll tell you. The American Lung Association is a support of ethanol because it is the Clean Air Choice; ethanol burns cleaner which reduces the amount of pollutants vehicles are putting in the air giving us all cleaner air to breathe. I drive an E85 Flex Fuel Chevy Tahoe as Alice and fuel up on E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. The vehicle is provided by the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board. The Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board led the Green E85 Team for the walk, and asked me to also be a part of the team too.
Not only is ethanol good for our air, it’s good for our economy too. The ethanol industry in Wisconsin contributes about $400 million to our state’s economy. There are nine ethanol facilities in the state. And Wisconsin ranks in the top 10 in both corn production and ethanol production. Across the state, there are more than 130 stations that sell E85. And buying locally grown and produced ethanol, like buying all Wisconsin grown products, helps support out local farmers, producers, communities, economies, and all Wisconsin agriculture. I talked about this with WISN-TV in Milwaukee in a live interview during their morning show. During the interview, I also showed off the t-shirts that the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board was giving away to the Green E85 Team members and any of the walkers who wanted one. I helped give away 500 t-shirts. Before the walk, many walkers visited the display to learn about ethanol. It was so great being a part of an event that raised over $80,000 for the American Lung Association, and helping educate people about the benefits of ethanol.
Harvest Festival & World Dairy Expo: Day 5
Oct. 03, 2009
This morning, I headed to East Troy for Harvest Festival at the Michael Fields Agriculture Institute. MFAI works to revitalize the culture of agriculture through advocacy, education, and research of agriculture. The Harvest Festival is meant to help bring people back to agriculture. At the Harvest Fest, visitors to MFAI could participate in demonstrations on composting, bee-keeping, tour the gardens, and shop at the Farmers Market. I had a booth too. I brought the Taste Wisconsin board with me. I used the board to help teach kids and adults about the diversity of Wisconsin agriculture. We talked about how produce can be grown on large and small scales. The rainy weather early may have dampened the turnout, but the peaks of sunshine brought more people out as the day went on. You can learn more about MFAI at michaelfieldaginst.org.
After the day in East Troy, I went back to World Dairy Expo for the closing hours of this amazing event. To close the week, it was time for the Parade of Champions – the selection of Supreme and Reserve Supreme Champions of both the Open and Junior Shows. The Grand Champions from each of the seven breeds are paraded into the ring. It’s a very exciting, elegant atmosphere because the lights in the coliseum are all shut off, and the cows are followed by spotlight as they walk around on the colored shavings. As Alice, it was my job to deliver the envelope from the judges to the announcers. It was very exciting to hear a Wisconsin cow being named Supreme Champion. Harvue Roy Frosty, exhibited by Mike & Julie Duckett, Jim & Nancy Junemann, and Scott Armbrust of Rudolph, was selected as the best of the best this year. It was a very fitting way to close World Dairy Expo here in America’s Dairyland.
In all, nearly 65,000 people visited the event. More than 2,500 of those visitors were from 91 different countries. There were 752 companies from 24 countries. And 2,607 head of dairy cattle walked around the coliseum. I think the 43rd Annual World Dairy Expo matched the theme – Legendary.
World Dairy Expo: Day 4
Oct. 02, 2009
On another chilly October morning, I was looking forward to spending the day indoors. But I had today planned out before I knew what the weather was going to be like. With the International Reception on my schedule for the evening, I wanted to spend my day at the International Registration at World Dairy Expo. Each year, the Expo brings in more than 2,500 people from more than 80 countries. I spent the day with Cindy and Lisa from the DATCP office and a whole team of translators who spoke more than half a dozen different languages. When guests came to the desk, we got them checked in, and gave them a World Dairy Expo and a red flag with the name of their country on it in gold letters. It was so neat seeing where everyone was coming from. I tried to keep a list of all the different countries I saw, but I lost track. Today was expected to be the busiest day at the desk because of the World Classic 2009 Holstein Sale that night. Throughout the day, I helped register the guests, talked to them about Alice, and joined the groups for pictures. My favorite part of the day was the language lesson. The translators would teach each other pieces of other languages. In the late morning, a gentleman approached the desk asking if we needed a translator who spoke Swahili, a language spoken in some African countries. We took the opportunity to learn from the gentleman. We learned to say “ngombe ntatu kitika mvua.” That means “three cows in the rain;” that’s what we were learning in the different languages.
That night, the translators and lots of the international visitors headed to the Exhibition Hall for the International Reception. There was good food, good music, and good fun. I spoke to the crowd, welcoming all of the visitors to Wisconsin. After that, I visited with different groups around the room. I spoke with a whole table of men from Ireland. It was fun telling them about my family history. My great-great grandfather came to the US from Ireland and started my family’s farm in southwest Wisconsin. I also met a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development from Romania. And I talked with some young women from Brazil who have been studying agriculture at UW-Madison. It was such a fun day. I feel like a travel the world, but never left the Expo grounds.
World Dairy Expo: Day 3
Oct. 01, 2009
It was another cold morning, but working with some very energetic elementary school kids kept me warm. I worked again with staff from WMMB, Angie, Laura, Sue, and Karen, to teach kids about milk. There are four parts to the program we do with the kids: an Alice introduction, tell them the 9 vitamins and nutrients in milk, then show them what is found in soda, and sing the Wisconsin Milk song. While we want kids to get their three servings of milk every day, we know that they might not always do that. But we want to make sure they learn about the different beverage choices there are and what they get when they drink it. We demonstrate that in a 20 ounce bottle of soda, there are 17 teaspoons of sugar in it and no vitamins and nutrients. After that, we sing the Wisconsin Milk song with the group. It’s a really fun song, and the kids, teachers, and parents all seem to enjoy it! I’ll post a video of the song soon so you can learn it yourself! We worked with another 800 kids today.
I also attend a Talk Session today. The Talk Session invites media to meet and interview a number of people involved with World Dairy Expo. All the honorees from the dinner last night were there. I had a great time talking with them about their honors and accomplishments. I learned from Dr. Philipsson what the Swedish word for cheese is – ost – as we sampled some delicious Wisconsin cheese. I also did a number of interviews with different media outlets from here in Wisconsin, around the country, and around the world! I met Heriberta de Jesus, a reporter from the Dominican Republic. She interviewed me in English, but then translated everything I said into Spanish for the viewers. It was incredible! Alice is going international!
On another note, today is October 1. It’s already the start of my fifth month as Alice. I know I seem to mention this at the end or beginning of every month, but it is just amazing for me to take that minute to remember all the amazing things I was able to do this past month, the people I was able to meet, and the people I was able to reach about the importance of Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry.
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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
