Wisconsin AgCast

alice in dairyland

alice in dairyland

alice in dairyland

alice in dairyland candidate

alice in dairyland

I will say that it was really cool to talk with Cassie because it wasn't really like an interview in my head, we just talked! She told all about her background, school, and the behind the scenes of the contest. We even talked about dairy genetics.....well.....she talked about genetics, I just listened because I'm not good at science.  All I have to say is that I love her passion for the industry and I think it's really cool that she wants to become Alice not only to help the industry, but to make her dad proud.  Good luck in the competition!  The 72nd Alice in Dairyland is announced on May 11th!

It's great to be able to talk with local farmers about their background and how their farm got to be what it is today. Wilfert's have an interesting story of struggle and success at the same time.  Every family goes through some hard times and the Wilfert's are no different. We talked about the history, and the future, along with everything in between. Dave also gave some advice for farmers that are struggling right now with the low prices and what he thinks they should try to do. 

I wanted to start talking with farmers that are starting to take over their family farms because I think the transition is really interesting. I think that there are a lot of people that think it's just handed over when that's not the case at all. There's a lot of farmers out there that have a really cool story that should be heard by people.  I got the chance to talk with Justin Schwahn of County Line Dairy. Justin and his wife Victoria milk about 100 cows in Reedsville, WI. We talked about a lot of different things from the transition, his family, his faith, and what he sees for the future in the dairy industry.  One thing that stuck in my head after we were done talking is that he said that the saying that they always use on the farm is "Faith, Family, and Farming". He said that knowing and trusting in that is what gives him peace during this transition and for their future. If you know a farmer who has a story that should be hear make sure to reach out! Email: travis.cleven@mwcradio.com

I got the chance to sit down with Wisconsin's 71st Annual Alice in Dairyland, Kaitlyn Riley. We went into depth about the actual competition process and what the judging panels are really looking for and what the job really is. We also talked about how you might get kicked out of the running and what happens after Alice! 

Spoke with Andi Donnan, she is a farmer that just began her career a little over a year ago. She talked with me about the experience she's had so far and what lessons she has learned, along with the struggles that come with farming. One great thing I took away from talking with her was that no matter what, if you want to do it, you can. Obviously, it's not going to be super easy, but learn from every mistake to create a product and a better farm!

Mental health in farmers.

Teachers are basically saints because I know how I was in school and they still put up with me. These two teachers are even better because they teacher their kids about agriculture all the time, they even won awards for doing such a great job! We get an inside look at Ashley Vanden Bush, and Justin Gerlach, how they ended teaching about ag, and why they think it's so important.