Welcome, everyone, to Midday Magazine for this May 9th, 2024.
Have your host, James J. Mailoff here.
At 330 today, we're going to welcome in Jen McNeely.
She is going to join us for the first time.
She is with UW Extension.
She is the Natural Resources Groundwater Educator,
looking forward to talk with her.
Right now, we've been looking forward to this all week.
We have Ashley Hagenau joining us,
Alison Dairyland's own.
Ashley, good to have you with us. How you doing?
Hey, I'm doing phenomenally.
Thanks so much.
Excited to chat all things sustainability today.
Yeah, we're going to talk Earth Day.
I'm looking forward to this, F.
Oh, I am too.
There's so many stories to tell when it comes to sustainability
and Wisconsin agriculture.
So I know, like always, we will have a ton of fun.
Yeah, and this is one that certainly hits home right here
in Wisconsin in our dairy industry.
It does.
And so when we talk about sustainability
and how our dairy farmers are sustainable
when it comes to their farms and land,
there is such a heartstrings story to tell as well
because in Wisconsin, 95% of our dairy farms are family-owned.
So dairy farming, it's a family affair, it's a way of life.
And when we talk about sustainability,
especially with our dairy farmers and our agricultural community,
it really means caring for the land and water
and surrounding communities in order
to ensure the health and success of future generations.
So again, there's a lot of great stories to tell
when it comes to sustainability in agriculture
and in the dairy industry.
Ashley, what are our farmers doing to try to help with this?
Our farmers are doing so many amazing things
when it comes to practicing sustainability on their farms.
Farmers are going to work with nutritionists and veterinarians,
agronomists, and other experts to make sure
that their animals and their land are well taken care of.
And this also helps to ensure long-term business sustainability.
Additionally, dairy cattle actually have a superpower
all on their own because they can graze land.
That is not suitable for growing crops or other uses.
And then they can turn those products from the land
like grasses and forages into delicious dairy products
for all of us to enjoy.
And this is because dairy cattle actually
have four stomach compartments, not necessarily four stomachs,
but they have four stomach compartments
that allows them to break down materials
that we cannot necessarily digest as humans.
And when it comes to the land and water
and how our farmers practice sustainability,
there are a few different ways that our farmers do that.
And we can start James with talking
about taking care of the land.
So our farmers here in Wisconsin use cover crops to protect
and enrich the soil on their farms.
And this also helps to keep the soil full of nutrients
in order that our farmers can continue
to grow nutritious crops year after year
on that land to feed their livestock.
So there are so many sustainability stories to tell.
And I'm excited to continue sharing those stories
as Alice and dairy lands.
What about water conservation?
Now, how does that play into this?
Water conservation is such a huge part
of our sustainability focus in agriculture.
So water conservation, it's practiced
on our dairy farms every day.
And I recently learned, actually,
that water is recycled up to four times on a dairy farm.
So we might use water to chill the milk that is produced.
This water can be used to keep our dairy cows hydrated.
You can also use that same water
to clean stalls and to clean the milking parlour
on dairy farms.
And that water is also used to irrigate crops.
And in addition to the water conservation
and taking care of the land, another way
that our farmers protect the soil and the environment
is by moving toward no till or reduced tillage practices.
And when we say tillage, this means
that working up of the land in the spring
before we prepare to plant for the next growing season.
So we're seeing a lot of that out and about in Wisconsin now.
So when we have reduced till or no till practices,
this helps to eliminate soil erosion
and keep the soil healthy.
Because of course, we want to keep taking
the best care of the soil possible
in order to continue growing crops for our dairy cattle
to enjoy.
And it's an endless cycle when it comes to sustainability.
One of the things I appreciate when
I get the chance to talk with farmers
are really anybody involved with the ag industry.
But especially farmers, they're students.
They are.
And I have to say, as Alice in Dairyland,
I'm a student each and every day.
But our farmers certainly take it a step further.
And they actually are students in a few ways.
One of the ways is that they volunteer
to participate in research that helps protect water quality.
So on the topic of water conservation and water quality,
our farmers work with a Wisconsin program.
This is called Discovery Farms.
So through this program, they attend classes
and they read educational materials about ways
to continuously improve their farming practices.
And Discovery Farm is a program that farmers can actually
volunteer to participate in.
So Discovery Farms works with farmers
by using equipment that is placed in a field
to understand how a farm's crop practices
and land management practices might affect water quality.
So this partnership means that farmers
are both scientists and students and our researchers
across the state of Wisconsin that's focused on agriculture,
such as through the University of Wisconsin Extension,
which you'll hear about in just a little bit,
they are learning from our farmers.
So there's a great relationship formed
when our farmers work with our researchers
and work with our universities here in Wisconsin
to continue improving our farming practices
and the industry of agriculture.
Ashley, you are so good.
Wait a, tease the next segment.
I appreciate you doing that nicely done.
Before we are so welcome.
Before we wrap up, we'll let people know
about where they can find more information
about dairy sustainability.
But before that, if you don't mind,
you sent along some additional info
that I thought was really interesting
and I'd like to take a little time with that.
Let's dive right deep into it.
I love it.
Yeah, Wisconsin dairy all starts
with our dedicated dairy farm families.
They are and you couldn't have sent it any better James.
So our dairy farming families,
they are committed to treating the cows and the land
with the utmost care and respect
because high quality care of our natural resources
and our animals that we are so fortunate
to work alongside yields high quality dairy products.
And that is the biggest focus in the dairy industry
is taking care of our cattle and our land
and our natural resources.
And this is just one of the ways that we are known
as America's dairy land.
And it's been a true honor highlighting the ways
that our farmers practice sustainability
with their animals and with their land
to celebrate Earth Day that took place
just a few weeks ago in April.
But it's really important to highlight these stories
and highlight this information all year round
because sustainability and taking care of the land
and the animals, it's a way of life for our farmers
every day of the week, every week of the month
and every month of the year.
Yeah, you know, I was doing some research myself
before the interview don't mean the brag
but I was looking into it actually
and it turns out we eat every day
and we need food every day
and on top of that our farmers work in every day.
So it feels like Earth Day could be every day.
Exactly right, Earth Day is every single day
when it comes to Wisconsin's dairy industry
and the industry of agriculture
and our dairy farming families
and farmers of all kinds here in Wisconsin,
they are committed to driving our state forward
by using those sustainable practices
and by continually educating themselves
and improving their farming practices.
Our dairy farming families and our farmers,
they drive the state forward not just economically
but really through those sustainable farming practices
and at the base of all they do is providing
the utmost care for their cows and their livestock.
It's at top of mind in agriculture
to take care of those natural resources and those animals
and Wisconsin's farmers do an outstanding job
of doing just that.
Yeah, we've got a number of Wisconsin family-owned farms
that are farmer-led watershed groups.
Yes, here in Wisconsin we are actually home to 28
dairy farmer-led watershed groups
and these groups protect hundreds of thousands
of acres of land and water
by building the soil health through some of those practices
that we talked about earlier
and improving water quality.
And this is all in partnership with the Nature Conservancy
otherwise known as TNC for short
and TNC has shared a feature of a selection of farmers
in these watershed groups highlighting their passion
for protecting the soil and water and other natural resources.
And this really helps our farms to remain resilient
and profitable and viable in the face
of ever-changing conditions in the industry of agriculture.
So there's a lot of unique partnerships
when it comes to sustainable practices
and really spreading the good word
about how our farmers are taking care of the land and water.
And this partnership with the Nature Conservancy
and our dairy farmer-led watershed groups
is such a great example of that.
With so much going on, we don't get a chance, I think,
enough to comment and mention some of the wins
that we have when it comes to the subject
and the carbon footprint of a glass of milk
is an interesting place to go with this.
That's another interesting fact I've learned as Alice
is the work that our dairy farmers have been putting in
for generations and generations truly shows off
in a few different ways.
And one of those ways James is through reducing
the carbon footprint of a glass of milk.
So the carbon footprint of a glass of milk today
is two thirds less than it was compared to 70 years ago,
which was a pretty long time ago.
And yet this glass of milk still has the same nutritional
benefits and great taste.
So I love sharing as Alice that one eight ounce serving
of milk has the same eight grams of protein
to build strong muscles today that it did those seven decades ago.
And real dairy when it comes from Wisconsin
and all over the country is a simple source
of really key nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin D,
protein and calcium.
It helps to boost our immunity.
It's all part of a well-balanced diet.
And reducing that carbon footprint is thanks in part
to our dedicated dairy farmers and their families
for putting those sustainable practices into good work
over the last 70 years and even well beyond that.
And Ashley, one last stat I wanted to get to,
the percentage of Wisconsin dairy farms
that our family owned.
Yes, here in Wisconsin we are so proud to share
that we have 95% of our Wisconsin dairy farms
being family owned.
And I also love sharing that here in Wisconsin,
we have more dairy farms than any other state in the country.
We have nearly 6,000 dairy farms.
Again, 95% of those dairy farms are family owned.
So when we talk about sustainability,
when we talk about taking care of the land
and the water and communities,
it's all because of our dairy farming families
because of those values that they have in place.
And they're doing it for the future generations
and their families to continue on this amazing tradition
that is Wisconsin agriculture and America's dairy lands.
And Ashley, along with you and the history
of the Allison dairy land program,
there's other people out there
and there's a lot of good ways that you can support
your local farmers in the Wisconsin ag industry
in particular and we always encourage people
to look for that label.
There are a lot of great ways,
exactly right to support our state's dairy farming families.
If you're looking to tangibly, really tangibly,
to support our state's dairy farmers,
a super simple way to do that is by looking
for that proudly Wisconsin dairy badge
or the number 55 on milk product packaging.
When you see that proudly Wisconsin badge on butter
or cheese or milk or sour cream and many other dairy products,
you know that you are supporting a Wisconsin family farm
and supporting our state's dairy farming families.
So be on the lookout for that badge
the next time you're shopping for your favorite dairy products.
And if you would like to just learn more
about our state's dairy farming families,
hear their stories, hear how they are committed
to building a sustainable future.
You can visit Wisconsindairy.org, flash our farms
and to close us out another great resource that I want to share
that focuses on research and development
in the dairy industry is the dairy innovation hub.
So they harness research across UW system campuses
and this is through different priority areas
like land and water, farm business and community,
animal health and welfare and also human health.
So to learn more, you can visit dairyinnovationhub.wisc.edu.
Lots of great resources when it comes to sustainability,
celebrating Earth Month and celebrating Wisconsin dairy products.
And Ashley, before we let you go,
I just wanted to touch base with you really quick
and we're speaking with Ashley Hagenaut, Alice in Dairyland.
Ashley, you guys had a fun weekend the other weekend
announcing a new Alice as much as it's hard for us to say that
is we don't want to think about losing you.
We do have another Alice coming up.
You want to touch on that just for a moment?
I am so excited to share a really exciting update
with the Alice in Dairyland program.
So this past weekend on Saturday, May 4th,
Wisconsin has a new Alice in Dairyland, our 77th Alice.
So her name is Hailey Heinsel.
She is from O'Connor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
and she has an absolute ray of sunshine.
Hailey is ready to take over the reins on July 8th,
officially this summer to begin the incredible year
of serving as Alice in Dairyland
and promoting Wisconsin agriculture.
Hailey has a background in agriculture
that revolves around working with local farms
in her home community, promoting agriculture in dairy
at the Wisconsin State Fair.
She's currently a student at the University of Wisconsin
Madison studying life sciences communication
and she's had so many amazing internships
and other experiences within agriculture and within dairy
that will really set her up for success.
In the next year, serving as Wisconsin's 77th Alice in Dairyland.
I'm excited for her, we're excited to meet Hailey
and get to know her a little bit,
but we're still gonna have you with us one more time.
I know that you'll be joining us sometime in June.
We're really looking forward to talking again,
celebrating June and we're looking forward
to seeing you around the state.
Yes, I'm so excited to end my month in such a special way
or end the year I should stay in such a special way
promoting Wisconsin Dairy and Wisconsin Dairy farmers
through June Dairy Month.
So we're gonna have a ton of fun.
I'm so excited to continue my travels across Wisconsin
promoting just what makes Wisconsin Dairy
and Wisconsin agriculture so very special
and I can't wait to connect next
because it's always a fun conversation
when it comes to Wisconsin agriculture.
We have a blast talking with you.
Remember, you can find out more going to
WisconsinDairy.org, WisconsinDairy.org
and find out more about the Alice in Dairyland program
at Alice in Dairyland.com, Alice in Dairyland.com.
Be sure to follow them on social media as well.
We're already looking forward to the next time Ash.
Thanks so much for joining us.
Yes, thank you so much as well.
You take care.
We'll have more Midday Magazine coming up for you right here
at 97.5 FM 13.20 AM.
We are WFHR, locally grown radio.
