Welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this June 4th, 2024.
Have your host James J. Mailoff here at 330 and welcome in our friend Aaron Hest branch executive director with the South of County YMCA.
We're able to have that thanks to our friends at Trady City Services.
Looking forward to it.
Been looking forward to this Ashley Haginows with us our 76th Alice in Dairyland.
Ashley it's always good to talk with you and let alone to have you in studio.
I know I'm so excited to be here.
We're talking this is my last official interview while serving as the 76th Alice.
So we're certainly going to make it a great one and highlight Dairy and the Alice in Dairyland program.
One of the things that I have found to be tougher about this job is saying goodbye to the current Alice.
We've had to do this about three or four times now and it's a blast getting to work with you over the year.
Not only you get better at the gig but more comfortable with it and things that you and other Alice's have learned as you do this and stuff.
That's from an outsider's perspective for you.
I would never want to ask you what your favorite thing was or something like that.
But what were some of the highlights that have stood out to you about this special year in your life?
For sure. There's been so many highlights and every day has been something new and different when it comes to serving in this role.
When it comes to just the whole year in general, there's been so many things that stand out.
Certainly the chance to get into classrooms across Wisconsin highlights specialty crops.
Highlight Wisconsin dairy and butter just highlight Wisconsin agriculture in general has been very rewarding.
And that's across the board with students of all ages ranging in age from pre-kindergarten to high school seniors and even college students.
I've had so much fun educating different audiences about agriculture.
And I've loved the media side of Alice having the chance to talk with amazing folks like yourself about different campaigns.
Whether it's been ice cream or our annual holiday campaign or ginseng potatoes leading up to today as we talk about national dairy month.
There's been so much amazing travel in my year serving as Alice.
We even had the chance to travel internationally this year to promote Wisconsin ginseng overseas in China and Hong Kong.
That was an amazing experience and the trip of a lifetime.
And more recently, I've had so much fun getting onto farms, touring local businesses.
And especially this month learning more about the dairy industry as we celebrate national dairy month.
There's something that stands out within every day, but the theme of it all is just the people of Wisconsin that make this job so very special.
Without our farmers and processors and our local business owners, everyone in between the Alice and dairy land program would not exist.
So it's really an honor to represent all of those different groups of people and to represent the state of Wisconsin as a whole.
Such a voice for dairy, such a voice for the different things that this state produces and exports and is so proud of.
And being a voice for the agriculture industry in many ways, it's pretty cool because we learned so much from the process.
And as I've talked with Alice over the years on air off air, you guys learned so much as well.
And that's really fun for everybody, I think.
It is, you know, whether you're learning about cranberries or green beans or jinsing or mink or dairy, obviously is a huge sector for the state of Wisconsin.
There's just so many things, so much history, so many facts and figures that I've had so much fun learning about as Alice, whether it's Wisconsin's top commodities, some of our very famous and special tea crops.
And of course, all of the dairy products that we know and love ranging from cheese to yogurt, butter and ice cream.
So that knowledge will definitely stick with me, even though sometimes the economic impact numbers will change as agriculture continues to grow.
Or some of those facts and figures ebb and flow at the heart of it all is Wisconsin agriculture and the people who make it possible.
So that knowledge I will definitely take with me into my future career.
And I'm excited to forever be an ambassador and a voice for Wisconsin agriculture, wherever my future might take me.
Yeah, yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Thank you.
Actually, we, as I said, it's hard to let you go and say goodbye, but we do want to welcome the next Alice.
And for those that don't know there, can you let everybody know who the next, the 77th Alice in Dairyland will be?
Yes, I'm so excited to announce that Haley Heinzel of Okonomowak has been selected as Wisconsin's 77th Alice in Dairyland.
She was selected actually a month ago today in Door County.
So the Alice in Dairyland finals took place this year in Door County.
So Haley was selected officially on May 4th and she will begin her duties as the 77th Alice on July 8th.
So there's a few more weeks where I am still having so much fun promoting Wisconsin agriculture.
And I will officially pass the baton to Haley on July 8th.
I have to say she is one gem of a human being.
She has so much energy, so much excitement and love for agriculture.
And I'm excited to see her bring that love for this industry to the role as Alice really make it her own.
And in talking with her over the last few weeks, she cannot wait to get started.
I imagine she's chomping at the bit. She seems like she's going to be great at this and everything.
And she's got some big shoes to fill.
Oh, you're so sweet. You were amazing at this.
Oh my gosh. Well, and we're excited to just continue on the tradition year after year of Alice.
And every year the program grows and there's such continued excitement for the industry of agriculture.
And that is to me what makes it so very special.
Yeah. One of the things that you and other Alice's have done so well is not only bringing a highlight to different products as you've mentioned before,
but some insight to them sometimes, some things that maybe not some of us don't know.
Like kind of getting into this with you right now, as far as talking dairy and discover and getting into some of this,
what can we all discover about America's dairy land during National Dairy Month is?
We're in dairy month, everybody.
We are in National Dairy Month and when it comes to Wisconsin, it is all thanks in parts,
especially Wisconsin dairy to our hardworking farmers and processors who have dedicated their lives
to providing us with nutrient rich and wholesome dairy products.
So it's really fun during National Dairy Month to highlight the impact of dairy not only here in Wisconsin,
but really across the globe.
And at the heart of America's dairy land is our hardworking farmers and processors who provide us with specialty cheeses,
milk, yogurt, ice cream, the list goes on.
And at the same time, these farmers are so committed and connected to the land and the animals that they care for.
And I've also loved so far highlighting the sustainable aspects of Wisconsin dairy and really how our dairy farmers are focused on preserving their legacy
and their heritage for future generations.
So when it comes to all of the things we can discover during National Dairy Month, it's highlighting how our dairy farmers are sustainable
and also the family legacy of Wisconsin dairy since 95% of our dairy farms are family owned.
95%.
I just learned something already.
Every time you join us, I learned something.
I learned something right there.
I wouldn't have known that.
That is a really strong stat to hear too.
It is.
It brings home when we talk about buying local supporting local when we talk about looking for that label of maiden Wisconsin and such.
It brings it home even more of how important that is to support these farms and these families.
And when it comes to how we can all play a role in celebrating dairy and tasting dairy, that's a great point, James,
is to look for that proudly Wisconsin dairy badge or the proudly Wisconsin cheese badge.
When you see that badge at your local grocery store or other retail location, whether it's on cheese or butter or ice cream or milk, you name it,
you know that that dairy product has been made and processed here in Wisconsin.
So then that helps us to play our role in strengthening America's dairy land and supporting our local dairy farmers and processors.
To me, that's such a huge aspect of Wisconsin dairy is supporting local and supporting those farmers who provide us all with so much.
So again, be on the lookout for that proudly cheese or proudly dairy badge.
Ashley, June is a dairy good time to try new recipes.
I don't know what that's it there for a second.
I can tell I can tell that joke. I'm a dad.
Yes, I love it.
So I can get away with that.
But it is a great time for new recipes.
What are ways we can taste Wisconsin dairy?
There are many different ways to taste Wisconsin dairy.
The list goes on whether you enjoy milk or cheese or ice cream, butter, yogurt, cottage cheese.
One of my personal favorites is actually sour cream.
I love sour cream both for baking and cooking.
So we can taste Wisconsin dairy in so many ways.
And tasting is really believing when it comes to all of the different recipes that highlight Wisconsin dairy products.
So one really fun summer recipe.
I have discovered there's some sweet and bold and tangy flavors in this recipe.
It's for aged cheddar rhubarb upside down cake.
So if you have a sweet tooth, this recipe is especially delectable.
But really for everyone, there are so many different ingredients that go into this delicious cake
that I've really enjoyed making so far during National Dairy Month.
And I've also enjoyed eating quite a bit of it.
So on the dairy side, this recipe uses ingredients like sour cream and butter, whipped cream,
and a few other delicious ingredients.
But then you also add in the sweetness and the tanginess of rhubarb.
And rhubarb is especially delicious to enjoy in the summer in many different types of recipes.
So this recipe is a great one to try.
I think it would make a delicious addition to a picnic or a summer barbecue.
Maybe you have an upcoming family get together or Father's Day is right around the corner.
So again, this recipe is aged cheddar rhubarb upside down cake.
We have some samples that we'll try here this morning.
And it's delicious.
Oh, I cannot wait to try this.
Yes, yes. Let's do this right now.
I actually wanted to start the show with this everybody.
I wanted to start right away with this.
But then I got food in the mouth. I can't ask questions.
Of course.
I've actually been wanting to try more and more rhubarb pies and everything.
So I haven't had a whole lot of rhubarb.
So this is going to be fun to sample that.
Actually, as I'm trying this, are there details or things about the recipe that people should know?
That they they as far as going into it?
Is it a long process to make it or anything?
Yes.
So I tried it for the first time this past weekend.
And one thing I've learned when it comes to baking, especially because there's so many great recipes,
is a practice called mise en place.
If you haven't heard of it before, I've learned it this year as Alice.
It's taking the time to measure out all of your different ingredients.
Maybe put them in little bowls or keep them in measuring cups.
Before you actually start with preheating the oven and starting to mix all of your ingredients together.
So with this cake, I definitely recommend doing that beforehand because there are a few different moving parts to this recipe.
And the recipe itself calls for four cups of chopped rhubarb.
I actually have that and used only about two cups and still had plenty of rhubarb to go around.
But if you are someone who loves that tangy flavor of rhubarb, I would definitely recommend using all of the four cups because I think that would add even more delicious flavor to this cake.
And the aged cheddar that is used in this recipe, it's kind of the star of the show in the cake.
I think it bakes really well into the cake.
It's a very subtle flavor, but you still get little notes of the cheese as you enjoy the cake.
Okay, you had me a cake.
You had me a cake, a big cake guys.
I love it.
Can I wait to try this?
It's very excited about trying that.
Now, as we mentioned before, always want to keep mentioning that,
like to mention, at least a couple of times, well, you join us.
You can support Ashley.
You can support Alice in Dairy Lane.
You can support our ag industry very easily, actually.
All you got to do is when you're looking for these items for this pie or anything you're making this year,
look for that proudly Wisconsin cheese label.
Exactly right.
And you can find the proudly Wisconsin cheese badge or the proudly Wisconsin dairy badge
on hundreds of Wisconsin dairy products at virtually any grocery store or retail location
that you might be shopping in.
And the badge can also be found all over the country because our dairy products travel all over the United States.
So even if you're listening in from another part of the country,
you can still be on the lookout for that proudly Wisconsin cheese badge or the dairy badge.
And another thing we've talked about this year, James, is looking for the number 55,
especially on milk product packaging because that number 55 certifies that that milk
has come from a processing plant here in Wisconsin.
So there are a few different ways to really make sure that you are helping to support Wisconsin's dairy industry
when you're out and about shopping during the month of June and really any time of year.
Yeah, let's get into that a little bit more about celebrating the Wisconsin dairy this June.
There's ways we can do it in our own homes and certainly every day we can do this even outside of June.
But there's a lot of fun events going on this month.
There are some fun things going on for you to celebrate dairy and celebrate Wisconsin.
Oh, man.
The list goes on with how many ways we can celebrate Wisconsin dairy.
I have kept pretty busy even in the first weekend of June here getting to breakfast on the farm events.
So breakfast on the farms, they are a huge tradition here in Wisconsin.
And I like to think no one celebrates dairy better during national dairy month than we do here in Wisconsin,
here in America's dairy land.
So if you are someone who wants to learn more about Wisconsin dairy and have the chance to meet
some of Wisconsin's dairy farmers and get up close and personal with our Wisconsin dairy cows
and learn more about what happens on a Wisconsin dairy farm.
I highly, highly, highly encourage you to get to a breakfast on the farm event this June.
And if you would like to learn more about where these breakfast on the farms are taking place
or if you'd like to experience other local dairy month events,
you can visit Wisconsin dairy dot org slash national dairy month.
They have done a great job of pulling together all of the dairy breakfast that are taking place here in Wisconsin.
And you can find a local dairy event near you, bring your family and friends, enjoy a delicious meal,
complete with plenty of dairy, and it all goes back to supporting Wisconsin's dairy industry.
We're speaking with Ashley Hagenau 76th Alice in Dairyland in our last conversation with Ashley, particularly.
It's bothering me, I gotta admit, I admit it's not gonna be easy to let you go already.
But we do love working with you and looking forward to working with the next Alice of course.
But one of the things that I thought would be fun to do is getting into a little bit of the history of dairy month with you Ash.
So can you tell us a little bit about Wisconsin's history with the national dairy month?
There is rich history in Wisconsin when it comes to agriculture in general,
but especially our dairy industry.
When we think about what is on our license plates as we travel across the state,
it's America's dairy land.
So there is rich history when it comes to dairy in our great state.
And dairy has been an economic pillar of Wisconsin for more than 180 years.
It's a huge deal here in Wisconsin, which is why we are so fortunate to have many different ways to celebrate Wisconsin's dairy industry during national dairy month.
So a little bit more about the history of national dairy month.
It actually began as national milk month in the year 1937, so just a few years ago.
And it was aimed to really celebrate milk and all the ways that milk is part of a well balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
And then a few years later in 1939 is when national milk month then became June dairy month, which we know today.
And when this changed, it also encompassed all of the dairy industry, not just milk, but all of the dairy products that we know and love and enjoy.
So again, when it comes to Wisconsin, no one celebrates Wisconsin dairy quite as well as we do with all of our breakfast on the farm events, our other dairy industry focused events.
And that tradition continues all the way through to the year 2024.
And we're always learning new things about the dairy industry.
There's always new research and innovation that is taking place new dairy products that we get to enjoy.
And it's all thanks in part to the hard work and dedication of Wisconsin's dairy farmers and processors.
Yeah, nobody works as hard as our Wisconsin farmers and nobody makes better products than our Wisconsin farmers.
It shows the hard work that they put in shows in the products they create.
I love history, so I love that. Thank you so much for that.
I would never guess since 1937 that it's been around that's and that's a very impressive. That's pretty cool.
Yes, it's quite a few years and I should add to the Alice and Dairyland program started in 1948.
So I think there's a lot of cool connections throughout history as well with celebrating national milk month or June dairy month and then Alice and Dairyland became a program just a few years later.
It speaks to the importance of promoting these products, of promoting our farmers, our ag industry.
And in part to tie along with that because the importance comes from so much of the jobs it creates, some of these other things,
Wisconsin dairy creates a lot of jobs.
It does. There's right around 157,000 jobs that are generated just because of dairy here in Wisconsin.
Take even a step further back one in every nine jobs here in Wisconsin connects back to agriculture.
That's about 435,000 jobs.
So more than a quarter of those jobs are actually generated because of Wisconsin's dairy industry.
So if you're someone who maybe is looking for a career change or you're thinking ahead to the future,
keep Wisconsin dairy and Wisconsin agriculture in mind because there are so many different opportunities for anyone looking to get involved in dairy and an agriculture.
I get the I'm really spoiled in this gig. I get a chance to talk to a lot of different people and a lot of interesting people.
And I have to note to the audience, the audio audience out there that can't see you.
Ashley has been pulling all of this stuff off the top of her head. I've got notes in front of me.
All these numbers, all these facts, she knows her stuff. And I think that is so cool and so impressive to me when you do those things.
You have been very impressive in this position.
Thank you so much. Whatever you do next, you are going to be stellar at it.
You are going to have a great career, whatever it is. And we'll be paying attention and rooting for you.
Don't be a stranger. Stay tall.
Not at all. Yes.
We appreciate you. And we know how much we appreciate the Alice in Dairyland program as well.
Ashley, if people want to find out more about the program, ways to support our Wisconsin dairy industry, how can they do that?
There are so many ways to learn more about Alice, learn more about Wisconsin dairy.
If you want to first learn more about Alice in Dairyland and the program in general for the state of Wisconsin,
you can visit our website that is Alice in Dairyland.com.
And especially as we're in a very exciting time of transition coming up when Haley will officially begin her incredible year of service on July 8th.
I would highly encourage anyone who is interested to follow us on social media.
You can find us as Alice in Dairyland on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and also X, formerly known as Twitter.
We would love to have you engaging with our fun content that we share each and every day about.
Wisconsin agriculture, Wisconsin dairy, and the Alice in Dairyland program in general.
And if you're really interested to and learning more about Wisconsin dairy during National Dairy Month,
you really liked what you heard when we talked about that recipe for the aged cheddar rhubarb upside down cake.
You can visit Wisconsin dairy dot org or Wisconsin cheese dot com.
Both of those websites are through dairy farmers of Wisconsin.
They are the states dairy check off organization which assist in marketing and promotional efforts on behalf of Wisconsin dairy farmers.
So you can find amazing information to continue on the conversation from what we've had here this morning about Wisconsin dairy.
Ashley, you are amazing in this position. Nice nice work really can keep your head up high on this one.
And again, best of luck to you wherever you go, whatever you do going forward door is always open.
You ever stop by and feel like stopping by please feel free to.
Yes, thank you so much.
Thank you again for the time.
Thank you.
We will go ahead and get to our next segment.
We'll be back with more fun on midday magazine here at WFHR locally grown radio.
