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ACE brings together rural residents and local elected officials to learn about agriculture issues that impact their communities. Working with the Wisconsin Towns and the Wisconsin Counties Associations, PDPW provides farm and educational tours, engages workgroups and brings local elected officials to events to facilitate positive communication on issues facing the dairy industry and rural communities. 2010 Twilight Meetings in two locations reached 100 non-farm community leaders. Additional farm tours brought 110 local elected officials to farms for Q&A about modern practices. Click here for ACE testimonials.
This fun, hands-on weekend generates great enthusiasm for careers in production dairy among teenagers. More than 350 young people have benefited from the Derby since it began in 2005. Presenters highlight opportunities in agriculture and encourage youth to seek careers in our industry.
Click here to read how participants say the Derby positively influenced their career path.
This program pairs college students with PDPW producer-mentors to share real-world experiences on dairy operations. Since the late 1990s, 375 young professionals have been influenced by their mentors.
Click here to read how Dairy Mentors are influencing a new generation of dairy producers.
This producer-led Coalition includes members from every sector of the dairy industry. The Foundation served as a “neutral ground” for collecting and distributing funds from all industry participants. The goal of this initiative is to protect consumer trust and confidence in the dairy industry by demonstrating dairy producers’ commitment to animal well-being. The result was food system consensus in defining the guiding principles for dairy animal well-being. As a further result, programs that meet the needs of dairy animals and the expectations of the food system are not being implemented on dairy farms, helping ensure that our animals are being cared for properly.
Click here to read testimonials, or visit www.dairywellbeing.org for more information and progress.
An endowment ensures the Foundation’s ability to be prepared when an issue arises. Unrestricted gifts to our endowment ensure a legacy of learning for the dairy community.
Agriculture-Community Engagement (ACE):
"As an agricultural producer, I feel the program offers a tangible means of communicating the vision, performance and passion of our state's farmers. Combining those attributes of the agriculturalists with the community and environmental concerns of the attendees creates a viable venue for realistic conversations to the concerns of all parties."
~ Charles Crave, Crave Brothers Dairy Farm
"ACE helps local officials connect with and understand dairy producers and their businesses. It also allows the dairy industry to work with the local officials who need to make the decision in their towns and counties. This collaboration improves communication and understanding for all involved."
~ Rick Stadelman, Executive Director, Wisconsin Towns Association
"The ACE program has resulted in a dynamic collaboration between local governments and the dairy industry. These educational seminars are a valuable opportunity for our members to have an open dialogue on dairy issues that impact, or are impacted by, local governments."
~ Monica Groves Batiza, Wisconsin Counties Association
"I believe that the ACE Program is one of the most effective projects that PDPW is involved in. ACE has given dairy the opportunity to engage in positive, proactive communication with our community partners. As folks become farther removed from agriculture, it gives us a forum for telling our story. When I attend ACE events, we are greeted with thoughtful questions and listening ears. Our towns and counties stakeholders seem to hunger for accurate information and appreciate solutions that are mutually effective for small government, their constituents and agriculture."
~ Deb Reinhart, Gold Star Farm, New Holstein, Wis.
"ACE piqued my interest in local government and informing elected officials how modern ag enterprises operate. Change is necessary for all of us so agriculture can play a key role in strong local economies, now and well into the future for the next generation. As farmers, we can be the “green space” our urban neighbors desire by continuing to be good stewards of the land, air and water. We just need to tell our story more and better! ACE was a big step in that direction."
~ Daphne Holterman, Rosy-Lane Holsteins, Watertown, Wis.
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Youth Leadership Derby:
"The Youth Leadership Derby was a great way for me to learn about careers in the dairy industry when I was in high school. At the time YLD helped me to create a focus of what it was that I was going to do with my time in college. Seeing many students from UW-Madison's dairy science department promoting dairy definitely made my future clearer. YLD was a great place to meet new friends and catch up with old ones, all while having a great time and learning a lot while doing it."
~ Jacob Brey
"I got to see an ultra-sound on a baby calf today. It was pretty awesome to see its heart beating inside its mother. Thanks PDPW for the opportunity!!"
~ Simeon Otto
"Thank you for giving me such a great learning experience at the Youth Leadership Derby! I've learned so much and can't wait to start sharing my 'Ag Story.'"
~ Angel Schimdt
“PDPW Rocks! Thanks for giving kids the opportunity to learn about agriculture!”
~ Brittany Rambatt
“It helped me realize that I can't see myself doing anything else besides farming. I really want to be a part of this business.”
~ Jeremy Moore, Youth Leadership Derby participant.
“Last year there was a cow stomach that we got to look inside and learn how the feed goes through. I learned why I was feeding our calves what we were, and why it was so important.”
~ Abigail Martin, Youth Leadership Derby participant.
“The quiet, shy young man we sponsored to attend the Derby was so full of enthusiasm about what he all learned and observed at the Derby. He talked so loud and full of life. He talked to me for 20 minutes non-stop. I asked him a few questions—one big question—Did you learn something you can bring back to your farm? On and on he went with all his new information he wants to apply to their farm. It was such a fun conversation and I felt so good as a Family Dairies member, that we could give this young man this huge opportunity to expand his knowledge of our dairy industry.”
~ Sue Schultz, Family Dairies
“The most valuable part of the Youth Leadership Derby was learning about all the leaders’ backgrounds and career oportunities. This was an amazing education experience!”
~ Stacey Griswold, High School Senior, Ixonia
“I attended YLD multiple times as a middle and high school student and every year I attended I had an amazing time. YLD helped me realize that the dairy industry was where I wanted to be for my career. I am now studying Food Science and Life Sciences Communication at UW-Madison.”
~ Lauren Holterman, currently a student at UW-Madison
“This weekend was a great networking opportunity. I made contact with people for information, internships, jobs and resources. I will take the information I learned and use it in my life, school and job.”
~ Jenny Breuer, currently a student at UW-River Falls
“The conference is great for both non-dairy and dairy. Finding your passion and knowing how to get there is so important for young students, and that is important for all. I can use this information anywhere in my life: goals, career, college, farm, communication.”
~ Joseph Ploeckelman, currently a student at UW-River Falls
“The most valuable part was learning about the dairy industry in many different aspects. Everything I learned at the Derby will be in the back of my mind - when the opportunity comes to be a leader in the dairy industry, I'll be ready!”
~ Rebecca Schlehlein, currently a student at UW-Platteville
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“The Mentor Program has given us the opportunity to ‘give back’ to the future of the dairy industry by mentoring several different enthusiastic young men and women.”
~ Roger & Tammy Weiland, dairy producer mentors
“It’s a great program, great way to network and build enthusiasm for our industry. Helps provide direction for our youth. It’s important to give back to an industry that’s been so good to us. We need to help prepare the next generation to help feed the world.”
~ Gary Tauchen, dairy producer mentor
“It’s a good experience in order to get out of your comfort zone and meet someone different.”
~ Ashley Sprengeler, student participant in mentor program
“I would recommend this program to other students because it is a wonderful way to see how other farmers run their farms and provide ideas that youth may be able to use themselves. It is also a great opportunity to ask a professional dairy producer questions about dairy farming and have a one on one learning experience with an expert.”
~ Renee Sheaffer, student participant in mentor program
“I enjoyed getting to see another dairy in another part of the state and being able to meet with a producer enthusiastic about the dairy industry.”
~ Suzie Benoit, student participant in mentor program
“It was a huge learning experience for me in which I could apply the facts I learned from college lecture to real business.”
~ Kat Pankratz, student participant in mentor program
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“I believe that the NDAWI brings many benefits to the dairy industry. Through this initiative, consumer confidence in the dairy food chain is increased. It is a standardized quality of care that shows that the dairy industry prioritizes and strives for the best possible well being of our cows. I believe that well being programs are inevitable and the NDAWI allows the dairy industry and dairy producers to be a proactive part of the process.”
~ Neil Rejman, dairy producer in New York
“On our farm, the standards will involve some more recordkeeping but little, if any changes, in how we work with our dairy animals. I think this will be true for most all farms as we now employ the best practices available for not only economic reasons but for an inbred desire to treat our animals with respect. We want to have a standard that realistically addresses the real desire of the public to see that dairy animals are treated well. We feel the NDAWI accomplishes that.”
~ John Rosenow, dairy producer in Cochrane, Wis.
“Americans continue to recognize milk as nature’s most nearly perfect food. They’ve always been able to depend on milk and dairy products as safe and wholesome. Today’s consumers simply want assurance that our industry is committed to making animal well-being a priority in the production process. That’s not too much to ask. The NDAWI helps to clarify the issues and organize our attention and efforts toward the common goal of providing appropriate care for our animals and reassuring our consumers accordingly.”
~ Jan Shearer, D.V.M., MS., University of Florida
“As a retail grocery chain, Safeway is committed to sourcing our dairy products from producers who treat their animals in a humane fashion, provide for their health and well-being, and adhere to sound animal management practices. We have a commitment to our customers to source any animal-based foods in this fashion. Uniformly administered animal welfare standards that can be verified by third-party inspections give the industry give the industry credibility in the eyes of customers like Safeway…and subsequently with our customers.”
~ Mary Kamm, Safeway
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