 DAIRYLAND STATE ACADEMY (DSA)
GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION - New School Will Train, Retain New Dairy Farmers for the Region.
An industry is only as healthy as its workforce, so local dairy producers are teaming up with educational institutions to make sure that the dairy-production base in the nation’s Midwest stays fully staffed.
The goal of Dairyland State Academy is simple: train agriculture students in the dairy-farming business, in hopes that they will set up shop locally. The Dairyland State Academy, now in Phase III of its development, is a collaborative effort of the DSA Board, Northcentral Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County, University of Wisconsin-Extension, and University of Wisconsin-River Falls. This collaboration of higher educational institutions is the first of its kind in the history of Wisconsin.
"We are right in the state's dairy corridor." says Bob Prahl, owner of Granite View Farm and President of the DSA Board of Directors. "We envision the DSA to be a hands-on learning laboratory that will provide its students the opportunity to earn a two-year Associate degree in Dairy Science Management, the first available in the State of Wisconsin.”
Prahl knows firsthand that education is the solution to the decline of the family farm. With a herd of more than 100 cows, his son represents the fourth generation of farmers at Granite View. Such generational farming is increasingly rare, a trend he hopes Dairyland State Academy can reverse.
"We need to reinvigorate our dairy industry here, and have the infrastructure available," he says. "We see our talent leaving when they go away to school, so our push is to have them stay here."
Dairy Science classes will begin in the fall of 2008. The facility is scheduled to be operational by fall of 2009. Enrollment is expected to build to 50 graduates annually.
 ABOUT THE DAIRYLAND STATE ACADEMY
Community leaders in north central Wisconsin are developing a new model for post-High School agriculture education. Their vision is to stimulate the economic vitality of the dairy and related industries through education, business development, and practitioner engagement. Learn more about the Dairyland State Academy with these resources:
Contact Information:
Scott Mickelsen
Dean of Agriculture and Community Services
1000 W. Campus Drive
Wausau, WI 54401-1899
Phone: (715) 675-3331, Ext. 4373
Toll-Free: 888-682-7144
Fax: (715) 675-4917
mickelse@ntc.edu
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