Modern technology keeps Wisconsin's dairies competitive
Agriculture accounts for $51.5 billion in economic activity each year, provides 420,000 jobs, and generates 10 percent of Wisconsin's total income. Dairy drives this agricultural economic machine, pumping more than $20.6 billion into the state economy.
More competitive
Keeping the dairy industry profitable and competitive is critical to economic development in Wisconsin. In many cases, staying competitive means replacing aging barns and outdated milking equipment with new structures and technology.
The University of Wisconsin-Extension Dairy Modernization Team helped 1,804 dairy producers consider modernization options and management practices last year. Among them were Andy and Betty Warmka, who worked intensively with Bob Kaiser, UW-Extension dairy agent for Dodge County, and David Kammel, UW-Madison/Extension agricultural engineer, to design their new facilities. The Warmkas began by moving cows out of tie stalls into an airy, open free-stall barn. Later, they added a modern milking parlor.
More efficient
Modern milking facilities help make the Wisconsin dairy industry more competitive. Cows move through a milking parlor, encouraged by a moving gate in a gathering area outside. The milker stands in a pit to clean and prepare each cow for milking, reducing the hazard of accidents or repetitive stress injuries. Photo by WOLFGANG HOFFMANN
Andy Warmka says the changes have made the business far more efficient.
"We milk 160 cows in less time than it used to take us to milk 70," he says. "In the old barn, there was room for 34 cows at a time. We moved them in, fed them by hand, went from cow to cow with the milking equipment, then turned them out and brought in the next bunch. It was very time-consuming, a lot of very hard work."
That work, especially the repetitive stooping to attach and detach milking equipment, wore out Warmka's joints. He's had a knee replacement and may need another one. He also has hip problems.
More profitable
His sons and granddaughter, who milk in the new parlor, won't suffer those work-related injuries. They do milking chores from a recessed pit while cows move in an orderly parade from a gathering area, through the parlor, and back to the free-stall barn where they feed themselves.
"We sell more milk, but that's only part of the payback," Warmka says. In addition to improving profitability, the changes made the work easier, faster and safer. And the changes also make it more likely that this family farm will continue to contribute to the Wisconsin economy in the years to come. -Mary Ellen Bell
Northern communities get an economic head start
The Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board recently saluted the Northern EDGE (Economic Development and Growing the Economy) Fund for New Initiatives for advancing community-based economic development.
Growth and development
In his keynote address at a conference featuring Northern EDGE, Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Cory Nettles praised EDGE, a demonstration project administered by the University of Wisconsin-Extension Center for Community Economic Development, for contributing to building the foundation for local job growth and business development in 29 targeted counties in northern Wisconsin.
Three Fund for New Initiatives projects were recognized for their achievements:
- The Shawano Area Business Retention and Expansion Study identified businesses in the region that are considering relocating, and is working to retain these businesses.
- The Vilas Institute for Leadership and Sustainability: Vilas Vision and the Momentum trained more than a dozen new leaders in Vilas County who have been instrumental in starting a local farmers' market.
- The Chippewa Valley Angel Investing Network linked entrepreneurial ventures with investors, developing the potential for the creation of more than 50 new jobs.
Valuable tools
"We're identifying the most effective approaches to economic and workforce development that are occurring today," explains UW-Extension Professor Alan Anderson, Northern EDGE project director. "These valuable tools will give our communities a head start as they move forward."
State Sen. Russell Decker and U.S. Rep. David Obey, who represent the area, helped secure federal funding for the Northern EDGE project. The project also receives financial support from UW-Extension, University of Wisconsin System, Xcel Energy and additional federal and private funders. -Andrea Lasker
For more information:www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/edge.htm
High-caliber workers attracted by arts and culture
Arts and culture make a community more attractive to educated and creative workers. This long-held assumption has been supported time and again, most recently by Richard Florida's widely cited book, The Rise of the Creative Class.
"For many listeners and viewers, Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) and Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) are vital lifelines to the arts," says Byron Knight, director of Broadcasting and Media Innovations for the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
Both organizations regularly spotlight the arts through Wisconsin-originated broadcasts such as "Sunday Afternoon Live from the Elvehjem" and "Concerts on the Square." WPR and WPT report on the arts in newscasts and other regular programs. In addition, they bring home a wide range of programs from around the world on arts, culture and history. WPT and WPR also foster an informed and engaged citizenry through broadcasts focusing on news and public-affairs issues. -Michael Bridgeman