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Two women recognized for contributions to agriculture

Don't just teach.

Do.

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau is recognizing two young professionals with Rock County ties for their contributions to the agricultural industry.

And they're not just working. They're setting an example as a teacher and a 4-H agent.

Milton High School ag teacher Nicole Reese and Green County extension agent and Rock County native Alissa Grenawalt will represent Wisconsin at national contests next month.

They talked to The Janesville Gazette about their awards and their visions for agriculture.

Nicole Reese

Age: 26

Job: Ag teacher and FFA advisor at Milton High School

Educational background: Graduated in May 2006 from UW-Madison.

Agricultural background: Grew up on her family's 70-cow dairy farm in Sheboygan Falls.

Award: Winner of the 2008 Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer Discussion Meet. Reese will go on to compete in the national meet in San Antonio, Texas, in January.

Q: What's a discussion meet?

A: You sit down with other young farmers and ranchers and are given topics to discuss in a round-table format. The whole point is to discuss the issues and determine solutions. Each participant has to stand up and give a 30-second introduction. Once each has gone, you go into 25-minute discussion. Then every body gives a one-minute conclusion.

Q: How tough is the competition?

A: Very. This is the fourth time I've competed at the state level. But I've been involved with various speaking roles, both as a state FFA officer, which introduced me to the competition, and as the 59th Alice in Dairyland.

What I really like about participating is it forces me … makes me sit down and research these issues.

Q: Did you talk about the discussion meet and the topics you have to discuss with your students?

A: We definitely did talk about some of the issues beforehand. They asked, "What are you doing this research for?"

The FFA has a discussion meet itself for FFA members. My work got a couple of my students excited about doing it themselves. Plus, one of the things I won was a chainsaw. They thought that was pretty funny. I came back and said, "I got my chainsaw!" They were very proud.

Alissa Grenawalt

Age: 32

Job: Has worked for seven years as the 4-H and youth agent for the UW Extension Green County. Is a member of the Green County Board. Owns a small herd of registered red Angus beef cattle.

Educational background: Graduated from UW-Platteville in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in animal science and a master's degree in agricultural industries.

Agricultural background: Grew up on a 700-acre cash grain and beef cattle farm in Newark Township.

Award: Winner of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation's Young Farmer Excellence in Agriculture contest. Grenawalt will compete in the national Excellence in Agriculture contest in San Antonio, Texas, in January.

Q: How did you win the award?

A: The process included filling out an application with our personal background in agriculture, our future goals relating to leadership. As one of four finalists, I was then invited to give a presentation.

Q: What are your leadership goals, and what is important to you in agriculture?

A: Affordable, renewable energy and land use. Communicating the value of the industry. I want to make sure we're telling our story, not having other people telling it for us. My goal is to keep getting very involved. Like right now, I'm a Green County Board member.

Q: What's one thing you want to communicate about agriculture?

A: Communicating the importance of what producers do and how food gets from farm to plate... Because there are so few of us in the industry, we need to step up and tell people what producers, do and how they're taking pride in what they do.

Q: Does a person have to be a "farm kid" to work in the ag industry?

A: No. That's a big misnomer-that you have to grow up on a farm. If you look at FFA classrooms, a lot of students didn't grow up on farms. As ag professionals, we need to be out there and saying, "We've got opportunities." Any farm manager, if they're a good manager, they can train someone who's got the interest and passion to help them out.

I think having a farm background is an asset, but by no means is it a rule that somebody who doesn't have a farm background can't contribute.

Q: Is the ag industry a thriving one, someplace people should consider looking for work?

A: There's always going to be a need for people to feed others. For people who enjoy the outdoors and working in a different environment, it should be a good fit. If they have a passion and desire to learn, there are people out there to help them.

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How many jobs does the agriculture industry provide in Wisconsin?

That's hard to answer, said Greg Olson.

He is the executive director of the newly formed Wisconsin Agricultural Education and Workforce Development Council, a 34-member group devoted to promoting and supporting the state's ag industry.

The council is part of the state's "Grow Wisconsin" initiative, which aims to increase jobs in agriculture, commerce and tourism, Olson said.

Defining "agriculture" is a job in and of itself, Olson said. If you list all the job options in the state and cross off those that aren't ag-related, you're left with anywhere from 300 to 800, he said.

"That's a 500-job position difference," Olson said. "That's huge. So you're left asking, 'Who it is you were going to try and help? Define agriculture.'"

The flip side of that coin will be defining agricultural education, Olson said.

"We act as a liaison between the agribusiness and ag industry community and the educational audience," Olson said. "Because this is a brand new program, defining that is part of what we need to do right now."

The panel has met once and is in the process of setting a second meeting, Olson said. It's made of individuals involved in manufacturing, natural resources, production agriculture and education, he said.

TO LEARN MORE

The Wisconsin Agricultural Education and Workforce Development Council is a 34-person group devoted to connecting the ag business community with the ag education community to promote a strong workforce.

The council is part of the state's "Grow Wisconsin" initiative.

To learn more about the council, call Executive Director Gary Olson at 800-942-2474. To learn more about Grow Wisconsin, visit www.wi.gov and type "grow Wisconsin" into the search field.