The Dairy Business Milk Marketing Cooperative announced that it will donate $50,000 to the Wisconsin Agricultural Education Center (WAEC). Through education and advocacy, this new partner will help support the shared mission of connecting the non-farming public to agriculture.
“The farming community can no longer assume that the person in the aisle at the grocery store understands what went into making the food on the shelves,” said John Pagel, a dairy farmer and president of the Wisconsin-based cooperative (DBMMC). “We need to commit to transparency in our food system so we can build trust with customers. We have an incredible story to tell, and the center will help us tell it,” he said.
A key educational theme within the Wisconsin Agricultural Education Center will focus on Wisconsin as America’s Dairyland. With hands-on learning experiences, the center will put an emphasis on the dairy community in Wisconsin, which is home to 9,400 dairy farms and contributes $43 billion each year to the state’s economy. Tours of a dairy farm will be offered and visitors will have the chance to watch the birth of calves at the center.
“Thanks to DBMMC’s incredible support, we have reached 84 percent of our goal,” said Annette Ostrom, co-chairwoman of the WAEC capital campaign. “We are so grateful for this visionary investment in our agricultural community’s future.”
“As a dairy producer, I am excited to recognize DBMMC as a generous supporter of WAEC. We need to come together to educate the public on the importance of our work and how it is critical to sustaining the public’s health and livelihood,” shared Julie Maurer, WAEC Board of Directors and owner of Soaring Eagle Dairy in Newton, Wis. “There is not one life on this earth that isn’t touched by agriculture.”