Agriculture and Alice: Innovation and Modernization

On May 15, I was selected as the 62nd Alice in Dairyland – a dream come true for me. I have followed the Alice program since I was 10 years old.

To me, Alice was an inspiration; she took pride in Wisconsin agriculture and had a passion for helping others become informed and involved in agriculture. As I grew up, my involvement in and understanding of all Wisconsin agriculture grew too. I began to appreciate the job of Alice to promote the diversity in the food, fuel, and fiber that makes up Wisconsin’s $51.5 billion agriculture industry and its impact on our state’s economy.

On June 1, my first day as Alice, I stepped into a role with 62 years of history and tradition. The Alice in Dairyland program began in 1948, with Alice in Dairyland hosting the Centennial Exposition. Today Alice’s role is with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as a public relations professional with at least four years of education or experience in agriculture, marketing, communications, or public relations, and is at least 21 years of age.

From the beginning, Alices have been charged with the challenging task of promoting Wisconsin’s diverse agriculture industries and products. In order to ensure the candidates are prepared, the applicants who are selected as finalist must go through an extensive three-day job interview complete with a radio interview, a TV interview, an interview with the interview panel, a writing exercise, an impromptu question and answer session in front of an audience, and deliver two speeches at the Finale event.

Early Alices have traveled around the world promoting Wisconsin products. This year, I will travel more than 40,000 miles in the E85 Flex Fuel Chevy Tahoe, mostly around the state, promoting Wisconsin agriculture and its impact on our local communities. In the beginning, Alice traveled with a chaperone. On most trips this year, I will travel with the companionship of the GPS in the Flex Fuel Tahoe and my blackberry. Early Alices would only speak at the Wisconsin State Fair and would have a doll that they would use to speak through. This year, I personally will be speaking at over 300 events, making stops to over 100 schools, and conducting media campaigns through local television, radio, and print publications. Alice also keeps a Travel Blog with wisconsinagconnection.com to write about all her adventures. And, new this year, anyone can keep up with Alice on social networking Web sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Alice has changed throughout the years. Alice, just like agriculture and all other businesses, is modernizing and innovating. Alice changes to keep up with technology to best promote Wisconsin agriculture, just as agriculture changes to remain competitive and profitable.

For example, the dairy industry has been a signature industry here in Wisconsin since the early 1900s, but during all that time cows haven’t been milked the same way. When my great-great grandparents settled in southwest Wisconsin and began farming, the cows were milked by hand. I’ve heard from my father the story of the pipeline being installed in our barn. And now, today, there are farms all across Wisconsin with milking parlors and automated milking machines to help collect the 2.1 billion pounds of milk Wisconsin cows produce each month. And changing how a cow is milked isn’t the only thing Wisconsin dairy farmers have been doing to be innovative and to modernize their production.

There are farms that use renewable energy by utilizing wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels and digestors. There are nearly 25 farms around the state that are using “cow power” to fuel their farms. Just five cows can provide renewable power for one average home, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Agriculture will continue to change as the years go by, and I’m sure the Alice program will change too. I am truly honored to be serving as the 62nd Alice in Dairyland during these exciting times in agriculture. I look forward to carrying on the history and traditions of the Alice program and agriculture this year and into the future.

Alice in Dairyland is Wisconsin’s agricultural ambassador. She travels over 40,000 miles each year to spread the word about our agricultural industry. Alice in Dairyland can be reached by writing to DATCP, 2811 Agriculture Drive, PO Box 8911, Madison, WI 53718. You can schedule Alice for an upcoming event by contacting the Alice in Dairyland Program at 608-224-5080 or by email at DATCPAlice@wisconsin.gov.