Wisconsin dairy farmers, neighbors, lawmakers discuss local issues

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Wisconsin dairy farmers, neighbors, lawmakers discuss local issues

Dairy farmers in Wisconsin are again bringing local government officials and their neighbors together to solve problems.  Shelly Meyer with the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin tells Brownfield the Agricultural Community Engagement or ACE meetings each year are a partnership farmers have with the Wisconsin Towns Association and the Wisconsin Counties Association. “We get together and we talk about issues that are important to our communities and how we can work together. We really tackle tough issues that some may try to avoid, but it’s really focusing on the solution rather than the problem.”

Meyer says people in and out of agriculture gather at host farms to talk about water, roads, transportation, changes in ag and rural communities, and whatever else comes up. “Livestock siting. Where should facilities be? How should they be shaped? Those are discussions that when we have them in a civil way, we can come up with that third alternative that can help our communities be stronger, and it really helps resolve some of the conflict before it happens just by being able to listen to one another.”

The first ACE meeting for the year was August 25th near Darlington at Highway Dairy Farms.   Two more ACE meetings are set for 6-o-clock Wednesday, August 26th at Feltz Family Farms in Stevens Point and Second Look Holsteins near Eden Thursday, August 27th, also at 6:00 pm.

The PDPW hosts their Agricultural Community Engagement meetings each year at this time at various host farms.

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