 Welcome to Sheboygan County Government. Working for you, my name is Adam Payne, Sheboygan County Administrative Coordinator and co-host of this program with Chairman Bill Gehring. And today we're very pleased to have a special guest from UW Extension, UW Extension agent, Mike Ballweg, who has been doing some real good work for Sheboygan County for a number of years and most recently has taken an important leadership role with Farm Technology Days. Mike, good to have you with us. Glad to be here. Mike, please begin sharing a little bit about your roles and responsibilities as a UW Extension agent, your specialties and how long you've been working for Sheboygan County. I've been here in Sheboygan County serving as an agricultural agent for about the past 19 years. I specialize in the agronomy area and the plant science and also provide leadership in developing educational programs for horticultural programs, educational programs here in the county. So my other sort of unique role the last three and a half years has been serving as the executive secretary for Farm Technology Days coming up next month here in Sheboygan County. So as the executive secretary, you're taking all the minutes and doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work and probably not really getting out there in front. Well, I've done some of both. I've been out. I'm kidding you. I know you've been leading, Mike. Yeah, a little bit of both. And try to provide the overall direction and coordination and leadership for getting our volunteers and committees up to speed to host a great show. Well, before we get into the show, let's talk a little bit more about you and your roles and responsibilities. 19 years in Sheboygan County. Chairman Gehrig and I have had Dave Sutch on the program a few times, so I think our viewers certainly might be familiar with Dave Sutch and the work he does. But again, you have a little different angle, a little different responsibilities. Where are you predominantly working? What educational programs do you work with when you're not leading the charge with the Farm Technology Show? Like I said, my primary educational focus is in crop sciences. So I work primarily with farmers throughout Sheboygan County to help them understand and implement new technologies that would improve their cropping practices. Being a dairy county, a lot of that cropping emphasis is on producing and harvesting quality forages. And when I say forages, that's the feed stuff that cows eat. But good quality, harvesting those materials in a timely way is critical for good production. So when we also talk about cropping systems, we spend a lot of time discussing wise pesticide use, water quality issues as it relates to soil erosion. So there's quite an emphasis on increasing the use of no-till to reduce soil erosion and practices like that. I find, at least in my experience, and my grandmother's got a century farm as you know in Sheboygan Falls, Bernice Toggy, and I think the world of her. But it's amazing how many people don't have a real appreciation for where that gallon of milk comes and where that cheese comes from and just how important agriculture is. And that's my question. How important is agriculture in Sheboygan County? Well, agriculture is very important to our local economy. And when we factor together not only those people that work on farms, but we include all the industries that support them, the veterinarians, the implement dealers, the nutritionists, and also the people that are involved in the processing of food, of that raw product, in this case milk primarily, we're looking at about 9,200 jobs here in Sheboygan County are related to our employee in either the production or the processing of food products. So a pretty significant amount. And when we look at the total economic activity of that contribution, we estimate that our ag economists have put together some numbers, about $1.67 billion a year of economic activity related to agriculture. And that's about 20% of Sheboygan County's economy. So it really is a big player here in Sheboygan County. Pretty impressive numbers. Now, you said about 9,200 folks involved with agriculture production. In your role, working with predominantly farmers, how many farmers do we have? Specifically folks with dairy operations, whatever. We have about 220 dairy farms. We have about 1,100 farms. So there's a lot of people that are involved in agriculture, some very large farms. And in more recent years, a growing number of smaller farms, part-time farmers, who enjoy some farming. But most of their income comes from off farm. And come July 11, 12, and 13, we're going to get to showcase Sheboygan County and the agricultural community. And with that, I'll transition to the farm technology days. And please start by sharing, how did this come about? How did Sheboygan County come to host the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days? Well, we received a call back in 2002 to find out if we might be interested in hosting Farm Technology Days in 2006. So some of the preliminary discussion was in our local UW Extension office with fellow staff. And a little further discussion with the Ag and Land Conservation Committee to sort of feel out their support. And there was support both within our office and from the committee. And at that point, a resolution was put together to the Sheboygan County Board and was supported in April of, I'm sorry, in January of 2003, 2003. So at that point, we were sort of cleared on the Sheboygan County side. And we made a bid to the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days Board. And we were awarded the show in April of 2003. April of 2000. And I can obviously recall, we were reminiscing about that before the program started here about how at the time, it seemed like it was so far out. And here it is. We're three weeks away, so. The county board obviously had to support hosting it here. We were selected then by the state board to have it here. And when was the last time Sheboygan County hosted this? I was last hosted in Sheboygan County in 1975 on the Robert Webb Farm on the Western side of the county 31 years ago. So it's been a while. It's been a while. Some of our viewers are probably wondering, well, what is Farm Technology Days? They've built it up here as it sounds pretty impressive. What is it? What's the purpose of the program? Farm Technology Days is, I guess, first and foremost, the premier egg trade show in Wisconsin each year. And the idea is to provide a venue for farmers, whether they're part-time or full-time, to come to the show to learn about the latest technologies, innovations, services, and products that they might be able to use to improve their farm business. So those are the two primary. And secondly, as it moves around the state each year, it's an opportunity for the host county to show off their agricultural practices in that area. So set the stage for us a little bit. Where is it going to be hosted? Give some acknowledgment to our host family here. And what can people envision when they think of Farm Technology Days? If they go there for the first time this year, what are they going to see? Yeah, let me start first. The host farm is the, their farm is called Quonset Farms. It's the Hessling family. The location is just west of the village of Gibbsville. I think most people know where Gibbsville is. But it's a six-generation family farm started in 1847. And they have about 600 acres of cropland and 800 cattle have within the last several years just modernized their dairy facilities. So it's a state-of-the-art modern dairy farm. And the Hessling family, Mark and Barbara are the parents. They have three sons that are partners in the business, Mike, Ben, and Scott. And one of the keys to a successful show is having a great host family. And they have been just absolutely great to work with. So things have gone very well on that part of the planning process. Good to hear. We had the opportunity, Bill, and I, to be out there for a media day that you helped put together and was that fantastic and obviously gave us a little snapshot. But clearly, a lot of people involved to make this happened. And again, when someone rolls in that day, what can they expect to see? Well, sort of the centerpiece for the show is this area we call Tent City. And that's literally what it is. It's about 70 or 75 acres in size. And it's in that area where exhibitors come in and set up, in many cases, their tents or whatever the exhibit might be. It's laid out with the streets and avenues. And it's an opportunity, again, to learn about the latest products that are being offered by the industry. Excellent. Thanks, Mike. As Adam mentioned, we were at the media day and we were really impressed by the organization and the number of people involved. I've heard that there is something like 1,000 volunteers. How do you organize all of those volunteers? Yeah, there are about 1,000 volunteers. And really, a little bit more, and I'll just back up and talk a little bit more about my direct involvement. When we found out that Sheboygan County was going to be hosting the show, one of my responsibilities was to pull together an executive committee. There are 15 people on this executive committee. And I was very fortunate, I think, to put together a committee that is very talented and has had a lot of experience working with groups of people. So it's those 15 members that have responsibilities to provide leadership for a specific committee or activity. And those included everything from admissions, to food, to parking, to traffic. So we divided up among the executive committees the different functions that needed to be covered for the show. We've had in the past three years, well at least the last year and a half have been meeting nearly monthly to sort of keep on track with covering the details. The executive committee members then identify either a chair or co-chairs to really put the sort of the boots on the ground to begin to get other volunteers to help them do the tasks that need to be done. So it really is pretty organized. And the volunteers have just done a lot of excitement and have done a great job of stepping up to do what needs to be done. You mentioned that the farm consists of about 600 acres. How much of that farm is actually going to be taken over by farm technology days? Yeah. The 10th city area where we have our commercial exhibitors is about 75 acres. Between two different parking areas, we have about 100 acres for parking. And then we have about 250 acres that will be used for field demonstrations. And so an opportunity for implement companies to put their equipment in the field. And those attending can sort of see it operate and make their evaluations in the field that way. Farm technology days has a long history, but will there be anything unique about this year's program here in Sheboygan County? Well, one of the things that I find particularly interesting is that for the first time this year, the entire show, the electrical needs of the entire show will be provided using generators. So we are renting coaler generators to provide the power for the show. And then with a sponsorship from the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, received a sponsorship to purchase soy biodiesel. So we'll be running soy biodiesel in our generators and also in all the field equipment. So we've got this little tagline that says 2006 Farm Technology Days powered by Soy Biodiesel. So we have farmers that produce the fuel that we can burn in our generators and equipment to power the show. So a nice fit there. How many commercial exhibitors will be at the show? Yeah, we expect about 600 commercial exhibitors from about 25 different states. And I also understand there's exhibitors coming from Brazil and Canada as well. Now the show will run for three days. How many people do you expect over that three day period of time? We would estimate somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 75,000 people over that three day period. I've heard a figure of what the economic impact will be upon Shebug and County. But I can't remember what that is, but it seemed like a fantastic number for Shebug and County. Do you happen to have that figure? I've seen a range of numbers from $6 to $10 million of local impact because of the show. We generally, in our planning, require that I anticipate that about 1,000 hotel rooms will be used primarily by the exhibitors who are in town for at least a week, in most cases, by the time they come in, set up, and then tear down after the show. So it's those dollars spent on lodging, restaurants, and transportation coming in and out of town. So a rather significant opportunity for local businesses, restaurants, hotels to capture that market for a couple days. Really a great time to once again showcase wonderful Shebug and County. Well, it really is. And there's a lot for people to see here. One of the great things about hosting the show in Shebug and County is that we're both rural and urban. So there's a lot of activities for our guests if they're not attending the show to get to learn other parts of Shebug and County. Thank you. $6 to $10 million of economic impact. And I think the county board, when they authorized this, what was the county's contribution, about $40,000? Mike, do you recall? Well, there's actually, and half of that $40,000 is seed money, which will be paid back to the county. So a $20,000 investment for a $6 to $10 million of economic impact on the community. I think that's a pretty good bargain. Well, and it's a tribute to all the time and effort of the volunteers who have worked the last couple years on putting the show together. Absolutely. And the folks like yourself and all the staff that you've been coordinating with. I know you mentioned earlier the range and the diversity of the executive committee that's worked with different areas and the tremendous job they're doing. And clearly, you and they have been reaching out to some of our departments, such as the sheriff on traffic control and highway and getting the driveways set up and the airport with some of these folks coming in. What did you say from Brazil? Yeah, Brazil and Canada, we have people coming from. So, right. Pretty tremendous. And folks are adding that on to their general course of work. So we appreciate that. Bill just mentioned it. And you did a nice job discussing it. And Shaboin County, we're a little more unique here because we have such a nice diversity of rural and urban. And obviously, we have such a beautiful county. I imagine there are viewers watching this thinking, farm technology days, sounds interesting. I'd like to check this out. If they're not a farmer or if they're not one of those 9,200 people involved with agriculture here, what does this show have to offer them? Well, from the beginning in our planning process, we were thinking about urban folks attending or at least reaching out to the urban community to consider attending the show. So because Shaboin County is both urban and rural, because we're relatively close to Milwaukee and relatively close to Green Bay, we thought we really wanted to do an outreach to the urban community. And one of the underlying objectives because there is really such a small number of us still involved in production agriculture is that we feel we need to, we want to educate the general public about what is happening in agriculture and a little bit about it. So we've, a couple of committees have spent most of their time developing opportunities for families to spend the day at farm technology days. We have an area called Family Farm Adventure. And we'll include areas like there's a petting zoo, there's a fish farming area. There's an area called an energy zone. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but it sounds like it's good for kids. There'll be a little area on mink education. We'll also have some cultural things. The Hmong community will be there with some dancing performances. And we'll also have the cows on parade, which is a promotion of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. And we'll have several of those life size made out of fiberglass painted by artists there. So there really will be a lot of things for families, even if they don't know anything about agriculture to stop out and spend the day. Children under 12 are free. Those over 12 and adults are $3. Parking is free. So it'd be $3. $3 admission. Parking's free. And there is a food and drink available on site. And of course, being Sheboygan County, we will be serving Johnsonville Brats. And the big girl is we'll be cooking them up. But a great way for a family that might be interested just to learn a little bit about agriculture, be outside, and spend the day. We'd like to have. Great way to bring the community all together. Yeah, really is. The parking, you mentioned. It sounds like 100 acres of parking. And I imagine there's going to be some people who might be concerned about, well, when you park that vehicle, how far are you going to have to walk to get to the entrance gate? Or there might be some folks who have trouble walking. What kind of accommodations do you have? Well, for those people who may need some assistance on our north gate, we do have a handicapped parking area, which is right outside the gate. And then if they would like, they can rent on site for the day a scooter, a handicapped scooter kind of thing to get them around. You can imagine 75 acres is a pretty big area, and there is a need to walk if you're going to see the show. So for those, and then in our general parking area, we will have what we call trams that will be picking up people, getting them closer to the gate so they're not needing to walk the entire distance. Pretty impressive. Well, I think the volunteers and all the individuals, Sheboygan County Department heads have done a great job of providing us the assistance. Land Conservation Department has done a lot of surveying, information systems has done our website. And I would encourage people, if they're thinking about coming out to visit our website, they'll get a lot of information about the show layout and activities. If they do go to the website before they come out to kind of get them oriented to the site, then there's maps. So I think if they'll just even Google farm technology days, they should get to our websites. Very good. And if they have trouble getting to the website or if they just have more questions, is there a general line or someone you would encourage them to call? Yeah, I would have them call our UW Extension Office and that would number is 467-5742. 467-5742. Yeah, and we'd be happy to provide any other information. For me, it was a little bit of a step back in time at the media day. I imagine, what were there? Maybe 200 people there that day? About 200 people, yeah. And one of your executive committee members is the former Allison Darylund. Right. Is she not? That's right. And I worked at the Department of Aged Trade and Consumer Protection when she was selected. Didn't get to know her real well, but saw her in action a little bit. And I just recalled having a real positive first impression of her. She's outgoing. She's just a positive person to be around. And at media day, I know the two of you had a leadership role. And in particular, she was introducing all the executive committee members, as well as the new Allison Darylund. And just was very impressed with her. I don't know if you want to talk a little bit about some of the key people you have. Yeah. Her name is Courtney Booth. And she has provided all of our leadership for publicity and promotions. And having been Wisconsin's 50th Allison Darylund, sort of had to develop the skills, and I think has even continued to develop those skills since that role. But the experience of Supervisor Jens, Bill was on the executive committee in 1975. So his experience and also his connection and the supervisor role on the county board has been a great help, too. So all of the executive committee members, and like I said, there's 15 of them. But they have all done an outstanding job. And I often think that if I would have had a huge budget to hire people, I mean, I couldn't have hired 15 better people to do the job. Excellent. Well, Mike, we sure appreciate you taking some time to join us today and share with our viewers what's happening with farm technology days. Again, July 11th, 12th, and 13th. And it just sounds like it's going to be fantastic. We just need the weather to cooperate. Well, that's right. We're looking forward to a great show. And we'd like to invite Urban and Rural to attend. Well, thanks for joining us. And thank you for joining us. Appreciate you being with us today. I hope you learned a little bit more about one of the many programs that Sheboygan County works with. And Mike certainly has done a tremendous job. And we sure appreciate it. And know this wouldn't happen if it wasn't for the generosity of all of the volunteers in this community. I just, when I see something like this come together, I can't help but just be so impressed with the generosity of people in this community and all the donations and time. And it's fantastic. So please take the time to get out there. Get it on the calendars. Until next time, on behalf of Chairman Bill Gehrig and myself and the Sheboygan County Board, again, thanks for joining us. Next month, we're going to focus a little bit more on the county budget development. And that work has begun to ensue. And that's one of the challenges, certainly, that the county board has. And every department employee has. But we'll touch on that a little bit more. But until then, thank you for joining us.