Aug 11, 2011
Barn Dance!
Sep 24, 2011 • Saxon Homestead Farm, Cleveland, Wis. • 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Food - Farm - Friends - Fun
Partnering For Progress: Celebrating Rural Communities, a collaboration of the organizations shown below, is celebrating its work to conserve farmland and natural resources, support beginning and continuing farmers, and sustain vibrant, rural communities to improve rural life in Wisconsin. Join us! All are welcome. Proceeds benefit all three organizations.
An invitation and further details are forthcoming.
Questions? Call Jim Kettler at 920-304-1919
For the past 18 years the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, with 600 members, has been working to preserve wild land and farmland in the vicinity of the Kinnickinnic River through permanent property leases or purchases. That's the type of thing land trusts normally do. Now the Kinnickinnic trust is also involved in a plan to keep phosphorus and other nutrients out of the river, preventing them from flowing into the St. Croix River, which the Kinnickinnic feeds. Nutrient buildup in waterways promotes algae growth, harming water quality
When Rod Nilsestuen drowned in Lake Superior in July 2010, there was shock and an outpouring of affection. Shortly afterward, a group of friends led by Tom Lyon of Cambridge decided to create a fund in Rod’s name. The goal was to perpetuate Rod’s legacy, which was marked by an ability to bring all voices to the table to find common ground on tough issues. He used that skill as a state and national cooperative leader and as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in Wisconsin.
Early last year, The Country Today published an editorial that praised the state Legislature for proposing legislation that would prohibit legislative raids on segregated funds for reasons unconnected to the fund's purpose. The proposal seemed to be a no-brainer. If legislators approve the collection of fees or taxes are levied for a specific purpose, then that's what the money should be used for. If it isn't needed for the intended purpose, then don't spend it.
Democrat members of the Assembly Agriculture Committee are blasting their GOP colleagues for voting for a bill that would use funds designated for preserving Wisconsin farmland to help cover the costs of running the state's livestock premises registration program.
Please join friends and colleagues for this first event honoring cooperative and conservation leader Rod Nilsestuen. March 30, 2012, marks the inaugural program of the Rod Nilsestuen Legacy Event at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. This inaugural event is held in honor of the late Rod Nilsestuen, secretary of the Department of Agriculture (Wisconsin) and a longtime leader in the national cooperative movement.
Now is the time for local governments and farmers interested in protecting their agricultural land base and strengthening their rural economy to apply for the 2012 Agricultural Enterprise Area (AEA) designation. Receiving designation as an AEA can encourage additional investment in the local economy; create a sense of certainty about the future of agriculture in the community, and enable farmers to claim an income tax credit for eligible land.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has developed an interactive webmap to view information related to designated Agricultural Enterprise Areas (AEAs). The webmap is now available for viewing.
Join Tall Pines Conservancy for their 2011 Fall Harvest Event, 'Concert on the Farm'. Humorist, author, and musician Michael Perry will be performing along with his band, Michael Perry and the Long Beds. There will be tours of Zwieg's Maple Acres along with appetizers and beverages beginning at 5PM. At 6PM, there will be a local food buffet by Bodhi Personal Chef and Catering as well as a live auction and book signing by Michael Perry. The night will close-out with Michael Perry and the Long Beds up on stage (please bring your own chairs for the lawn).
Registration is still available to attend the September 27, 2011 Agricultural Enterprise Area Forum -- "Preparing for Wisconsin's Agricultural and Economic Future."
An old-fashioned barn dance and harvest celebration with a lively band, locally-grown food and bushels of fun in a beautifully restored, 160-year-old barn on a fifth-generation, grass-based, family dairy farm that crafts its milk into artisanal cheeses.
Not everyone is going to like the compromise regarding the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements program in the state budget, but that's the nature of compromises. Not everyone gets what they want. The budget as signed by Gov. Scott Walker last month keeps the PACE program on the books and orders a one-year study of the program by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The state budget signed by Gov. Walker on June 26th did not include any partial vetoes related to the state Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) Program. Therefore, the changes to the PACE Program voted on by the Legislature will now become law. The final version of the state budget also preserved other key elements of the Working Lands Initiative.
The “Working Lands Connection” newsletter is a source for information about the Wisconsin Working Lands Program including; program information, upcoming events and opportunities, and news from around the state.
Alan Sweeney and Jim Matson were recently named the winners of the Rod Nilsestuen Award for Working Lands Preservation. This award recognizes individuals or organizations that exhibit extraordinary commitment to the preservation of Wisconsin's working lands. It honors Rod Nilsestuen's legacy as a longtime Wisconsin agriculture, cooperative and conservation leader.
Just over 140,000 acres in Wisconsin have been recommended to become part of the Agricultural Enterprise Area program, where connecting blocks of mainly agricultural land are targeted for agricultural preservation and agricultural development by local communities.
The work of thousands of supporters of farmland protection across Wisconsin paid off when the Legislature's Joint Committee on Finance voted to keep the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements Program (PACE) on the books.
The Joint Committee on Finance is set to take up the Working Lands Initiative on Wednesday, May 18. This may be our last chance to preserve a strong farmland protection program in Wisconsin. We need direct contact with lawmakers and the governor. Contacting members of Joint Finance now is extremely important. By next Wednesday, it will be too late.
Farmers and other supporters of farmland protection in Wisconsin are asking the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the board that oversees it to advocate for keeping the state’s Working Lands Initiative intact.
211 S. Paterson St. Suite 270 • Madison, WI 53703 • PH 608-251-9131 • FX 608-663-5971