DBA Pledges Support for Agricultural Education Center
US - Recognising the opportunity to engage the non-farming public about how food is produced, the Dairy Business Association has announced it will contribute $50,000 to the Wisconsin Agricultural Education Center (WAEC).
29 December 2016
2 minute read
The first-of-its-kind facility in Wisconsin will connect visitors with agriculture through educational displays and hands-on learning. The center will have a 300-person conference center and 29,000 square feet of space for other features. Organizers broke ground this fall in Manitowoc County and construction will begin in the spring.
“With people becoming further and further removed from farming, it is critical that we find ways to connect them to where their food comes from,” said Gordon Speirs, a dairy farmer and president of the Dairy Business Association (DBA). “The center will provide an excellent way to demonstrate how farmers do what they do.”
The partnership celebrates the strong dairy heritage in Wisconsin and the groups’ shared goals to ensure that nutritious and wholesome foods like milk, cheese and butter are not only accessible but abundant and affordable.
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.
Funding for the $13 million project is at 82 per cent of goal. DBA’s donation will be made over four years.
“This gift is another testament of DBA’s unwavering commitment to ensuring the prosperity of America’s Dairyland,” said Annette Ostrom, co-chairwoman of the WAEC capital campaign. “We hope other agricultural leaders who share our vision join us in building this important educational asset in our community.”
To learn more or to make a gift to the capital campaign, visit www.BuildWAEC.org.
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