Wisconsin Briefs: WI Leopold Conservation award finalists named

MADISON

WI Leopold Conservation Award program finalists named

Sand County Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association announced the finalists for the Wisconsin Leopold Conservation Award, which honors Wisconsin landowner achievement in voluntary stewardship and management of natural resources.

The finalists are: Dan Brick, owner and manager of Brickstead Dairy in Greenleaf; Glen and Susan Wohlk, who own and manage Rainbow Valley Farm, a dairy farm based in Almena; and Richard and Victoria Allemann, who own and manage Allemann Acres, a dairy farm located in Montana.

The Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. It inspires other landowners through these examples and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders.

The 2017 Leopold Conservation Award, which consists of $10,000 and a crystal depicting Aldo Leopold, will be presented at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in December.

APPLETON

Transport partnership moves cheese to victims

Independent Procurement Alliance Program (IPAP) partnered with Midwest Refrigerated Services (MRS) of Milwaukee, to deliver a truck load of cheese to Houston to provide nutritious food for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

The relief effort started with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) when it spearheaded a call for donations from Wisconsin cheesemakers and dairy farmers. Donations poured in from companies around the state, totaling nearly 20,000 pounds of cheese. The shipment also included 300 pounds of butter.

Wisconsin business partners deliver a truckload of Wisconsin Cheese to Houston, TX. When the need arose for logistics support regarding this product, IPAP and Midwest Refrigerated Services got involved.

IPAP has worked with WMMB and MRS to successfully distribute over 1 billion pounds of cheese into the Foodservice supply chain across the country over the past several years.

MADISON

Businesses struggle with worker shortage

Economists, employers and government officials say a growing worker shortage in Wisconsin is expected to increase over the next decade.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports the worker shortage is due to many factors, including a low unemployment rate, an aging population and Wisconsin's poor record of attracting college graduates.

Wisconsin had an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent in July, down from a peak of 9.2 percent in January 2010. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says job openings have outpaced new hires for the past two years.

Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance Director Ann Franz says the shortage is expected to worsen as more baby boomers retire.

Phil Neuenfeldt is president of labor union Wisconsin AFL-CIO. He says some jobs' wages and benefits packages aren't enough to attract workers.

HOLLANDALE

Steps of Hope at Gildale Holsteins

Gildale Holsteins will be the site of the WHA State Picnic and Blue Ribbon MILK 5K/1 Mile Walk: Steps of Hope at 9 a.m. on Sept. 17. The farm is located at 605 1st Ave SE
Hollandale, WI.

Proceeds from the race will benefit program development supporting mental health of farmers, donating milk to a food pantry and the Blue Ribbon 4-H Club of Iowa County.

Registration for the Blue Ribbon MILK 5K/ 1 Mile walk is $20 per person can be found at www.blueribbonmilk.racewire.com.

GENOA

Dam operations changed to deter Asian carp 

The Army Corps of Engineers has tweaked how it runs Lock and Dam 8 on the Mississippi River in Genoa, WI, in hopes of impeding the spread upriver of invasive Asian carp. 

The Corps says it has changed the way it operates the spillway gates at the dam to deter adult carp from swimming through. It has also mounted underwater speakers in the lock gates that broadcast low-frequency noises that deter carp but aren't known to affect important native species. 

The changes were recommended by a University of Minnesota team led by Peter Sorensen. He said in the Corps' announcement that the changes were designed to stop carp while having minimal effects on native fish and angling. He adds that they don't affect barge traffic either and cost nothing.