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It has been 55 years since they last hosted the show

Fran O'Leary, Wisconsin Agriculturist Editor

April 19, 2015

2 Min Read

The Wisconsin Farm Technology Days Board of Directors announced April 1 during the board's annual meeting in Madison that Wood County has been selected to host the 2018 show.  It has been 55 years since Wood County last hosted the show in 1960.

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Wood County Extension Agriculture Agent Matt Lippert described to the board the importance of agriculture to the Wood County economy and the support they received for the application from county leaders. Wood County representatives said their objectives for hosting the show which are "to encourage the adoption of new farm technologies that improve the livelihoods and sustainability of agricultural producers, showcase Wood County's progressive and diverse agriculture, develop regional and community leadership opportunities and increase awareness of University of Wisconsin-Extension and the Wisconsin Idea."

Lippert said the dairy and cranberry industries would be emphasized during their show. A host farm will likely be selected this fall.

Matt Glewen, Wisconsin Farm Technology Day general manager said, "Wood County has an excellent road system to manage the traffic coming from all directions during the 2018 show. A newly routed State Highway 10 allows quick and easy four-lane access through the center of the county."

Wood County is located in central Wisconsin.  Lodging capacity is very important to the show, Glewen noted, and Wood County has more than 1,000 hotels rooms in Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids. Many hotels will also be available in nearby Stevens Point and Wausau.

The Wood County edition of Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will be held during the second or third week of July 2018.

2015 show
Dane County will host the 2015 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days. The Dane County Show will be held at the Statz Brothers Farm near Sun Prairie Aug. 25-27.

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Heidi Johnson, Dane County Extension crops and soils agent and executive secretary for the 2015 show, said the host family recently completed an expansion of their dairy facilities which includes a double-50 milking parlor, three new freestall barns and a second manure digester.

The Statz family farms 6,000 acres. They expect to be milking 4,000 cows by the time of the show.

Dane County has already begun selling a D-15 Allis Chalmers tractor with a two-row mounted Ellis 4702 transplanter as its commerative collectible. Johnson said the collectible sells for $199 and they have already sold 200 of them online.

The 2016 show will be held in Walworth County. The Walworth County Show will be held July 19-21, 2016, at the Steve Snudden Farm in Zenda near Lake Geneva. The Snuddens milk 1,000 cows. The 2017 show will be held in Kewaunee County July 11-13, 2017, at the Randy and Renee Ebert family farm near Algoma. The Eberts milk 3,000 cows and farm 5,500 acres.

About the Author(s)

Fran O'Leary

Wisconsin Agriculturist Editor

Even though Fran was born and raised on a farm in Illinois, she has spent most of her life in Wisconsin. She moved to the state when she was 18 years old and later graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Fran has 25 years of experience writing, editing and taking pictures. Before becoming editor of the Wisconsin Agriculturist in 2003, she worked at Johnson Hill Press in Fort Atkinson as a writer and editor of farm business publications and at the Janesville Gazette in Janesville as farm editor and feature writer. Later, she signed on as a public relations associate at Bader Rutter in Brookfield, and served as managing editor and farm editor at The Reporter, a daily newspaper in Fond du Lac.

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