Learning about the state we serve
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Mitch Breunig of Mystic Valley Dairy Mitch Breunig, owner of Mystic Valley Dairy, LLC, in rural Roxbury, near Sauk City, manages eight employees, oversees the breeding and healthcare of the herd, and analyzes the finances and marketing of Mystic Valley’s milk, cattle, and crops. The farm milks about 450 cows, raises …
Rosy-Lane Holsteins, a 900-cow dairy farm in Watertown, is owned by UW alumni Lloyd and Daphne Holterman and their partners Tim Strobel and Jordan Matthews. They have hosted the Wisconsin Idea Seminar twice since 1993, most recently in 2019. On April 22, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, announced …
Dispatches from Our Own Wisconsin: Brey Cycle Farms Lauren Brey, along with her husband Jacob, his brother Tony, and sister-in-law Moriah, own and manage a 600-cow farm in Sturgeon Bay. All four graduated from UW-Madison: Lauren in Food Science & Life Sciences Communication, Jacob and Tony in Dairy Science, and Moriah in Agricultural Journalism. They are …
Mitch Breunig, third-generation farmer at Mystic Valley Dairy in Sauk City, and Kent Weigel, livestock geneticist and chair of UW-Madison’s dairy science department, passionately explained some current struggles associated with dairy farming in a recent article for Wisconsin State Farmer. Breunig welcomed the Wisconsin Idea Seminar to his 400-cow operation in 2018, where Weigel helped …
The Wisconsin Idea Seminar’s 2019 River Tour was five days packed full with so much learning about Wisconsin life. Rivers provided our narrative frame as we discussed and experienced the cultural, educational, industrial, social, and political realities of the state. Our bus traveled from places like Milwaukee’s Sherman Phoenix, a vibrant hub for entrepreneurs of color, …
Rosy-Lane Holsteins owner and partner Daphne Holterman will welcome the Wisconsin Idea Seminar in May and give a tour of their 900-cow operation. In advance of our visit–and in between a number of international speaking engagements–she shares insight with us about her time at UW-Madison, her role as an “agvocate,” and the farm’s exploration of …
What was it like growing up on your family’s farm, Mystic Valley Dairy? I feel so blessed to have grown up on my family’s dairy farm right outside Sauk City, about 20 miles north of Madison. From a young age, I had the opportunity to be immersed in the world of agriculture through the Wisconsin …