Question: Coupled with technology, have the youth of Wisconsin, kept up in terms of education for young people to replace the family farmers that are currently operating the farms going into the future?
Hagedorn:“That is a salient point! It's an area that I've been spending a fair amount of time the last year-and-a-half on education. I've worked on the interface between rural communities and our urban communities, because we are starting to get a lost generation in here (society). There are kids that may have a propensity to think, where da yuh go get milk from? Well, you go down to the local grocery store, and yuh grab it out of the cooler, and that's where milk comes from. And you know, you talk to their grandmas or their grandpas, or their aunts or uncles, people who still have a link to agriculture, and a realization can be made that we're startin' in some places to lose a little bit of ground. So, from extension's viewpoint, and I think you take a look at even in larger urban school districts like Green Bay East, Green Bay Preble, they're starting to initiate some very well organized FFA chapters that reinvent farming, and help kids interested in agriculture spend some time getting good background information, that will help get them grounded in what agriculture is about right now, in hopes that some are gonna continue on in the field, but that those who don't will at least have some good scientific knowledge going into young adulthood that can help themselves to understand simple truths like where milk really comes from, and help the industry.”
Question: With that in mind, has the University system in the country kept up with recruiting efforts to get people to learn more about agriculture, and be interested in it?
Hagedorn:“I think you can look at this on 2 fronts, the tech school system is doin' a good job of giving some continuing education to younger farmers and older farmers alike. Then, as you take a look at land grant colleges throughout the United States, plus our land grant school down in Madison, the University of Wisconsin, they've got some wonderful programs offered. The outreach they offer to the high schools students, the FFA, and 4-H is giving them the information they need to make a well determined decision on just exactly where their future lies and what area or aspect of agriculture that they might be interested in pursuing. So, I think the resources are there. It may start to fall back into the chairs and plates of us as parents, and as adults to let our children know that these kind of opportunities are out there. You can't tell your child what to do, but agriculture is certainly an honorable pastime, and you can find just all sorts of avenues of interests in the agricultural field, whether its in research, being a veterinarian or just bein' uh good old "ground pounder", and raise a good high quality food and fiber for our society.”
Question: From talking with you, I would say that you see the future of agriculture in Wisconsin is looking pretty decent?
Hagedorn:“I am optimistic. I think a lot of the right questions are being asked of the proper people. What it is really gonna boil down to, is people being respectful of each other in all sectors of our country. The rural urban interface is a big issue, it really truly is. Folks want their 5 or 10 acres out in the country, and it is a beautiful place to live, regardless of where you are. But, the day that farmer A decides to agitate his lagoon and haul manure, all of a sudden there's this funny aroma in the air, and some people might really get unreasonable. This is where good education and good communication comes to bare, and I think if we can improve on this, make people more appreciative of our neighbor's situations, that will make our future even brighter. An interesting story I can relate is, a group of kids in an FFA class at Green Bay East (high school), were talking to me about some of the water issues they'd experienced in southern Brown County, and are currently experiencing in Fond du Lac County. I queried them what the difference was between a farmer spreading 200 acres of potash on his hay field, and John Q. Public here in Green Bay spreading 250 pounds of lawn fertilizer on his yard, and having a big rain come through immediately, and washing it into the sewer system. In reality, that lawn fertilizer is probably having more impact on the environment than the farmer's runoff from the field. You know, a light bulb or 2 came on among the guys. I think these types of questions, these kinds of thought processes are what we as educators need to continue to embrace to help everyone understand each other's positions.”
It appears going forward from 2008, the future of farming is going to focus on how effective our urban interface is, and how innovative our technology evolves.
If we do have to produce fifty percent more food for the world by 2030, it would seem a real challenge could be before us. Will rising input costs prohibit production, or will products cost too much to purchase, the challenge is reaching a happy medium.
