BLOG

Rob:
Welcome to our podcast, all about the car, brought to you by Schierl Tire and Service. I'm your host Rob Hoffman, an auto service specialist with over 46 years of industry experience on the ride with me today, our regular guest, Bryan Call, a 42-year veteran of the automotive industry. Hello, Bryan.

Bryan:
Hey Rob. How we doing?

Rob:
And Bill Schierl, a guy that's logged a lot of rural Wisconsin miles behind the wheel and always comes back with a lot of great questions. Welcome back Bill.

Bill:
Thanks Rob. It's a great day to be in the vehicle.

Rob:
Today we have two very special guests on the drive, Brittany and Andy of the new Food + Farm Exploration Center in Plover, Wisconsin. Thank you for joining us.

Andy:
Thank you.

Brittany:
Thank you.

Rob:
Well, we're going to need a couple more seats on the tractor today. So let's hop in, grab a handle, and let's hit the road. Agriculture has been a part of Wisconsin territory for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the 19th century that European settlers arrived, only interested in lead mining in what's now the mineral point area of Wisconsin's Driftless zone. As the mining boom continued, the miners and their families found the need to farm to survive. Just think you had to eat. During the 1840s, nearly 5,000 farms were founded each year in Wisconsin. Today, Wisconsin top crops are corn for silage, cranberries, ginseng, snap beans, and of course potatoes. Well, Brittany and Andy, we're sitting right here in Plover, Wisconsin. How did this come to be? We're actually your guest today at the Food + Farm Exploration Center and we're in Plover. 

Brittany:
Brand new facility. So welcome to Plover. And actually that's a great question. So how did we end up here? After conducting a feasibility study on different areas, we decided that Plover was going to be the stop for the Food + Farm Exploration Center. The location of the center is along the I-39 corridor, making it visible and easily accessible from the interstate. We're conveniently located near area, restaurants, hotels, and other attractions on a 24 acre site with capabilities of accommodating our current plans as well as future growth. The project has been impactful, so much so that even a portion of an active farm field was taken out of production and donated to be the site for the center. Plus it makes sense to host it. Here we are the hub of where food is produced, so why not have it right in America's heartland. 

Rob:
We’re kind of right in the middle of the state too, aren't we?

Brittany:
You are. Yep. We're smack dab in the center. So I mean it's accessible from all components. It's a great spot to be.

Rob:
It's a perfect storm. So when was this idea first conceived? When did this whole thing come around? How did that happen?

Brittany:
This has kind of been an idea in the making for over 10 years. And so what we found was according to the American Farm Bureau, that the average American is three generations or more removed from the farm. And so we realized from a production standpoint people aren't aware of where their food comes from. And so that idea really kind of spearheaded what the Food + Farm Exploration Center is all about. We want people to know not only how their food is grown and produced, but where it comes from. Yeah.

Andy:
Yeah – if I can jump in, Rob, a foundation was started in 2018 with the sole mission of developing curriculum around agriculture education meant to go out into the schools. But as the idea grew and a few more growers and producers got on board with the idea, it became very apparent that a center or a destination was needed where we could showcase everything about agriculture and what goes into a modern farm today.

Bill:
That makes total sense because I would agree like very few people have even been on a farm. Like why would you, if you didn't have relatives, friends, somebody who has a growing field or a farm - there's no reason to interact with them anymore.

Brittany:
A lot of what we're seeing - I was a former high school agriculture teacher and a lot of my students' exposure to a farm was a grandparents' farm. So if your grandparents are no longer farming, they didn't have that exposure.

Bill:
It’s now a residential neighborhood.

Andy:
And so many of our friends and neighbors see farming from afar, from a field. You're driving down the highway at 70 miles an hour and oh, there's the tractor, there's that thing going on. But so many people have never left the pavement anymore. So we need to try to bridge that gap on where our food comes from.

Rob:
That's actually amazing 'cause we're all pretty much planted, sorry to say it that way, but right in the middle of farmland. I mean you can't look anywhere and not see it. So it's amazing that there are so many children or families that really have never even touched foot.

Bill:
But I think even traveling around, there's a lot of times when people look travel by a farm field and go, what is that? They don't know even which crop is growing.

Andy:
That's exactly right. And one of the things we're going to, I'm sorry to talk over you, Rob. One of the things we're going to showcase here, a lot of the more common vegetables and things that our people would know from a fresh standpoint: sweet corn and beans and peas and potatoes and carrots and cranberries and a host of other things.

Rob:
So sitting here today, we're actually below ground level because you're not even open yet and we got the opportunity to come in here and sit and talk with you folks. When is this facility officially open?

Andy:
We're planning on being open late October, early November. We're waiting on some exhibits to get installed and a lot of our things that a visitor will see here are exhibits based on agriculture. So a lot of high technology exhibits and we're waiting on some of those to get installed.

Rob:
Will everybody be welcome?

Andy:
Everybody will be welcome.

Rob:
General public.

Andy:
General public will be open to the public. We'll have an onsite cafe so you can grab a coffee, a sandwich, a salad. We've got some event spaces here as well to rent out for corporate functions, weddings, smaller events. We have a kitchen lab that we'll be able to showcase what to do with your food, not just how it grows and what goes into farming, but what to do with it beyond that. And then some really neat other additional spaces that we can't wait to show you what will be in there.

Rob:
Bryan, I think you like that kitchen idea.

Bryan:
I love that kitchen idea.

Rob:
You were looking at that pretty closely.

Bill:
It is the end result to eat it.

Rob:
Absolutely. Brittany, you had mentioned your agricultural background, so I would imagine that both of you have this kind of background. Tell us a little bit more about where you come from.

Brittany:
Yeah, so a little bit about me and where I came from. So prior to coming on board with the Food + Farm Exploration Center, as I stated, I was a high school agriculture teacher. And so I grew up on my family farm, a little bit different end of the agriculture industry. So when people think of Wisconsin, oftentimes they think about Wisconsin being the dairy state. We did have some dairy cows, but we were not a production dairy farm by any means. Not to the scale that we think of, but we had just kind of a little variety hobby farm more than anything. Eventually we sold off our livestock and we cash-cropped for a little while and went more into the natural resources end of things. And so we planted the majority of our farmland in trees. So looking from pulp production and the paper standpoint of things.

But my parents were always very avid outdoor enthusiasts. And so hunting, gardening, fishing, camping. We did a lot of traveling around the state of Wisconsin as young kids growing up. And they just really instilled that love of the outdoors and agriculture in us at a very young age. I always thought I wanted to be a teacher as a child, even growing up, I mean I was the youngest of three and I would be the teacher for when we play school, which was really kind of a push for me, especially having two older siblings. But that was always something that was kind of in the back of my head was I just really liked that education aspect.

And as I got older, I took a high school agriculture class and I really, truly fell in love with what agriculture is and how that's structured. It's constantly changing and evolving. It's not a day-to-day, same operation. And that's what really drove me into the industry. And one of the exciting things that I'm looking for at the center too, it's not going to be the same day in and day out. And that's one of the challenges, but yet one of the exciting components of it.

Bryan:
You bring up a good point that you planted trees, pine trees for the paper industry. People forget about that. That's one of our largest farming industries in the state.

Brittany:
Yes. Big time. And it was interesting, even when I first got hired as an agriculture teacher, people first off were like a female ag teacher? That seems unheard of. What's your background? Do you grow up on a dairy farm? And I said, no, I grew up on a tree farm and they're like a tree farm? What's that? This is, yeah, what is that? This doesn't even exist. And then when I'd say a pulp farm, we just got way off in left field. People were like, I didn't know oranges grew in Wisconsin.

Bill:
You had said something else that I don't know what the background is. Is cash-cropping, like why is it called cash-cropping? 

Rob:
That's a good question.

Bill:
Does it stand for something, or do you happen to know the history of that term?

Brittany:
Yeah, I'm not a hundred percent positive on that and I might be out in left field if I say this, but I believe with that, the whole intention of it is you're growing crops to sell. And so you're not using it for your own animals, you're not using it for your own consumption. You're using it for selling it. And so hence that term cash crop has been coined.

Rob:
Every time I had heard that. I had pictured it a pickup truck with a tailgate down a bunch of corn and somebody's standing there selling corn. 

Bill:
Oh yeah.

Brittany:
Sure.

Bryan:
That's on a small scale.

Rob:
So there's a bigger scale cash crop, huh?

Bryan:
A little bit.

Rob:
Okay. Andy, how about you? What's your background and what brought you here?

Andy:
Yeah well, the path here was a bit interesting, but I'm coming from a 30-year career in the cranberry industry. Didn't grow up on a farm, didn't have any real association with it. But where I grew up, just outside of Wisconsin Rapids, I was very close to a cranberry marsh. So my very first job was riding my bicycle down to the local marsh and picking rocks and pulling weeds and everything else that a 13 year old kid would do.

Rob:
That’s farming.

Bill:
The glamorous side of farming.

Andy:
The glamorous side of farming. Right. So never thought that I would make that into a career. Went here to UWSP, struggled a bit like most early college kids do. Little bit of a fun story on how I got there was took a single credit class called Careers in Biology. I thought, well that sounds fun. And one of the requirements was I had to do a resume and an informational interview on someone in the field that we wanted to pursue. And I was really struggling. I'm like, oh, I don't know what, I've worked in a grocery store in a cranberry marsh. So I went into the professor and said, Hey, you've got to help me out here. And he said, well, what have you done? Worked on a cranberry marsh. And I kid you not. He found a business card in his Rolodex when they had Rolodex back in that day and put me in touch with an entomologist in the cranberry industry. And that started the career path, connected with him, changed my minor and made a cranberry career out of a one credit class at a university. So.

Bill:
Well, I think that that also just demonstrates the fact of the multifaceted careers within when you say “agriculture.” And I think that's got to be one of the aspects of the center is to expose people to all the facets of what it means to just grow food and bring it to the table.

Andy:
It really is. And it's a great point because we want to teach everyone or help educate just the general consumer where their food comes from. But a secondary purpose is try to encourage those career paths or to expose what career options are out there in the farming sector. I mean, growers and farmers are very high tech and embracing of a lot of technology right now. And we're competing for a lot of the same pool of resources for people, skilled technicians, drones, precision agriculture. There's a lot of career paths out there that we're not doing a very good job of promoting and educating and quite honestly, we need to do that or we're all going to get a bit thinner because there aren't enough people going into agriculture right now.

Brittany:
And I think beyond even just like the technological end of things, STEM has been a very common buzzword. I mean everywhere. And so like science, technology, engineering, mathematics - all of that fits right into the agriculture careers as well. We're looking at genetic engineering. We've got less resources, less land, and we're feeding more people. So what are we doing from that standpoint to make sure that we don't have a hungry population? Being good stewards of the land and the water and looking from that ecology perspective and coming from an environmental standpoint. There's so many different venues that I think when we talk about agriculture, we're really just scratching the surface of what the careers are. I mean, truly, if you have any interest in eating, you have a career in agriculture.

Bill:
That is true.

Rob:
That makes sense.

Bill:
And you didn't even talk about agricultural side, but the food side. And then there's distribution, there's preparation, there's freezing it. All of the aspects of the nutrition side.

Andy:
And central Wisconsin is really becoming known as a food processing hub. Cranberry processing, potato processing. There are a lot of firms here that have big facilities all around the food processing world: storage and transportation as you said. All things that need tires by the way, I'm guessing.

Rob:
It takes tires to get the food to the table, right?

Bill:
Yes. We like to say tires to table.

Andy:
There you go.

Rob:
How many tires does it take? Quite a few. I kinda want to do that research.

Brittany:
Yeah, that sounds like a challenge.

Rob:
It does. My takeaway so far in our conversation is: education. Really. You're here to educate any and everybody on agriculture, which kind of leads me to your mission statement.

Brittany:
Yeah. So our mission statement is pretty simple. It states, “To educate current and future generations about agricultural innovation and sustainability.” And so as we develop programs, as we're looking at what our mission is for the center, that's really our primary focus. And so what does it mean? It means that we've recognized people have lost their connection to food and the food that they eat. We want to bridge that. We want to bring them back to the people that produce it. We want to bring them back to the kitchen table to understand how their food's produced. We're concerned about health, we're concerned about making nutritious food. But we're also concerned, like I said, about the environment and how we're doing it. And we're doing it with the best management practices possible.

Andy:
Now all of us have most likely had interactions with our friends or neighbors or someone in our circle of influence that has probably said at one time, I don't know why we need farmers anyway, food just comes from the store, right?

Rob:
That's what the children think, I think.

Andy:
Yeah, one of our board members, Richard Pavelski, I mean he faces that a lot and has come up with that. And it was his vision to say, “Hold on a minute, we need to do something here because there's just too big of a gap,” as Brittany said.

Brittany:
And he actually shared a story with me at one point in time, which I thought was really interesting. Frito Lay did a push a few years back that was called the Fresh Push, I believe was the name of their program. And what it was, was they harvested potatoes from a field and within 24 hours they were produced into potato chips in individual serving bags and given out to consumers. And people argued that there was no possible way that those potato chips came not only from a field, but came from a field less than 24 hours earlier. And that's what they were eating. And that was just kind of an epiphany moment for him that we just don't know. Like we assume as producers, people know where their food comes from and that's a terrible assumption. 'Cause They don't, they really don't know where things come from.

Bill:
That is amazing. That was a pretty powerful story, but …unbelievable.

Brittany:
No, not by any means.

Rob:
Well as with every All About the Car podcast, we always break away halfway through and visit an interesting destination somewhere in Wisconsin. This time we're heading over to Nekoosa for the Giant Pumpkin Fest. Now I haven't been there, but I know many, a few people here have. And it looks like quite the event that happens in October 7th and 8th, I believe it's a two day.

Bryan:
Yep, it's a two day event over in Nekoosa, Riverside Park right down along the river. And there is something for everybody at this event. There's craft shows, of course there's pumpkin pie and all kinds of great food. To cap it off is the big pumpkin drop. It's usually a 700-800 pound pumpkin. They hoist it a hundred feet up in the air and drop it.

Rob:
That's the big event.

Bryan:
Yeah. And when it hits, it shakes the ground.

Rob:
Wow. Have you two been there?

Brittany:
I have been in attendance. It's quite the event. Like you said, there's a craft fair and vendor fair. I mean there really truly is something for everybody - car show, but truly when that pumpkin hits the ground… 

Rob:
The ground really shakes.

Brittany:
It does. And that's the thing to see. I mean it's like ants on a watermelon. These little kids just run out there and they scarf up the pumpkin seeds in anticipation of growing their own giant pumpkins.

Rob:
Oh, that's neat. I watched the video from a high standpoint and it's just funny watching all those kids just go in when they say go. They're looking for those seeds.

Bryan:
Get out of their way, they're going to run you over.

Bill:
So how does somebody grow a 700 pound pumpkin?

Bryan:
With a lot of care.

Rob:
We've got ag specialists right here. 

Bill:
Yeah. And so is the center going to be one of the competitors growing this?

Andy:
It's not part of our current plan, but we're open to options.

Bill:
FYI, you know, the opportunity’s there. So how do they transport it?

Bryan:
They put it on wooden pallets and use a forklift.

Bill:
Wow! Okay.

Bryan:
The winning pumpkins are…1200 pounds?

Brittany:
Over a thousand pounds. Yeah. 

Bill:
Oh wow. 

Brittany:
Yeah. And I know this year's been a hard year. I follow some friends that have participated in this event in the past and they were saying with the hot spring and early summer with no rain, that's been really tough on their crops. And so their pumpkins are measuring a lot smaller than what they would like them to be at and where they've been in previous years. So it'll be interesting to see what this year ends up bringing if it’s rained recently…

Rob:
See who has the tricks.

Brittany:
Yeah. How is that going?

Bill:
So is there pumpkin carving at this event?

Rob:
Oh, there has to be.

Brittany:
I'm pretty sure there is. It's been a few years since I've attended, but I'm pretty sure that there is.

Bill:
Okay. And the only last question I would have is that there, is there pumpkin spice like coffee latte, muffins…

Rob:
If there isn’t, there should be.

Andy:
It is the season for that.

Rob:
Yeah. And there's a pumpkin rolling contest. I just learned that, so that sounds kind of fun. I don't know where that happens. There must be a hill, but…

Bill:
Or on the ground. But then again, do you bring your own pumpkin because it's going to be a good roller? Or are you given a pumpkin?

Rob:
There might be some smashing in there.

Bill:
There's a lot of questions here.

Andy:
Sounds like you better go.

Bill:
Yeah. And I think we're going to have to make that a priority this year.

Rob:
Well back to the Food + Farm Exploration Center in Plover. And we're going to continue on with our conversation. So we are so lucky to have this facility right here in our own backyard. I mean we all live relatively close and it's kind of an honor. What type of individuals or groups will you expect to see once the doors open?

Brittany:
This is a unique opportunity that the center possesses, although our foundation and focus is around agriculture. We're not exclusive to just the agriculture community. And so we want to see that that center is being utilized by school groups, technical colleges, universities, community groups, you name it. We want those people in our door. And so whether they're coming here for an event and using our event space, they're coming for a class in the maker space or in the kitchen lab or maybe they're just coming to experience the exhibits in the center. We really want to make this a space that's inviting and inclusive to all.

Bill:
What kind of exhibits will be the final product and will they rotate?

Andy:
Well, right now there are no plans to rotate because they're fairly high-tech-driven and we want to showcase what farmers are growing and will be using in the future. So some of those we may update as technologies improve, we want to showcase that. But we're going to have two tractor cab simulators, which are very cool. Can't wait to see those. A whole exhibit on water management. We're going to have almost a full section of a center pivot irrigator inside the center. So people will get up close and personal with that, be able to see really how big and how highly advanced they are just for putting out water. So lots of things like that.

Brittany:
One exhibit I'm super excited about is we have a harvest table we're calling it. And so with that you'll see a crop actually growing on an interactive table. And then you'll have microchipped equipment that you can drive across the table and physically harvest your crops. And so making sure you're going at the right speed, you're driving straight lines, things like that. And the reason I think I'm super excited about it is I drove quad truck for a few summers and so I got to actually like harvest some of these things, right? So I'm curious to test if my real life skills are just as good as my virtual reality skills.

Rob:
You're going to end up with a whole bunch of future farmers out of this.

Andy:
That's the idea.

Brittany:
That's, yup, part of the goal

Rob:
That's neat. So I would imagine grade school groups and everybody be coming through.

Brittany:
Yeah, so with our education outreach program, so we've currently been in 22 different schools in the last year and a half. So we piloted our program really kind of heavily last year, but we're looking at field trips as an opportunity. And so that's been part of what's been on my radar is developing some of our field trips and what those are going to look like. In conjunction with that, we have what we're calling “dig-in” experiences. And so it's kind of an add-on to their field trip where they can do a little kind of program based with it. So things around robotics, hydraulics, utilizing the kitchen lab and STEM concepts and different learning culinary experiences in there. So all kinds of different opportunities for our learners - and not focused, I mean primarily on elementary either. We're looking at K - 12 with our field trips as well as adult groups coming in to tour the center and really getting that full experience as well.
Bill:
You also have a large meeting area with an excellent terrace overlooking the fields. 

Brittany:
We do!

Andy:
We do. It's really designed to accommodate or fill a need where there's a shortage of meeting space in the local area. So we'll be able to accommodate some weddings of up to maybe 240 - 250 people with an amazing deck with a great view and a number of smaller spaces for private events.

Bill:
And there’s this amazing potato masher out there as well.

Andy:
The world's largest.

Bill:
I happen to notice looking off the terrace…

Andy:
The world's largest potato masher comes in at just under 40 feet tall, about 39 feet tall. And when we get asked the question, well why a potato masher? And our first response is, well why not?

Rob:
We're in Plover.

Andy:
We’re in Plover! We're in potato country, so why not?

Brittany:
A little fun behind the potato masher, so for those potato experts out there, we know Idaho is the number one potato producer, but ironically the company that built our potato masher was Idaho Steel.

Rob:
Oh, interesting.

Brittany:
So they built the world's largest potato masher for a competing state.

Rob:
Well, that's funny. So our listeners care about nothing else, they can come and see the largest potato masher in the world.

Andy:
They can. It is a really great selfie spot. It's open to the public if people can get right up next to it and have a little fun with selfie in front of the masher.

Brittany:
And if you take a picture, tag us in it. Yes. So we want to see it. We've seen some fun ones come through already, but make sure you let us know you're here.

Bill:
And what would that tag be?

Brittany:
Food + Farm Exploration Center.

Bill:
Alright!

Rob:
Are there any plans at all for a research segment of your facility here?

Andy:
Not really. We're more of a demonstration field and we do have four one-acre fields that we're rotating a number of crops that Central Wisconsin is known for. And it's more demonstration. We're not really doing research plots per se, because we want to be able to have programming with Brittany, have a student or a group go out there and actually pull up a plant and look at roots and things like that. So if it was research, by doing that, you would skew data and we don't want that. There is one section of the field though that has never seen any crop grown on it. So we'll be able to do some comparisons on soil water movement. And it's an area that we might use for pollinator habitat and things like that.

Rob:
So what I've taken so far from this is there's a lot more to farming than just the dirt. I mean there's a technology and I think you have some of those demonstration areas here at the facility that you're going to have open to the public. Tell us a little bit more about more than just dirt.

Brittany:
I like that you put it that way. I joke all the time: Dirt is a dirty word. So we like to call it soil because it's living, it's living organisms. And so looking at all the components that contribute to a healthy soil and what makes soil great for growing. And so one of the things that's unique about Central Wisconsin is we have some pretty sandy soils in our area, which is ideal for growing crops. So things like our carrots and our potatoes and stuff like that. And so like you said, talking about dirt, per se…

Rob:
I said a bad word.

Brittany:
It is a bad word. Dirt's a dirty word.

Andy:
Well, we're really all about science and technology and showcasing what production agriculture is about. If we can try to change people's mindset about what a farmer is, the days of the old stereotype of the straw hat and the pitchfork and the little tractor. Those days are really gone. There are still some that utilize that for the small farmer's market, backyard farmer things. And we want to represent all of that. Farming is farming, it's water and sunlight and nutrition and crop protection and things like that. So we want to make sure we're representing everyone equally. But we do want to just show truly what goes into producing the world's food supply.

Brittany:
And we're challenging that idea of what is production agriculture and all that we do at the center. And so like Andy said, we kind of had this nostalgic idea of the farmer with a pitchfork standing out in a field with his cow next to him and the field crops growing behind and the red barn. Is that really what today's agriculture is all about? No. Do we still see that? Is that still an important component of Wisconsin agriculture? You bet. Absolutely. That's where our roots came from. That's some of the history in the state. But we've evolved and we're constantly evolving. What we're doing today might not be the same practices we're doing in 10 or 20 years. We're constantly looking at our inputs that we're putting in and what are we getting as our outputs. I mean the technology, like we've addressed earlier, we've gotten to the point that we can control individual spigots on a pivot to say, yep, we need water here. No we don't need water here. We need more water over here. We need to add nutrients on this portion of the field and not this portion of the field. It's gotten really tech driven and it's gotten automated as well. That's one of the challenges that we're seeing is there's not always people to fill those roles. And so how are we continuing to meet the demand of food production that population changes and yet still be able to produce enough.

Bill:
Will you address, at all… 'cause I know that there's a hydroponics - somewhere in central Wisconsin – farm, and are you going to be addressing anything in the hydroponics situation?

Andy:
Not necessarily right now. It's an important part and we don't want to shy away from that, but it's not part of our current model right now.

Rob:
Well, regardless of how farming continues to evolve, because of our growing world population, I’ve got to believe that the commitment of our farmers in long hours still apply. These folks are getting up before the sun's up and stopping working after the sun's down. So this goes on year round. What other challenges do our today's farmers have?

Andy:
Sure! Well, let's talk about weather. We know that our weather patterns are changing and we're experiencing a very dry summer right now. I mean that presents challenges to all farmers on a number of fronts. We want to showcase that farmers are very good at adapting to changing weather conditions. As Brittany has mentioned already, the technology that's out there for just simple things like water management, is there. Long hours, you talk about that Rob, most people maybe don't know that all these systems can be turned on from the comfort of your bed and your PJ's from your phone or turned off.

Rob:
That's better!

Andy:
So it's really a neat way to embrace technology for the modern farm.

Brittany:
And one of the challenges is there's a lot of unpredictability in farming. Andy talked just about weather and the environmental changes that are happening and concerns from that standpoint. But even equipment - you might think your equipment's in top shape and all of a sudden you blow a tire, or you have a piece of equipment, you know a hydraulic line goes out. Now what we do? These people don't have time to sit and wait in the field. So having people on call and being ready to service or being able to kind of service yourself. A lot of times farmers are a jack of all trades.

Andy:
I'm not aware of any plant varieties that only grow nine-to-five . So everything grows 24 hours a day. So maybe when we will get to that point someday, but right now it does require attention as the plant needs it. 

Bill:
Does this area - talking about that - is there a pollinator issue in central Wisconsin? I mean, we oftentimes hear about pollinators being moved around and tracks of honeybees or whatever else. Is that a concern in this area?

Andy:
I can speak to that directly because coming from the cranberry industry, cranberries are a crop that actually do need pollinators to finish, you know, and form a berry. So bees and pollination is very important to, not just cranberries, but a lot of crops that we consume. I forget the stats right off the top of my head, but maintaining a healthy bee population is very key to us, again, or we're all going to get a lot thinner. Because those crops are not just getting pollinated. We want to showcase some pollination areas and try to establish some native pollinator habitat on a small plot here at the center 'cause it's an important part of agriculture. We want to talk about that.

Brittany:
And the Wisconsin Beekeepers Association has even reached out to us already and talked about some of those different aspects of how they can tie into what we're doing here, how they can help contribute. One of the neat programs that they have is they actually set up a young adult with a complete beehive. And so they build the hive for them, they source the bees, and it's a scholarship opportunity for these individuals to encourage people to get into that apiary…I don't want to say “career” maybe? But a hobby. So getting them thinking about bees and the importance of pollinators.

Bill:
Aren't there companies - that's kind of maybe the question in this area - that move their hives around. They drive 'em all over the United States.

Andy:
That is correct.

Brittany:
There's bees that are on vacation all the time. So they're going all over.

Rob:
Don’t they, in the winter they go to Florida.

Andy:
That's right.

Brittany:
Florida, Texas…

Bill:
They just move it around on semis.

Andy:
And they move it around based on the crop in that area. Blueberries, pumpkins, cranberries, almonds in California. Those bees get a lot of mileage on 'em

Rob:
Well, coming back to Plover, would you say that here at the Farm and Exploration Center that you really partner with farmers?

Brittany:
Oh, absolutely.

Rob:
Is there a level of partnership?

Brittany:
If you look at our board and who our board is made up of, it's predominantly growers and producers that are in this area. And so again, we want to be an expert in the field, literally and figuratively...

Rob:
I love it.

Brittany:
But making sure that we have those people on board with us. And so looking at where's the knowledge coming from? The Hancock Research Station is another one that we've worked with individuals there. Going back to “are we a research center?” No, we're not.

Rob:
But you have friends in the business.

Brittany:
We do. We know people, right?

Bill:
Right down the road.

Brittany:
All of that factors into who we are and what we're doing. And it's been awesome. We have tours that come in all the time. Even yesterday I had some individuals that just happen to be in the area and they're like, here's who we are. We're part of the Young Farmers Association. We wanted to see what the facility is, look at how we can work together. And so it's just, it's been such a positive experience. People are excited about what we are and who we are and what we're doing and it from a producer standpoint, from a grower's standpoint, from that transportation and everything in between.

Andy:
If I can add one thing to that, one of the terms that we like saying around here is we're completely AG-nostic. 

Bill:
Oh I like it.

Andy:
But at the same time it's important because we do want to be that entity, or at least that's our hope, that we can bring some of these competing sectors together. So we want to represent all of the irrigation companies, we want to represent all of the farm implement companies. We really have no preference there. And we need to be agnostic to be able to have that neutral spot at the table where we can collectively come together, talk about tough issues, if there are any, and just share in the story of what agriculture is.

Bill:
Because I think, there's also that “agnostic” of equipment and all that type of thing because you have a very large room behind us that is able to demonstrate or have people see equipment in a conditioned space.

Andy:
That's exactly right. We call that the farm tech shed. It has a gigantic glass door in it that will open in a very cool visual aspect and that allows us to bring that big equipment in. I'm a little kid at heart. Everybody loves getting up next to the big, big stuff, but you're exactly right to bring it in in a safe, controlled environment where everyone can truly look at what farmers use and the technology behind a tractor for today's modern farm.
Brittany:
That’s been a hot question around the farm tech shed too, is: what color is going to be in there?

Rob:
It's a little touchy.

Brittany:
Wellll….

Andy:
We like all colors.

Brittany:
Yeah, we're collaborative. Not competitive, but I can't tell you what color's going to be in there yet, so you'll have to come and see.

Rob:
You're going to have to change it up once in a while.

Bryan:
Blues and greens and reds. 

Brittany:
Exactly. It's going to be a color palette.

Andy:
We like all colors.

Rob:
And if I might add, it looks like you can view that tractor, that combine or whatever's going to be in there from like a second or third level story.

Brittany:
Yeah, we have a mezzanine, which is really unique. And one of the things that I find super exciting, especially coming from a career that's really heavily focused around agriculture, is from that mezzanine you can get a bird's eye view. And so I always ask when I give tours, who's actually seen a piece of farm equipment from the top in person? A lot of times we've seen pictures or things like that, but have you ever actually seen that equipment from above? And this provides that unique perspective.

Rob:
Well you've seen it here first, folks! That's what you could say.

Brittany:
In addition to the masher, right?

Rob:
Absolutely.

Rob:
Well, we've learned a lot today and gained even more respect for the agricultural industry that surrounds us here in Wisconsin. Very special thanks to Brittany and Andy for hosting this episode of All About the Car from the New Food + Farm Exploration Center in Plover, Wisconsin.

Andy:
Thank you so much for having us. It was a real pleasure. 

Brittany:
Thank you.

Rob:
Thank you! We hope to have you right along next time on all About the Car. To listen to previous episodes, find additional resources, or to simply send us a message, head to all AllAboutTheCarPodcast.com. We'll see you next time.