VESPER, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – DairyFest, a networking and educational event for dairy farmers, was held Wednesday at a farm in Vesper. Dairy farmers are facing a new set of challenges that have many uncertain about the future of their products and industry.
“There’s been extreme volatility,” Travis Marti, a third-generation dairy farmer, told WAOW-TV. “The market has been up, the market has been down. There’s been so many things that have affected the market especially with COVID.”
Which is why the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin or PDPW, decided to proceed with this year’s Dairy Fest. “We thought it was important,” said PDPW President Katy Schultz. “Our members were reaching out to us saying they needed that socialization again and they needed to feel that sense of community and being together.”
The first of two Dairy Fest events this year took place Wednesday at Marti farms in Vesper. A second Dairy Fest event will be held at Vision Aire Farms in Eldorado, Wednesday August 19.
“It was an honor to be able to be a host for this learning event,” said Marti. “(I’m trying) to pick up some things about risk management and learn some things as well. It’s a risky business, but we wanna just make it the least risky we can, so we can be here the next year farming and the next year after that.”
“I think (people can benefit) with our panel discussions here tonight,” said Schultz. “Especially (those) looking at how to mitigate throughout these turbulent economic times. What does that look like? Maybe not just for today and tomorrow, but next week, next year and the next five years and ten years.”
So while times are tough now, it seems to be the way of a farmer to always be looking to a better brighter future.
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