Event Sponsors
Date and Time
Tuesday Sep 16, 2014
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM CDT
DATE: September 16, 2014
TIME: Noon until 5:00 p.m.
Location
Begins with lunch at Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.
2001 Plover Road
Plover, WI 54467
Transportation to tour sites included.
Fees/Admission
COST: $20 per person
Pre-registration is required.Registration deadline: Thursday, September 11, 2014.
If online registration is closed and you would like to register, please call our office at 715-344-1940 to check on availability.
Website
Contact Information
Karen Schanock - 715-344-1940
Send Email
Description
Ag Tour 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Agri-Business Committee of the Portage County Business Council invites you and your business associates to attend Ag Tour 2014. This is your opportunity to learn more about what makes the local agri-business industry a great success. Ag Tour begins at noon at Wisconsin Public Service Corporation in Plover with a picnic lunch.
Special thanks to our Presenting Sponsors: Del Monte Foods and Robert's Irrigation Company, Inc.
The theme for this year’s event “Technology and Automation”. The event begins at noon with a picnic lunch and guest speaker - Jeremie Pavelski representing the Groundwater Task Force. His presentation is entitled "Agriculture Water Use - The Facts: Where we were, Where we are, and the Technological Revolution". Agriculture is a key component in our economy when it comes to jobs, services, and community support. Wisconsin Growers are using some of the latest technology to help ensure water stewardship. Jeremie will deliver a brief overview of the technology that was used in the past, is used now and emerging technologies on the horizon. He will interact with attendees and test our knowledge on agriculture and water.
After the picnic lunch, we will head to an irrigated field in Plover where Paul Roberts, owner of Roberts Irrigation will lead the group. In the early days at Roberts Irrigation the normal irrigation pipeline was made of steel, they were heavy, and they were carried from place to place in the field. Simple “big gun” sprinklers were used to irrigate large areas and required a tremendous amount of hand labor. Technology and high tech were not words in anyone’s vocabulary.
Since the beginning of the company in 1957, the state of water application devices has changed dramatically. Attendees at our Ag Tour event will see first-hand how farms truly are high-tech and how that has allowed farms to produce more food with less resources, in particular water. We will see a complete install, discuss the water saving technologies that are employed and view a variety of major new advancements.
Then it’s off to Groshek Farms in Amherst Junction to experience for yourself the care taken in robotic milking of cows and the barn setup. Managing a farm with milking robots requires a different approach compared to conventional milking. Attendees will experience the process of robotic milking and what it involves in terms of farm management.
Cost is only $20 person and includes tours, bus transportation, picnic lunch, socializing and education.
Register soon as space is limited. Casual attire, no sandals, no jewelry.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 Agenda
Noon: Picnic lunch and guest speaker at WPS Corporation
1:30 pm: Arrive at Irrigated Field in Plover
3:15 pm: Arrive at Groshek Farms
5:00 pm: Return to WPS Corporation
Space is limited. Sign up now.
Click on photo gallery below to see some of last year’s visits.
Images
