Event Sponsors
Presenting Sponsors
Date and Time
Tuesday Sep 15, 2015
11:45 PM - 4:45 PM CDT
DATE: September 15, 2015
TIME: 11:45 am until 4:45 pm
Bus Pickup at 11:45 am at Great Northern Distilling, 1740 Park Avenue, Plover
Bus Pickup at 11:45 am at Great Northern Distilling, 1740 Park Avenue, Plover
Location
PICK-UP SITE: Vehicles will be parked and left in parking lot of Great Northern Distilling,
Bus will be taking everyone to WPS for lunch and guest speaker.
Fees/Admission
COST: $21 per person
Pre-registration is required.Registration deadline: Thursday, September 10, 2015.
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
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Description
Ag Tour 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
The Agri-Business Committee of the Portage County Business Council invites you and your business associates to attend Ag Tour 2015. 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. (PLEASE NOTE THAT VEHICLES SHOULD BE PARKED AT GREAT NORTHERN DISTILLING BY 11:45AM, 1740 PARK AVENUE, PLOVER - NOT WPS. BUS WILL TAKE YOU TO WPS)
Special thanks to our Presenting Sponsors: Del Monte Foods and Robert's Irrigation Company, Inc.
The theme for this year’s event “You Say Potato...”. The picnic lunch at Wisconsin Public Service Corporation will feature grilled hamburgers, brats, potato salad, calico beans, chips, dessert and more. During lunch we will hear from Guest Speaker - Dick Okray, President of Okray Family Farms. Dick's presentation is entitled "History of Potato Farming in Portage County".
Guest Speaker:
Dick Okray, President of Okray Family Farms
After lunch, we will head to Hamerski Farms, Plover, WI, where owner Don Hamerski will lead the group. The farm raises 1,000 acres of potatoes for the fresh market, along with 1,300 acres of sweet corn, snap beans and field corn. Don readily embraces change, and is constantly looking to improve his farming operation with the latest, state-of-the-art technology and equipment. His irrigation systems are all operated remotely with control panels at the farm's headquarters. His packaging shed utilizes a Lectro-Tek automatic sizer and an x-ray machine for hollow heart detection.
Hamerski Farms was the first farm in the Midwest to use the Fuji Ace robotic palletizer, which can handle as much as 20 bags per minute and can lift up to 400 pounds. They also became the first potato farm in the US to use an electronic grader for russet potatoes , and the farm added the country's first ozone generator with water injection system. Attendees at our Ag Tour event will see this high-speed, technologically advanced robot, the many automated advancements to the farm including balers, baggers, graders, sizers, and their view their process of potatoes from trucking, to packaging, and to the end result of shipping to the store.
Then it's off to Wysocki Family of Companies, family-owned farm based in Bancroft, WI. Participants will tour their potato research lab and see the process of washing, grading, sizing and packaging of the potatoes. Paragon Potato Farms grades approximately 3.68 million cases of potatoes annually. Paragon Specialties in Plover will pack over 350,000 cases this year. Together with RPE and Wysocki Produce Farm, the company is the largest grower and shipper of fresh potatoes in Wisconsin.
Another part of the event will be touring Great Northern Distilling. Great Northern Distilling is central Wisconsin's first and only craft distillery making spirits from raw ingredients sourced from within 150 miles of their location in Plover. The tour will feature all aspects of production including recipes, mash cooking, fermentation, distilling, barrel aging and bottling. Products include their Potato Vodka, Herbalist Gin, Vanguard Whiskey and Opportunity Rum.
Attendees will have the opportunity to take a seat at their mixology bar after the tour to enjoy one of their signature craft cocktails (NA is also available).
The event includes 3 tour stops, bus transportation, a picnic lunch and guest speaker, socializing and education.
Cost is only $21 per person.
Register soon as space is limited.
Please note TOUR RULES / DRESS CODE:
-- Comfortable walking shoes (ABSOLUTELY NO sandals or flip flops)
-- No shorts, capris, tank tops or sleeveless shirts
-- No purses or backpacks
-- No jewelry items (such as rings, facial piercings, earrings or necklaces)
-- Nothing loose in shirt pockets that can fall out
-- No chewing gum, food or beverages
-- Shoulder length (or longer) hair must be controlled with a cap/hat or pulled back with a hair tie (rubber bands will be available if needed)
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 Agenda
11:45 AM Bus Pick-up at Great Northern Distilling, 1740 Park Avenue, Plover
12:00 PM Lunch, Guest Speaker - Dick Okray at WPS Corporation and tour of the Wisconsin
Spudmobile
1:15 PM Arrive at Hamerski Farms
2:15 PM Arrive at Wysocki Family of Companies
3:45 PM Arrive at Great Northern Distilling
4:45 PM Event Ends
Click on photo gallery below to see some of last year’s visits.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
The Agri-Business Committee of the Portage County Business Council invites you and your business associates to attend Ag Tour 2015. 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. (PLEASE NOTE THAT VEHICLES SHOULD BE PARKED AT GREAT NORTHERN DISTILLING BY 11:45AM, 1740 PARK AVENUE, PLOVER - NOT WPS. BUS WILL TAKE YOU TO WPS)
Special thanks to our Presenting Sponsors: Del Monte Foods and Robert's Irrigation Company, Inc.
The theme for this year’s event “You Say Potato...”. The picnic lunch at Wisconsin Public Service Corporation will feature grilled hamburgers, brats, potato salad, calico beans, chips, dessert and more. During lunch we will hear from Guest Speaker - Dick Okray, President of Okray Family Farms. Dick's presentation is entitled "History of Potato Farming in Portage County".
Guest Speaker:
Dick Okray, President of Okray Family Farms
After lunch, we will head to Hamerski Farms, Plover, WI, where owner Don Hamerski will lead the group. The farm raises 1,000 acres of potatoes for the fresh market, along with 1,300 acres of sweet corn, snap beans and field corn. Don readily embraces change, and is constantly looking to improve his farming operation with the latest, state-of-the-art technology and equipment. His irrigation systems are all operated remotely with control panels at the farm's headquarters. His packaging shed utilizes a Lectro-Tek automatic sizer and an x-ray machine for hollow heart detection.
Hamerski Farms was the first farm in the Midwest to use the Fuji Ace robotic palletizer, which can handle as much as 20 bags per minute and can lift up to 400 pounds. They also became the first potato farm in the US to use an electronic grader for russet potatoes , and the farm added the country's first ozone generator with water injection system. Attendees at our Ag Tour event will see this high-speed, technologically advanced robot, the many automated advancements to the farm including balers, baggers, graders, sizers, and their view their process of potatoes from trucking, to packaging, and to the end result of shipping to the store.
Then it's off to Wysocki Family of Companies, family-owned farm based in Bancroft, WI. Participants will tour their potato research lab and see the process of washing, grading, sizing and packaging of the potatoes. Paragon Potato Farms grades approximately 3.68 million cases of potatoes annually. Paragon Specialties in Plover will pack over 350,000 cases this year. Together with RPE and Wysocki Produce Farm, the company is the largest grower and shipper of fresh potatoes in Wisconsin.
Another part of the event will be touring Great Northern Distilling. Great Northern Distilling is central Wisconsin's first and only craft distillery making spirits from raw ingredients sourced from within 150 miles of their location in Plover. The tour will feature all aspects of production including recipes, mash cooking, fermentation, distilling, barrel aging and bottling. Products include their Potato Vodka, Herbalist Gin, Vanguard Whiskey and Opportunity Rum.
Attendees will have the opportunity to take a seat at their mixology bar after the tour to enjoy one of their signature craft cocktails (NA is also available).
The event includes 3 tour stops, bus transportation, a picnic lunch and guest speaker, socializing and education.
Cost is only $21 per person.
Register soon as space is limited.
Please note TOUR RULES / DRESS CODE:
-- Comfortable walking shoes (ABSOLUTELY NO sandals or flip flops)
-- No shorts, capris, tank tops or sleeveless shirts
-- No purses or backpacks
-- No jewelry items (such as rings, facial piercings, earrings or necklaces)
-- Nothing loose in shirt pockets that can fall out
-- No chewing gum, food or beverages
-- Shoulder length (or longer) hair must be controlled with a cap/hat or pulled back with a hair tie (rubber bands will be available if needed)
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 Agenda
11:45 AM Bus Pick-up at Great Northern Distilling, 1740 Park Avenue, Plover
12:00 PM Lunch, Guest Speaker - Dick Okray at WPS Corporation and tour of the Wisconsin
Spudmobile
1:15 PM Arrive at Hamerski Farms
2:15 PM Arrive at Wysocki Family of Companies
3:45 PM Arrive at Great Northern Distilling
4:45 PM Event Ends
Click on photo gallery below to see some of last year’s visits.
Images
