DAIRY NEWS – Rural, urban and suburban communities across Wisconsin place a high priority on protecting water resources to benefit residents, businesses and agriculture. The 2024 Water Tours offer a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes to see how water is managed in one of the state’s largest metropolitan areas and on a dairy farm, while also hearing from experts about the innovations, partnerships and commitment to protecting and preserving one of the state’s most important resources.

The 2024 water tours will take place on Tuesday, September 10. The tour bus will depart from River Hills Park & ​​Ride at 9:15 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. The tours are a joint effort of Professional Dairy Producers®, UW Discovery Farms®, Wisconsin Counties Association and Wisconsin Towns Association.

“Water is a vital issue and it takes a dedicated effort to secure our natural resources for current and future needs,” said Shelly Mayer, PDP executive director and a dairy farmer from Slinger, Wisconsin. “Participating in the water tours provides a valuable opportunity to witness firsthand the efforts being made to preserve water quality and to participate in meaningful discussions with representatives from government, agriculture and local communities about the shared challenges and opportunities we face.”

The bus departs from WisDOT Park & ​​​​Rid 40-85, Brown Deer Rd. E, River Hills, Wis. and takes participants to the following tour stops:

• Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) to see how more than 640 million gallons of wastewater are treated daily. It is also one of the first plants in the world to produce Milorganite® fertilizer, a byproduct of the water reclamation process.
• Roden Echo Valley, LLCa family-run dairy farm just outside of West Bend, Wisconsin that excels in water conservation, water management and recycling processes. The Roden family manages their land with waterways, grass buffer strips and no-till cover crops. The milk production process uses water twice – through a plate cooler to quickly lower the temperature of the milk and as drinking water for the cattle or cleaning equipment.

During the bus ride, moderated discussions will take place with water quality experts, researchers and others.

Tours are designed for community members, farmers, educators, local elected officials and media. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. The $49 ticket price includes bus transportation, refreshments and lunch. Up to 3.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) per tour are available from Dairy AdvanCE.

To learn more about the 2024 water tours and to register, visit www.pdpw.org or contact PDP at 800-947-7379.

“Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) is the largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind in the country. Its focus is on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.”