Photo gallery Senate committee staff visit campus
Six staff members from the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee who work on funding for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies visited campus for an educational tour on July 7-8. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., serves as the chair of the subcommittee and is a member of the full Senate Appropriations Committee. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided UW–Madison with more than $20 million in research funding. Staff members learned how federal funds are supporting UW research to genetically improve hemp, keep meat products safe, provide educational pathway for members of Wisconsin’s Tribal Nations, breed better varieties of fruits and vegetables, and encourage more entrepreneurship in the dairy industry.
From left to right foreground, Mark Rickenbach, senior associate dean at CALS; Mike Lenn, director of UW–Madison Federal Relations; Dianne Nellor, majority clerk for the USDA Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee; Morgan Ulmer, minority clerk for the subcommittee; Patrick Carroll, USDA senate staff member; and Heidi Zoerb, CALS associate dean for external relations, talk before a tour of the Meat Science and Animal Biologics building. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
From left to right, Elizabeth Dent, senate USDA staff; Dianne Nellor, majority clerk; Hannah Chauvin, USDA staff; and Mark Rickenbach, senior associate dean for the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, suit up with PPE before a tour of the Meat Science and Animal Biologics building. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
At center left from left to right, Aaron Bird Bear, director of tribal relations, and Rachel Byington, Tribal Youth and Community Liaison (for Earth Partnership, within the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture) speak to staff members. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
UW graduate students Phillip Thao (far left), Adam Falk (second to left), and Jessica Brown (far right) prepare Bloody Mary summer sausage with pickles and cheese in advance of the American Association of Meat Processors competition next week, as USDA staff members observe. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Staffers got to taste samples of sausage, meat sticks, and cheese during the tour. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Staff members wear protective gowns and foot coverings as they walk through a foam cleanse before entering the processing plant in the Meat Science and Animal Biologics building. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Hannah Chauvin, USDA senate staffer, takes a selfie with UW mascot Bucky Badger in front of Bascom Hall during the tour. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
At center, meat plant operations manager Dillon Walker speaks to members of the USDA Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee staff. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
