TIP/International student family farm visit

A group of more than 125 UW–Madison international students and their families will receive their first introduction to Dane County agriculture this weekend, as part of the second annual International Student Farm Outing.

The event, cosponsored with the UW–Madison, International Student Services (ISS), will be held from noon-4 p.m. on Sunday, June 13 at The Schultz Family Farm in Cottage Grove. Media are welcome to attend.

The farm is located at 2293 W. Ridge Road, Cottage Grove. To reach the farm, take the Beltline (Highway 12/18) east towards Cambridge, and exit Highway N to Cottage Grove. Once in the village, turn on East Taylor Street. The farm is one mile out on the right. East Taylor Street becomes West Ridge Road at the village limits.

The farm visit will provide many of the students with their first exposure to agriculture, as many come from city or urban backgrounds in their home countries.

The idea for the event came about when Steve Querin-Schultz, a Dane County cash crop farmer, attended several ISS events with his wife, Martha, who works for ISS. Last spring, the farm received 100 international guests for an afternoon of farm tours, tractor rides, animal petting, lunch, and conversations about agriculture and life on a working Wisconsin farm.

“This year’s event promises to be bigger and better,” says Martha Querin-Schultz, noting that more than 25 Schultz family members, friends and student volunteers will also attend.

“Students will have the opportunity to take horse drawn wagon rides, learn to drive a tractor, and tour the surrounding prairie and wetlands. Farm suppliers and agronomists will be available to answer questions and educate guests about farming in rural Wisconsin.”

For more information, contact Querin-Schultz, (608) 262-3466, or (608) 839-4119 over the weekend or email querinschultz@odos.wisc.edu