UW-Madison international students visit Schultz Family Farm

The Schultz Family Farm in Cottage Grove, Wis., will be the site of the third annual international student farm outing on Sunday, June 26, when the Querin-Schultz family opens its third-generation farm to more than 100 international students and their families.

The event will be held in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, International Student Services (ISS) and this year, ISS is partnering with the MATC Center for International Education, so their international students can join the event.

The idea for the event came about when Steve Querin-Schultz, a Dane County cash crop farmer, attended ISS events with his wife, Martha, who works at the office.

“I wish we could get the students to our farm and show them our life and work here in Wisconsin,” Querin-Schultz said then. The seed was planted, Martha built a program around the idea, and in the spring of 2009, along with their family and friends, Steve and Martha received 125 international guests for an afternoon of farm tours, tractor rides, animal petting, lunch and conversations about agriculture and life on a working Wisconsin farm.

When asked last year what she learned or found most surprising about her day on the farm, a Nepalese student said, “I am so surprised that I can drive a tractor. I never thought that the modern farming instruments like vehicles for sowing and harvesting would be that huge.”

A student from China added, “I was surprised when Steve told me he planted all the corn all by himself as a part-time job.”

Most students were amazed to find the Schultz’s 125-year-old home open for exploring, and all expressed appreciation for the hospitality of the Schultz family, neighbors and friends.

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 will be available to answer questions and educate guests about farming in Wisconsin. The petting zoo will be back, and there will be farm equipment, classic car and motorcycle displays, as well as outdoor games.

Entertainment will be provided by Round The Bend, playing American bluegrass and western swing music. Lunch will be catered by the Cottage Grove Historical Society.