For new readers, CRI is the direct successor to the Wisconsin Academy’s Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin (FOF) study, published in October 2007.  CRI exists primarily to foster implementation of recommendations from the FOF final report toward a more sustainable, diverse and economically viable future for rural Wisconsin.  CRI’s efforts are concentrated in the three top priorities identified by FOF: Rural Health Care (focusing on oral health); Rural Labor Issues (immigration reform and embracing diversity); and the many faces of Community Sustainability.

In the very long interval since the last CRI Newsletter, there have been many developments, changes and initiatives.  So, let’s dive right in.

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All of Wisconsin agriculture is aware of the drowning death of DATCP Secretary Rod Nilsestuen in Lake Superior on July 21^st.  The waves of shock and sorrow were quickly followed by glowing tributes to his exceptional leadership, vision, ethics and personal warmth and wit.  The appreciations came from every corner of the state and every part of his personal and professional relationships.  It is rare that one person can inspire so much respect and affection in a career of visible positions, difficult decisions and overwhelming responsibilities—without also inspiring a lot of enemies or relegating family to the bottom of his list of priorities.

Neither of these was true for Rod, whose colleagues thought of him as friend, whose opponents found him fair and willing to listen, and whose entire extended family depended on his caring, problem solving, faithful attention and guidance.

His devotion to the land, his dedication to creating a better future for rural Wisconsin and his exemplary service are unquestioned.  His legacy will be large and as he was fond of noting, the land remembers.  Most of all, we will miss the kindness, generosity and compassion that was Rod.

CRI will soon be taking up residence in new office space in the Department of Environmental and Rural Sociology in Ag Hall on the UW-Madison campus.   New contact information will be posted when the move is complete. Meanwhile, we can be reached at 608-239-9102 or wilda@cri-wis.org.

Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration Will Honor Farms, Food and Rural Heritage

September 25, 2010

Support CRI–Join Us at a Barn Dance and Harvest Celebration

Click here to see the event flyer.

Join us for the second annual Partnering for Progress: Celebrating Our Rural Communities — an old-fashioned barn dance and harvest celebration highlighting Wisconsin farms, food and rural communities, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Klessig and Heimerl families will host the celebration at their grass-based dairy farm near the shore of Lake Michigan in Cleveland, Wis., in their 150-year-old, restored barn. Enjoy fresh-from-the-farm, locally grown food and beverages, and a lively band. Jerry Apps will read briefly from his book “Barns of Wisconsin,” and join other Wisconsin authors and artists displaying and selling their work depicting Wisconsin’s rural way of life.

The Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers, the Council of Rural Initiatives, Gathering Waters Conservancy and the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership are coordinating the event to celebrate Wisconsin’s rural communities and heritage, build partnerships to improve life in rural communities and raise funds. They work together to conserve farmland and natural resources, support beginning and continuing farmers, and sustain vibrant, rural communities to improve rural life in Wisconsin.

Anyone is welcome. Tickets cost $85 for couples, $50 per person and $20 for students and are tax-deductible donations. Tickets are available in advance or at the door from Jim Kettler at 920-304-1919 or jim@lnrp.org. The farm is at 15621 South Union Road, Cleveland, Wis.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of these sponsors for the Partnering for Progress event:
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The nonprofit Puentes/Bridges, based in Alma, WI, and its energetic director, Shaun Judge Duvall, have been widely recognized for unique contributions and exemplary leadership in rural Wisconsin.  Puentes/Bridges, provides language and cultural competence training for farmers and their Mexican employees on dairy farms in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.  Its core mission is to encourage cross-cultural understanding and facilitate community integration of two different cultures in a historically homogenous region.  Duvall also leads regular trips to Mexico to the regions supplying the workers to learn about their challenges, concerns, hopes and motivations for working in Wisconsin.  Puentes is also CRI’s partner in the Many Voices/One Community project (link to this copy in Projects).

In addition to local, regional and national media attention of all types, Duvall and Puentes repeatedly have been acknowledged with significant awards, notably:

• 2008 Wisconsin Agriculturist of the Year – awarded by UW-River Falls in April 2008
• Top Rural Development Initiative Award for 2009 – one of 4 organizations so honored by Wisconsin Rural Partners, June 2009
• Ohtli (meaning path or way) Award, in recognition of developing with UW-Extension and UW-River Falls a dairy technician certificate for Mexican workers on WI dairy farms.  It recognizes education achievement to which this working class of Mexicans rarely has access. This is the highest civilian honor that the Mexican government bestows.  Presentation made in Mexico City September 24, 2010.

Sustaining the Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin

CRI Newsletter, 5th Edition, November 10, 2009

This fifth edition of the CRI newsletter provides brief updates on recent activities.  For new readers, CRI is the direct successor to the Wisconsin Academy’s Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin (FOF) study.  CRI exists primarily to foster implementation of recommendations from the FOF final report toward a more sustainable, diverse and economically viable future for rural Wisconsin.

CRI UPDATES

Building Identity

Coming Soon:  CRI new web page!  Thanks to the valuable assistance of Irish Rose Consulting, CRI will have a much more functional website.  This version is still a temporary web presence, but much improved over the original.  Watch for announcement of the launch.

CRI Vice-Chair and Wisconsin Director of USDA Office of Rural Development, Stan Gruszynski, was the featured speaker at an “Academy Evening” at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson on October 13.  Stan was asked to describe important aspects of the genesis, development and outcomes of the Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin project, sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, and to relate this process to civic engagement as championed by the Academy.  This event is one in the Academy’s ongoing free lecture series offered in venues around the state to bring leading thinkers and crucial topics to statewide audiences to inform and prompt dialogue.  Opportunities like this one allow CRI to make explicit the connection between our mission and the Future of Farming recommendations—the impetus for our work.

NEWS NOTES

CRI board chair John Rosenow, was honored with a Joe Rody Labor Activist Award at a gala event October 22^nd in Milwaukee by Voces de la Frontera for his considerable work on behalf of immigrants and immigration reform.

PROGRAMS

Rural Labor

CRI is part of the Safe Roads Coalition, which advocated during state legislative hearings for an alternative “driver’s card” to certify immigrants to legally drive after passing required tests.  The measure was not ultimately included in the current State budget.  An effort is unfolding to re-introduce a similar proposal and demonstrate the wide diversity of stakeholders that supports such legislation in the name of safety, economic necessity and fairness.

Over the past several months, small local groups have been convened in rural areas to hear from immigration lawyers, dairy employers of Latino workers and persons familiar with effective community integration of immigrant populations.  Frank exchanges in these settings are intended to give participants factual information about the need for, status of and legal options related to immigrant labor and to begin to form networks of concerned employers and citizens around the state.

Such coalitions can more effectively work together on policy change and building welcoming communities for new population groups.  Most recently, a group of more than 100 participants met in Chilton to hear from immigration attorney Tom Hochstatter and dairy farmer Tim O’Harrow and to exchange ideas about how to better meet their labor needs and work for sensible immigration reform.  These meetings have succeeded in generating participant interest in engaging in reform efforts—creating further opportunities for CRI and likeminded partners to organize channels for effectively expressing these passions.

Sustainability/Preservation of Working Lands

At a festive occasion at the Saxon Homestead Heritage Center in Cleveland, WI, CRI co-sponsored “Partnering for Progress:  Celebrating Our Rural Communities.” The September 26^th event drew more than 200 to celebrate the passage of important elements of the Working Lands Initiative in the State budget in June, the working coalitions that are collaborating to protect the future sustainability of working lands, and Wisconsin’s agricultural heritage.

Sponsoring partners included CRI, Gathering Waters Conservancy, Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, UW Extension and the Saxon Homestead.  Registration covered an extensive, locally sourced appetizer buffet, wine, beer, door prizes and an evening of dancing with the lively King Comets Band.  It also constituted a donation to the three nonprofits:  CRI, GWC, and LNRP.  Presentations by the Secretary of Agriculture, Associate Dean of Extension’s Ag and Natural Resources and each of the sponsoring nonprofits added to the festivities. The setting was the beautifully restored 1850’s era barn on the Saxon Homestead, which has served 5 generations of Klessig farmers.  A thoroughly enjoyable evening, a successful fundraiser and a dedicated team of volunteers has convinced us to make this an annual event!

Rural Labor

CRI is developing plans to raise public awareness about the severity of health consequences for no or poor access to dental care in this state.  The numbers affected among rural populations is alarming, as are the consequences to school and work absenteeism, diet and employability limitations and vulnerability to systemic disease well beyond teeth and gums.  The supply of dentists (unequal distribution, aging out of current providers, inadequate supply chain for rural practitioners), licensure and scope of practice issues for hygienists and dental assistants, provider reimbursement for services to low-income populations—all these are issues that require more public engagement and policy action to address.  CRI intends to partner with various stakeholders to be part of the solutions to these concerns and is in search of resources to do so.

Developing Collaborations

Coalition building, network development, and community organizing are key to CRI’s strategy and future success.  Currently, CRI is working on several partnerships toward projects in several of our priority areas.

With Voces de la Frontera, CRI is exploring ways to create learning opportunities at the grassroots level to better educate the public about the motivators for immigration, the implications for our economy and culture, and the immigrant experience among us.  Much of the “common wisdom” about immigrants in Wisconsin is fueled by misinformation and myths about economic impacts, jobs, use of public services, cultural differences and the like, which can be dispelled by actual statistics and first-hand interactions among native and non-native populations.  This “hearts and minds” campaign is an important part of genuine, comprehensive, sensible immigration reform.

This goal is shared with other CRI partners like Puentes/Bridges and the Wisconsin Immigration Task Force.  All three organizations are also advocates for policy changes that will lead to fair and effective immigration reform.

Efforts to expand and deepen partner relationships in health care and sustainability are ongoing. CRI is actively pursuing a range of stakeholders in each.

Resource Development

CRI has received a $40,000 Otto Bremer Foundation grant for building organizational capacity or initiating community-based projects within our three declared priority areas (rural labor, rural health care, sustainability).  The CRI Board will consider options and make a determination at its upcoming November meeting on the directions we will pursue with these new resources. CRI is immensely grateful to the Bremer Foundation for this demonstration of faith in our future viability.

The “Partnering for Progress” event (see above) also yielded $5,000 for CRI programs.

Strengthening Networks

Please feel free to forward this message to other concerned citizens who may have an interest in one or more CRI priorities and invite them to request inclusion on the email list for periodic updates.  CRI Newsletters will also be available at www.cri-wis.org.

CRI marks with sorrow the recent passing of Harvey Stower—a kind and gracious man and tireless, effective public servant.  Harvey was the long-time mayor of Amery, WI, state legislator, supporter of arts and culture and mentor to many.  Harvey served on the leadership body of the Future of Farming and Rural Life in Wisconsin project.  In that role, as in many others, he was respected for his singularly competent and ethical leadership.  Harvey’s exemplary citizenship and leadership will be missed by the many whose lives he touched.

CRI is delighted to announce receipt of a $40,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Foundation of St. Paul.  Bremer is dedicated to sustainable community development primarily in the rural communities served by its banks in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.

The first project that the grant will support is “Many Voices, One Community,” a collaboration between CRI and Alma-based Puentes/Bridges*, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the immigrant experience in rural Wisconsin for both new and long-term residents.  The project will provide training and support to teams of local community leaders for building immigrant integration programs with public education, opportunities for building cultural competency skills, social interaction, cultural exchanges and mutual appreciation.

Planning for the project is underway with curriculum development, site selection, leader identification the first planning goals.

*For more information about the fine work of Puentes/Bridges, see www.puentesbridges.org.

The Council of Rural Initiatives is pleased to launch a new web site to support our efforts. Thanks to the help of Irish Rose Consulting! we’re bringing you a new blog and coming events calendar.

This site will update you on the progress CRI is making toward our goals.   Our desire is to contribute in meaningful ways to a more viable, sustainable rural Wisconsin and the social and economic advancement of rural Wisconsin.

We are building networks of rural advocates and local leaders who can help to make the changes that rural Wisconsin requires for a healthier future.  We seek to energize rural citizens to act upon their passions and together to address the issues of greatest importance to their own communities.

We will use this space to let you know what we have done, what we are planning to do and to point you to other resources that speak to the concerns of rural communities.

Check out the site, and if you have suggestions we’d love to hear them.

Collaborative arrangements are continually evolving—some are event specific or issue specific; some ongoing.  Several prominent associations now include:

Children’s Health Alliance of Wisconsin (www.chawisconsin.org)
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) (www.datcp.state.wi.us)
Gathering Waters Conservancy (www.gatheringwaters.org)
Lakeshore Natural Resources Program (www.lnrp.org)
Oral Health Care Coalition of Wisconsin (www.chawisconsin.org/wohc.htm)
UW- Cooperative Extension (www.uwex.edu/CES)
Puentes/Bridges (www.puentesbridges.org)
Safe Roads Coalition (http://www.vdlf.org/about/coalitions.php#safe_roads)
Voces de la Frontera (http://www.vdlf.org/)
Wisconsin Immigration Task Force
Wisconsin Rural Partners (www.wirural.org/)
Working Lands Initiative (http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/workinglands/index.jsp)
Wisconsin Office of Rural Health (www.worh.org)
Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers (http://beginningfarmers.org/wisconsin-school-for-beginning-dairy-and-livestock-farmers-working-with-fsa-to-secure-new-farmer-loans/)