Chris and Tracey Elbe, owners of Golden E Dairy in West Bend, hosted a farm tour for EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on June 15.
“Conservation and caring for the environment is something that Wisconsin farmers care passionately about,” said WFBF President Joe Bragger. “It was an incredible experience to host Administrator Wheeler on a Wisconsin dairy farm to show how we care for the land, livestock and our other natural resources.”
The Elbe family showcased how water used to cool milk is recycled for the cows to drink as a conservation practice. They also walked the Administrator through the process of milk traveling from their farm to the grocery store shelf in less than 48 hours.
“It was truly an honor to host the EPA Administrator on our farm so we could showcase our conversation practices and highlight the involvement of each of our family members,” said Washington County Farm Bureau member Ryan Elbe who along with his siblings, is the second-generation at Golden E Dairy. “We appreciate the Administrator coming straight to the source to learn about agriculture and how regulations and policies impact our day-to-day lives.”
By working on a neighboring dairy during high school, first-generation farmer Chris Elbe grew his herd from 25 to 2,400 milk cows on the farm today.
Administrator Wheeler began his day by visiting Milwaukee where he announced the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Trash Free Waters grant after a tour of the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences.
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization representing farms of every size, commodity and management style.
Leave a Reply