The Sheep Dairy Association of Wisconsin (SDAW) is introducing Gretchen Peckler as their first intern.
She will help organize the Association’s upcoming events and will help with outreach activities to help
people learn about the dairy sheep industry. Her current projects include the recently completed Dane
County Fair in Madison, and the Wisconsin State Fair where SDAW will share a booth with the Wisconsin
Dairy Goat Association, with the September 9-11 Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI
and the September 25th annual gathering of the SDAW members and friends of the industry at Carr
Valley Cheese in La Valle and Weston K-12 school’s sheep flock.
Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Gretchen’s introduction to the dairy industry was her research
internship working with dairy calves at the University of California, Davis, where she graduated with a
B.S. in Animal Science. She is currently a second year Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison working on her degree in Animal and Dairy Sciences under assistant professor Dr. Sarah
Adcock. Her current research focuses on mastitis in meat breed sheep, and she is excited to work with
and learn about the sheep dairy industry. Gretchen is passionate about agricultural animal welfare and
has career goals of working with the industry to find innovative solutions to these kinds of issues.
The Sheep Dairy Association of Wisconsin serves as a central resource for Wisconsin dairy sheep
producers and sheep milk processors, and promotes education, support, and networking for all its
members. Through event attendance, hosting, and educational promotion and outreach, the association
hopes to continue to sustainably improve and grow the industry. Gretchen will be focusing on longer-
term projects to support these goals such as creating profile articles and website posts for each member
of the association and putting together newsletters to send out periodically to Association members and
friends of the sheep dairy industry.
For more information, contact Karen Nielsen, SDAW Organizational Manager, [email protected].
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sdaw.org, Website: https://www.sheepdairywi.com
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