I'm so excited to join the Progressive Publishing team and to guide Progressive Forage as its managing editor. I’m working from home in Belleville, Wisconsin – one of three UFO capitals of the world.
If you want to experience more about Wisconsin, check out the recently released movie Green and Gold. It stars Craig T. Nelson as Buck, a fourth-generation Wisconsin dairy farmer who bets on the Green Bay Packers in hopes of saving his farm from foreclosure. You can't get much better than family, farming, faith, football – and forage.
Released at the end of January to theaters nationwide in partnership with Culver's and the Green Bay Packers, it was filmed in Door County, Wisconsin – one of our favorite places to escape to.
Family and farming: I grew up on dairy farms in Richmond, Illinois; Woodstock, Illinois; and Oregon, Wisconsin. One unique fact about our dairy farm was that my dad had Holsteins, my oldest brother showed Brown Swiss, my other brother showed Guernseys, I showed Jerseys, and my younger sister showed Red & White Holsteins. Our family learned valuable life lessons and leadership by participating in 4-H and FFA.
I studied dairy science and ag journalism at the University of Wisconsin (UW) – Madison while working at the USDA Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison and Prairie du Sac and the UW Biotechnology Center on campus. My internships were with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
After completing my degree, I worked for the American Society of Agronomy, editing and publishing journals, monographs, and special publications and managing special projects and newsletters. I thought of this as my “dream job” – I enjoyed the people I worked with, had contact with scientists from around the world and loved the writing, editing and publishing aspects until the new title of “mom” came along.
While taking time away from my career to raise our three sons – Matthew, Michael and Benjamin – I focused on freelance writing and photography for local publications. When I reentered the workforce I worked in publishing, for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau and most recently for Vita Plus.
We are blessed to live in a small close-knit community where my husband, Doug, grew up. His parents, who have been married 71 years, live on the family farm where his dad was born. It has been in the family for almost 133 years.
I've served on the Belleville School Board for 12 years, and this spring I’m up for reelection.
Faith: We are members of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, where I have served on the church council and as a preschool-kindergarten teacher for more than 25 years. We are members of the Kiwanis Club of Belleville and other community organizations. I also serve on the Dane County Dairy Promotion Committee and Relay for Life of Green County.
In our free time, we enjoy hiking and exploring the great outdoors with our dogs Leo and Loki, attending concerts and sporting events – UW Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks – traveling and spending time with family and friends. I also enjoy reading, gardening, knitting, quilting and other crafts.
Football: We’ve been UW Badger football season ticket holders for many years – if there’s a home football game, we’re in Section B, Row 59, under the upper deck. "Jump Around! Jump Around!"
Forage: Now as managing editor of Progressive Forage, it feels like my work has come full circle – great co-workers, the challenges of writing, editing, publishing and deadlines, which keep me on task and provide me with joy and purpose. I appreciate this opportunity and look forward to continuing to provide a quality publication.
If you have story ideas or topics that you want to read about, please contact me at (608) 219-7922 or email me. Thank you.
