Working as a high school agriculture teacher and guidance counselor I learned a very valuable lesson – the greatest success is found when you collaborate with others and combine resources and knowledge to achieve a common goal. This year, in that same spirit of cooperation, the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection entered into the second year of a partnership designed to bring about greater understanding of and appreciation for Wisconsin's dairy industry.

Using the co-developed program for fourth grade students called “Champion Choices from Wisconsin," last year’s Alice in Dairyland and WMMB representatives were able to reach 9,600 fourth graders during visits to nearly 150 schools statewide. This year, utilizing the same program, the goal is to reach 20,000 fourth graders during eight weeks of visits to more than 200 classrooms.

These intense school outreach campaigns are referred to as a “blitz.” Not only do blitzes reach students, they also reach parents. Media coverage of the blitzes has been very extensive the past two years and, as a result, economic dairy impact messages are shared with an adult audience in each community.

Teachers who request a visit by Alice or WMMB staff are sent a video entitled “Farm to Family." This fact-filled video shows the steps milk takes from the farm to our homes, and it is required that this video be shown before the scheduled visit. Then, when I or a WMMB representative visits the classroom, we begin by quizzing the class on the video's message. Did you know, for example, that there are nearly one million dairy cows in Wisconsin, almost the same number as students in our state? The fourth graders learn this, as well as that the dairy industry generates $18.5 billion for the Wisconsin economy each year. After reviewing and discussing the video, the presenter introduces a teaching tool, Mr. Health.

Mr. Health is a life-size human figure whose magnetic body parts represent leading agricultural products produced in Wisconsin, with an emphasis on dairy. In order for each body part to be attached to the board, students are given three fact-based clues to help them guess what the food item. For example:

1) One of Wisconsin’s favorite products is used to make this creamy treat you might enjoy at breakfast, lunch or snack time.
2) It is a dairy food that helps our bones grow with calcium and our muscles grow with protein.
3) It comes in a wide variety of flavors and colors and is usually eaten right out of the package.

If you guessed YOGURT, you are right! Other food items such as beef, strawberries, turkeys, corn, cheese and cherries are part of Mr. Health. After the activity is complete, the presenter discusses the food pyramid with the students, as well as the daily calcium requirement for children in fourth grade. Each student is given a handout with a picture of Mr. Health on it, as well as riddles on the back that they are encouraged to share with their families around the dinner table that night. Finally, students are given a snack size package of string cheese and reminded that it equals one daily serving of calcium.

Having already completed blitzes in Wausau, Rhinelander, Superior, Eau Claire, La Crosse and Waukesha, I have found the response to this program to be phenomenal! Teachers comment that it fits perfectly into the existing fourth grade curriculum where Wisconsin is studied, and that our program is very effective at getting and holding the attention of students. Here is an excerpt of an e-mail I received from West Salem teacher Rick Martinson:

“My students continue to talk about how much they learned during your presentation and how much fun they had.”

The response from the students is even more enthusiastic. Many walk up to me and declare, “I am going to drink more milk!”

I also come in contact with a large number of ethnic students who are not accustomed to having cheese or other dairy products as part of their diet. Once again, many inform me how much they like the string cheese and that they are going to ask their parents to buy it.

My in-classroom visits serve as a great opportunity to clear-up misconceptions, too. For example, students often inquire whether chocolate milk is as healthy as white milk. I share that regardless of some extra sugar, they are still getting nine essential nutrients that they can’t get from soda.

As agriculture continually evolves and changes, this partnership demonstrates that if we work together for the common good of our industry, we can make a difference for producers, consumers and ultimately, the health and literacy of our state and nation.

For more information and photos from the Alice Blitzes, please visit my online travel journal.

Natalie Parmentier of Green Bay is the 56th Alice in Dairyland. She is a former high school agribusiness instructor and a high school guidance counselor.