Late last year it was announced that Julia Nunes would keep her title as Alice in Dairyland for a consecutive year due to COVID-19. “I’m hoping that in this next year I’ll be able to do some of those things that I missed out on the first year, state fair, things like that,” Nunes said. This gives her another opportunity to share her story of passion for agriculture with the public. One of the ways she’s been doing that is with a virtual farm tour of her parent’s dairy, which was released this week. Her family owns Scientific Holsteins in Chippewa Falls where they milk about 125 cows with Lely robots.
Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) realized that a lot of kids are learning virtually this year and they won’t have the chance to go on a field trip to a dairy farm. One of the most memorable field trips that I can think of growing up was going to a local dairy and playing in the cottonseed. Those are memories that you don’t forget as a kid. Obviously, this isn’t the same thing, but it still gives kids a look into a farm without having to leave the safe space of their home.
“Kids enjoy seeing where their food comes from and who cares for the animals, so I’m excited to showcase my family’s dairy farm and share our dairy story,” said Nunes. “Dairy plays an essential role in a sustainable food system, and Wisconsin dairy farmers have dedicated their lives to feeding communities across the nation.”
From doing virtual farm tours for grade-schoolers, to doing cooking videos on the Alice in Dairyland Facebook page, Nunes is keeping pretty busy. “When I’m able to, I try to film something in my kitchen here,” Nunes said. She mentioned that the next cooking video she’ll be releasing is on how to make buttermilk pancakes with her family’s recipe for National Pancake Day on February 16th. “I really do love doing that…showcasing different ways to use Wisconsin products,” Nunes explained.
As for Nunes doing almost everything virtually this past year, she did say that there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. She explained that there’s talk of her being able to do more in-person events starting this April, but it’s a “wait and see” kind of issue depending on what happens with the virus. Alice in Dairyland does have an event this weekend at the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center where she’ll be talking about ginseng in the state and how big of an industry that is for Wisconsin. You can hear our talk about the industry here. She explained how ginseng has to be planted on virgin soil and it takes longer to grow than you’d expect.
Julia Nunes will go from being the 73rd Alice in Dairyland to representing Wisconsin agriculture as the 74th Alice later this year.
