Jordan Simonson Farm and Industry Short Course Leading Wisconsin Forward As the days get shorter and the 40,000 students on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus prepare for final exams and holiday break, there’s a new group of students who have just arrived in pick-up trucks and sporting the latest fashions in Carhartt wear. These 135 students have decided to brave the winter here at the University of WisconsinMadison to enroll in the Farm and Industry Short Course where they will get a hands-on education at the most convenient time of the year for farmers. “Our academic schedule is planned so it coincides with the non-growing season,” said Ted Halbach, director of the Farm and Industry Short Course (FISC). Halbach’s office, in 116 Agriculture Hall, is decorated with his prized pictures of showing dairy cattle. “The classes go from November to March so I like the timing because there is not much going on back at home,” said Ryan Quarne a dairy farmer from Blair, Wisconsin who is among nearly 70 percent of the FISC students getting a certificate in Dairy Herd Management. Feeding off of the states abundance of dairy herds there is a big majority of students that come to FISC with the intentions of getting a certificate in Dairy Herd Management. They plan to use what they learn with this certificate to improve the dairy industry as a whole through collaboration. “Being able to expand to knowing people that after FISC are going to be going back to where they came from, and when you may need help and you know someone in the area, they just might help you out,” said Quarne. Farm and Industry Short Course is in its 126th year and has more than 6,000 living alumni that are all interconnected to each other because of the FISC experience. This program has been instrumental in teaching its students about the newest and most important practices in production agriculture. Not only teaching about farming, but also how to keep up-to-date on the new trends, farm law, and other important practices for production agriculturists. “I liked that the classes were all very practical and the things you learned could be put to use in the future,” said Jake Lange a 2008 FISC alumni from Saukville, Wisconsin. Lange then transferred to UW-Madison and is now a dairy science major with an emphasis on business. Many students choose to enter into FISC and then decide to transfer to the UW-Madison. FISC students can receive up to 15 credits that can transfer over to the university. FISC is a great way for certain students to test out the waters here at the UW-Madison before actually enrolling in the university. “Many of the professors also teach four year students so they definitely know their stuff, and they do a good job getting the most important information into the classes so graduates can take it back into the industry,” said Lange in closing thoughts. Not only do the short course students get taught by the same professors that teach UW-Madison students, but it is also a more hands-on education. This style of instruction has even attracted students that do not have a production agriculture background.
Jordan Simonson “When I decided to transfer into FISC from UW-Platteville, I was looking for a more hands-on learning atmosphere and more practical experience working with different types of livestock. I did not grow up on a farm, but I have always loved animals,” said Paula Courtney a past city girl turned production agriculturist from Mukwonago, Wisconsin and now UW-Madison student majoring in Dairy Science. Courtney has been interested in animals ever since a young age and since coming to FISC has had the chance to do several things that she never could have imagined doing. “I was really excited that I was able to take a welding class,” said Courtney reminiscing about her FISC experience, “the classes are very hands-on, which I loved because I like to learn by doing!” Through this revolutionary teaching style, Farm and Industry Short Course has helped to propel production agriculture into the 21st century in the Wisconsin agricultural industry. Professors teach students new and innovative techniques and allow the students to bring these techniques back with them and improve their production practices. Whether it be improving the quality of forage being fed to their dairy animals or deciding the most practical way to apply pesticides to their field. FISC is a “program where students who want to go into production agriculture take a concentrated curriculum in their area of interest,” said Halbach. Students gain a certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in such things as Crop and Soil Management, Dairy Farm Management and Landscape Industry. These programs are set up in a 17 week program with five terms varying from one to five weeks each. Not only do these students get taught by the University of Wisconsin-Madison professors, but also are housed in dormitories on campus, bringing their unique style to blend with more conventional students. “The change in the environment on campus happens so quickly with the big trucks in the parking lot, the increase in Carhartt jackets, and big boots clonking around, FISC students bring a new and different culture to campus,” said Brittany Budzon, UW-Madison student with a double major in Religious Studies and Zoology. The FISC students learn about these new production practices in 17 weeks and then graduate into the world of production agriculture, with the opportunity to come back for a second year of another five terms. “It also helped because I went home after school last year and ended up having questions that came up while I was home that I wanted to ask when I came back this year. Granted I know that I could have called too, but the one on one that you receive down here with the professors is indescribable,” said Scott Felten a dairy farmer from St. Cloud, Wisconsin. Felten is a second year FISC student who is looking to add to his Dairy Herd Management certificate with a double certificate in Farm Mechanics and Crops and Soils.
Jordan Simonson After their graduation ceremony in mid-March, “they may not go home immediately, but the majority of them will work on family enterprises with the dream of having ownership of a farm,” said Halbach. FISC students can go on to farm, but they are also highly recruited from companies for agricultural sales positions, artificial insemination technicians, and any other positions that require one-on-one interaction with farmers. FISC students are very good at talking with farmers as they tend to have grown up in a farming background and know that culture. “FISC students can do any number of things, but their specialty is in production agriculture,” said Maria McGinnis, employer relations and career advisor for CALS Career Services on the UW-Madison campus. Even as FISC alumni have graduated they still have fond memories of their time on the UWMadison campus and their time they had as a FISC student. “I would not be the person I am today without it. The friends and memories I made there will forever be close to my heart. Now that I have graduated and am looking back, I think my favorite part about short course was the family-like atmosphere we created. Living in a dorm with 100 people that had the same passion and interests that I did was an experience I will never forget. I felt welcomed, accepted and loved. There were no insecurities or social "clicks" that prevented people from making new friends,” said Paula Courtney explaining the impact FISC had on her life. Even though the UW-Madison campus may have left a significant impression on the FISC students, these students have left an even larger impression on students, the campus, and the professors. “These are students who are, by in large, pretty sure of what they want to do for a career, there is a good number of them that will run and own businesses,” said Halbach. “Having interaction with students who are down to earth and sincere and passionate about agriculture, it’s really neat, it’s special to interact with students like that.”