Holterman Speaks Up For Ag

Holterman Speaks Up for Ag
Expo Woman of the Year is tired of attacks on ag.

Fran O'Leary
Published: Sep 29, 2009

Daphne Holterman says she was both honored and humbled to learn she had been selected as the 2009 World Dairy Expo Woman of the Year.

Holterman, 50, and her husband, Lloyd, and partner Tim Strobel operate an 850-cow dairy near Watertown in Jefferson County. She will be honored during World Dairy Expo, Sept. 29 through Oct. 3, at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

As World Dairy Expo Woman of the Year, Holterman plans to speak up for agriculture and encourage other dairy farmers to do the same.

"I'm very concerned about these recent attacks on conventional agriculture and animal agriculture in particular," she says. "I plan to make this award my platform to set the record straight about the great story American agriculture has to tell. We supply this country, and much of the world, with a wholesome, nutritious and safe food supply. But there are a growing number of vocal people who don't see it that way."

Holterman says she is especially bothered by the book "In Defense of Food" written by Michael Pollan. The book is required reading for freshman and transfer students at University of Wisconsin-Madison through Chancellor Carolyn "Biddy" Martin's "Go Big Read" program.

"I whole-heartedly agree that we should discuss where our food comes from and what we should eat, but using the book 'In Defense of Food' is a poor base to begin the conversation, especially at a university known for it's world-class research," Holterman says. "As a dairy producer and farmer, I found Pollan's book and the 'Food Inc.' movie and his other books to be biased and misleading." Read More

Congratulations to Daphne Holterman for being honored as the 2009 World Dairy Expo Woman of the Year. She is obviously a great example for everyone in agriculture as to the importance of being active in your community and educating about production agriculture. I continue getting emails from people on a near daily basis asking how they can be advocates for agriculture. It’s as simple as inviting a neighbor or non-ag friend out to your place and showing them around. From there you can build on your experiences and determine where to go next. The most important thing is that we are all doing something rather than nothing. Everything you do to promote and educate about agriculture, no matter how trivial it may seem at the time, will help tell our story.