Dennis Deery

Two weekends ago we headed to the World Ploughing Championships in Tullow, County Carlow, about 1.5 hours north of here. It was a 4-day long event, with the Irish Ploughing Championship the first two days and then the World Championship. In addition to the plowing, it was a big farm show along the lines of our Farm Technology Days. Let me say that it’s a really big show. Over the four days they had a total attendance of around 220,000 people.

 Near Hixton, WI

 Near Hixton, WI

 Plover, WI

 Near Menomonie, WI

The Rural Stories Project is coming online at http://www.ruralstories.com. We’re going to be coming out of the chute fairly slow with this, as real, paying work calls (a lot) these days. Keep an eye on it though, content will be trickling out.

 Red Cedar River Near Cameron, WI

Our good friend Herby Radmann of Bullfrog Fish Farm has been awarded an Honorable Mention in the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education 2004 Patrick Madden Award contest. The Madden award recognizes agricultural enterprises that are not only profitable but value the environment and their communities. Herby and the gang at the farm are the perfect embodiment of those principles. Congratulations!

The U.S. House has passed an appropriations bill for the Department of Agriculture that includes $678 million for rural telemedicine infrastructure. Telemedicine allows patients in rural areas to “meet” with doctors over high-speed internet connections with video and audio, and is an important component of bringing good healthcare to rural America.

USDA has awarded $20 million through their Community Connect Grant Program to provide broadband network development in 40 rural communities across the country. Grants like these will be very necessary for the future of rural areas due to the difficulty of recouping infrastructure costs in areas with a low population density. I think an effort similar to the REA will be required to ensure that rural America is not left behind in this newest digital divide.

The Wisconsin Innovation Network will be hosting a conference to discuss the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) grant programs in Madison on June 19. The SBIR/STTR programs are great opportunities to obtain funding for research and development projects. You can see details about the conference at the Wisconsin Innovation Network web site, and learn more about the SBIR/STTR programs at the Wisconsin SBIR/STTR Outreach Office.