Hello, my name is Emily Streiff, and I am the 2016-2017 Green County Dairy Princess from New Glarus. I want to wish you all a happy New Year.
I want to talk to you today about agriculture. I have grown up on a fifth-generation family farm, and I appreciate agriculture and all it has to offer and I hope you do too. From the anticipation of planting season to the satisfaction of the harvest, and all things in between, my love for agriculture has grown, and I want to share a few of the things I love.
There are so many reasons to love Green County (and our neighboring counties) - three examples are cheese, the rolling hills, and the agricultural-based jobs and lifestyles that our county provides.
Our cheese is superior to others, and it is all because of the pride the cheesemakers here have towards their craft. Wisconsin makes over 600 types, styles, and varieties of cheese, which is more than any other state in the nation. The runner-up produces less than half.
Among the 600 types of cheese, Green County is home to the only cheese factory in the United States that creates Limburger cheese. Wisconsin has 56 certified Master Cheesemakers, and 13 are from Green County. Green County has 12 of the 126 cheese factories that are in Wisconsin. Among all 50 states in the United States, Wisconsin wins more awards than any other state and makes a quarter of the country's cheese of which Green County and our neighboring counties are major contributors. But perhaps the neatest is how this year we can call ourselves the home of a World Champion Cheese, Emmi Roth's Grand Cru.
Green County is such a beautiful place, with the rolling hills and freshly cut fields of hay in the summer, or snow-covered farms quietly awaiting the beginning of the next growing season. Green County earned its name with 81 percent of the land devoted to farmland, and no one can deny the beauty of cows in a green pasture, or looking at the green, rolling hills at sunset on a quiet country road; we have so much to be proud of.
Lastly, agriculture creates jobs in over 300 careers, employing 6,979 Green County residents. Not only does this account for 32 percent of the employment in Green County, but also these jobs generate $23.3 million in taxes. In Green County, there are almost twice the number of cows as people, and each dairy cow produces $34,000 to the economy. Green County does not only have Cheese to win awards with Green County being in the top ten counties for the production of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and corn silage. The best part of living in Green County and the surrounding area is pride everyone has for their unique craft, and farmers are driven by passion, not profits.
We can not be luckier living here. We have beautiful and bountiful land which allows farmers to be successful, and gives new meaning to being called "Green County." Communities are filled with kind people who love what they do. Green County's slogan, "There's an art to it" could not be more true.
We have award-winning cheese, great communities, and success with agriculture. Living in Green County brings me such pride, and I hope it does for you too. Thank you for helping make Green County a special community and place to work and live.
I hope you had a great holiday season, and I'd like to give you my best wishes for health and happiness into 2017.
- Emily Streiff is the 2016-2017 Green County Dairy Princess from New Glarus.
I want to talk to you today about agriculture. I have grown up on a fifth-generation family farm, and I appreciate agriculture and all it has to offer and I hope you do too. From the anticipation of planting season to the satisfaction of the harvest, and all things in between, my love for agriculture has grown, and I want to share a few of the things I love.
There are so many reasons to love Green County (and our neighboring counties) - three examples are cheese, the rolling hills, and the agricultural-based jobs and lifestyles that our county provides.
Our cheese is superior to others, and it is all because of the pride the cheesemakers here have towards their craft. Wisconsin makes over 600 types, styles, and varieties of cheese, which is more than any other state in the nation. The runner-up produces less than half.
Among the 600 types of cheese, Green County is home to the only cheese factory in the United States that creates Limburger cheese. Wisconsin has 56 certified Master Cheesemakers, and 13 are from Green County. Green County has 12 of the 126 cheese factories that are in Wisconsin. Among all 50 states in the United States, Wisconsin wins more awards than any other state and makes a quarter of the country's cheese of which Green County and our neighboring counties are major contributors. But perhaps the neatest is how this year we can call ourselves the home of a World Champion Cheese, Emmi Roth's Grand Cru.
Green County is such a beautiful place, with the rolling hills and freshly cut fields of hay in the summer, or snow-covered farms quietly awaiting the beginning of the next growing season. Green County earned its name with 81 percent of the land devoted to farmland, and no one can deny the beauty of cows in a green pasture, or looking at the green, rolling hills at sunset on a quiet country road; we have so much to be proud of.
Lastly, agriculture creates jobs in over 300 careers, employing 6,979 Green County residents. Not only does this account for 32 percent of the employment in Green County, but also these jobs generate $23.3 million in taxes. In Green County, there are almost twice the number of cows as people, and each dairy cow produces $34,000 to the economy. Green County does not only have Cheese to win awards with Green County being in the top ten counties for the production of corn, soybeans, alfalfa and corn silage. The best part of living in Green County and the surrounding area is pride everyone has for their unique craft, and farmers are driven by passion, not profits.
We can not be luckier living here. We have beautiful and bountiful land which allows farmers to be successful, and gives new meaning to being called "Green County." Communities are filled with kind people who love what they do. Green County's slogan, "There's an art to it" could not be more true.
We have award-winning cheese, great communities, and success with agriculture. Living in Green County brings me such pride, and I hope it does for you too. Thank you for helping make Green County a special community and place to work and live.
I hope you had a great holiday season, and I'd like to give you my best wishes for health and happiness into 2017.
- Emily Streiff is the 2016-2017 Green County Dairy Princess from New Glarus.
