On-Farm Twilight Meetings Connect Officials, Leaders, Public

Events feature farm tours, discussions with local elected officials, dairy producers, neighbors.

For more than 15 years, Wisconsin dairy farms have hosted Agricultural Community Engagement (ACE^®) Twilight Meetings to provide an opportunity for community leaders, elected officials and the public to see behind the scenes at progressive dairy

operations and discuss hot-button topics for rural areas. The 2026 meetings will be held in Barron, Clark, Calumet and Dane Counties on August 24, 25, 26 and 27.

“There’s an old saying that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” said Mike Koles, executive director, Wisconsin Towns Association. “ACE provides an opportunity for some of the primary stakeholders in rural success — farmers and local officials — to build relationships and find out how passionate they all are about growing the economy, conserving the environment and affecting positive community change.”

Each meeting begins with a tour of the host dairy at 6:00 p.m., providing an inside look at how animals are cared for and the technologies used in modern dairy production. Ice cream will be served at 7:00 p.m. with open dialogue about community issues such as wind and solar energy, water quality, conservation, roadways and transportation, educational opportunities and more. Meetings will conclude at 8:30 p.m.

The 2026 host dairies are:

• Monday, August 24: Norm-E-Lane at Four Mile Creek Dairy, 1272 7^th Ave., Hillsdale, Wis. (Barron County). Hosted by Josh Meissner and Emmett Meissner.
• Tuesday, August 25: Norm-E-Lane, W267 Panther Creek Rd., Chili, Wis. (Clark County). Hosted by Josh Meissner and Emmett Meissner.
• Wednesday, August 26: River’s Edge Dairy, N3485 Church Rd., Chilton, Wis. (Calumet County). Hosted by Kurt and Tiffany Schneider, and Kory and Fallon Schneider.
• Thursday, August 27: Virhada Holsteins LLC, 9158 Britt Valley Rd., Mt. Horeb, Wis. (Dane County). Hosted by Virgil and Dawn Haag, Karsen Bentley, and Kody Haag.

ACE Twilight Meetings are made possible by a partnership between Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP), Wisconsin Counties Association and Wisconsin Towns Association.

Bring your questions for your local elected officials and plan to be part of the discussions. To learn more and to register for the free event, visit www.PDPW.org or contact PDP at 800-947-7379. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the event by following @dairyPDPW on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Professional Dairy Producers® (PDP) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.