RIVER FALLS — The Chippewa Valley has achieved national recognition thanks to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls agricultural programs.
According to College Raptor, an online site that helps users compare future post-secondary education, the dairy science program at UWRF was ranked as the top of its kind, and the university was also ranked second nationally among the best colleges for animals . Science.
“One of the emphases we place at the university is high-impact, experiential learning experiences,” said Mike Orth, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science. “Outside of the classroom, we just added a wildflower farm, a conservation area about 20 minutes from campus… A big thing for us is farms and getting our students there, whether it’s in a class working on the farms , the farms, conducting bachelor’s research on the farms or in other nature reserves – that is really a point of attention for us.”
Orth said the recognition of their agricultural programming and impact is significant as agriculture is a very large industry for the state of Wisconsin and the surrounding areas of River Falls.
“I think it’s really a big part of the River Falls area and within a radius around it,” he said. “There are a lot of industries that are tied in some form to a lot of the types of agricultural programs that we have.”
With farms, resources and a connection to local and state industries, Orth said another part of the equation is the instructors who help bring passion to areas like the dairy industry and animal sciences.
“Many of the teachers that are here in River Falls could be teachers from larger institutions, but they choose to be here,” he said. “They choose to be here because they are teachers first, they love interacting with the students, they love working with them and helping them. They have a passion for agriculture, whatever field or environmental science, they have a passion for that, but they want to pass that passion on to the students.”
“My colleagues have a strong and genuine interest in the students we work with every day,” said Steve Kelm, chair of UWRF’s Department of Animal and Food Science and professor of animal and dairy sciences, in a university news release. “Our faculty and staff put a lot of time and effort into teaching and preparing students for their next phase of life, wherever that may be.”
For the future of programming, Orth says the idea is to continue to focus on research, improve opportunities for students and emphasize potential facility developments for the future.
