Heinzel visits Prairie du Chien schools during FFA Week
77th Alice in Dairyland Halei Heinzel spoke to students at the Bluff View Intermediate School on Feb. 20. She also met with students at the high school during her visit for National FFA Week. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
With the 78th Alice in Dairyland competition coming to Crawford County this May, the 77th Alice in Dairyland, Halei Heinzel, has made frequent stops throughout the county, including this past Thursday, Feb. 20, in Prairie du Chien for National FFA Week.
After stopping at the high school to speak with the district’s FFA officers and students, Heinzel arrived at Bluff View Intermediate School.
“FFA is a national organization for youth to get more involved in agriculture. It especially complements agriculture classes we have at the high school level and helps them engage at a deeper level through supervised agriculture experiences, career-development events and leadership-development events. There’s over a million FFA students across the United States, and it’s a great way for students to learn those leadership skills,” Heinzel told the Courier Press.
During a presentation to the middle school students, Heinzel explained that she did not come from a farming background. She grew up in Oconomowoc and didn’t join FFA until her junior year of high school.
“At 17 years old, I milked a cow for the very first time, and that’s when I really fell in love with Wisconsin agriculture for the first time,” she said.
After graduating, she studied dairy farm management and agribusiness management at UW-Madison, receiving a bachelor’s degree in life sciences communications.
While in college, she purchased her first cow and now owns three.
“So, even though I didn’t grow up on a farm at all, I’m very quickly making my way to being a first-generation dairy farmer,” Heinzel said.
As the Alice in Dairyland, she travels across Wisconsin and the country to talk about Wisconsin’s monolithic and eclectic agriculture industry.
The job, which is a one-year paid communications position, has evolved over time, according to Heinzel.
“Back then, she was a beauty queen,” she said. “You turned in an 8x10 headshot, and you were selected based on how pretty you were, how healthy you looked and your ability to share a message. Nowadays, becoming an Alice in Dairyland is a five-month process. I started applying to become Alice in Dairyland during the spring semester of my senior year in college.”
Heinzel put in her resume and was one of 10 women who interviewed for the finals. Six of those ten competitors proceeded to the finals, which included a three-day interview process in which she had to display her communication skills, agricultural knowledge and ability to handle the public rigors of the judge.
Heinzel’s tenure as Alice will end on July 6 — 363 days after she assumed the mantle.
The 78th Alice in Dairyland will take place in Crawford County on May 15-17, with events happening throughout the county, including in Prairie du Chien.
Additional information about the Alice in Dairyland and the upcoming finals can be found at https://www.aliceindairyland.com/.
