Pictured: Adam Heffron, Director of Dane County’s Alliant Energy Center; Joe Parisi, Dane County Executive; Voegeli Farms’ Brown Swiss; Bryan Voegeli; Laura Herschleb, World Dairy Expo General Manager; and Bill Hageman, President World Dairy Expo Board of Directors.
The 56th World Dairy Expo will be here before you know it. And recently it was made official that the global dairy show will stay in Madison for the foreseeable future. Some of the reasons that Dane County and World Dairy Expo decided on a 5-year contract to remain at the Alliant Energy Center were economic value and travel logistics. But for other stakeholders, it was about continuing a family legacy.
Bryan Voegeli of Voegeli Farms in Monticello remembers his father among the group that pushed for the show to be in Madison more than five decades ago. It started as a family event for Voegeli, and it’s remained that way over the decades.
“It has turned into one of the greatest cattle shows in the world,” he says. “It’s this huge family of people that makes this show so unique.”
Voegeli is the vice chair of the dairy cattle committee and sits on the executive board. He’s been to almost every show, and says the excitement is still there.
“This show brings in people from 100 countries around the world because they want to see the greatest cattle, they want to see the trade show,” he says.
It’s not just World Dairy Expo that keeps the four generations of Voegelis engaged in the dairy community. The family also milks 140 Brown Swiss dairy cows with robots to make Yodelay yogurt and Chalet cheese, including Limburger.
See recent coverage on the signing of the contract: https://www.midwestfarmreport.com/2023/07/13/madison-world-dairy-expos-home-through-2028/