Brown County will host the 70th annual Alice in Dairyland Finals events in May 2017. Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Ben Brancel made the announcement Saturday during the Finale event for the selection of the 69th Alice in Dairyland in Dodge County.

Ann O’Leary of Evansville will start work June 6 as the 69th Alice in Dairyland.

Agriculture provides more than 9% of the jobs in Brown County, and more than $4.6 billion in economic activity. That amounts to more than 15% of the county’s total economic activity. The county consistently ranks among the top 10 in Wisconsin for total number of dairy cows, total value of agricultural products sold, value of livestock and poultry products, value of milk from cows, and corn for silage. Compared with 3,079 U.S. counties, Brown County is nationally ranked in the top 35 for value of milk from cows and corn for silage.

Alice in Dairyland is a communications professional who works to educate the public about Wisconsin agriculture. Each year, a new Alice is selected from a group of candidates during a month’s-long public job interview, and, each year, a different county hosts the finals. Ann O’Leary of Evansville will start work June 6 as the 69^th Alice.

Throughout her year, O’Leary will attend numerous events in Brown County to promote its agricultural industries and the events leading up to the selection of the 70th Alice in Dairyland, which will take place May 11-13, 2017. The finale will be held on May 13 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

The annual Alice in Dairyland interview process includes the three-day finals event each May, as well as a two-day briefing event several weeks earlier. These events include press conferences, agribusiness tours, interviews with local media and speeches. Some of the final interview events are open to the public and include opportunities to showcase local businesses and products.

Source: DATCP