Grassland-based farming practices represent a bright spot in an industry that is feeling the combined effects of low commodity prices, extreme weather events, rising production costs, and limited processing and marketing options. Dairy cows graze at the Paris Farm in Belleville, Wisconsin in 2018. As the projectвЂ™s name suggests, it envisions a future of profitable, productive farmland that also provides many of the benefits of the regionвЂ™s original prairie such as clean water, healthy soil, biodiversity, and resilience to extreme weather. As a contributor to the Grassland 2.0 project, Paris joins a network of UW-Madison researchers, state and local agency staff, milk and meat processors, citizen groups, and other farmers coming together to seek transformative solutions to the growing number of threats facing Midwest food and farming systems. Paris is a part of Grassland 2.0, a newly formed collaborative group based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that is working to create more opportunities for grazing and other types of perennial grassland farming. вЂњGrazing, financially, was the best thing IвЂ™ve ever done for my business,вЂќ he says. Bert Paris is one of those farmers, and he sees that opportunity in managed grazing. And when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted agricultural supply chains this spring, some farmers were forced to dump their milk as waste.Дespite a growing crisis in the Wisconsin dairy industry and other hardships throughout Midwest farming communities, farmers are continuing to seek opportunities to continue their legacy on the land. She faces serious challenges: Wisconsin led the nation in farm bankruptcies last year, with an average of two dairy farms per day going out of business. After nearly 30 years of operating his dairy farm near Belleville, Wisconsin, Bert is in the process of passing on his farm to his daughter, Meagan. Photo by Finn Ryan.Д«ert Paris loves farming. Bert Paris with his cows on his dairy farm in Belleville, Wisconsin in 2018. Members of the CowParade Wisconsin herd not offered in the live auction will be available through a two-week Internet auction beginning at midnight on Saturday, Nov. Absentee bids can be arranged in advance and will be accepted in the minimum amount of $2,500. Tickets for the event are $100 per person and can be purchased at or by calling 890-9957. Calf-sized вЂњMini-MoosвЂќ designed by local high-school artists and table-top вЂњMicro-MoosвЂќ created by local florists, interior designers and other artists will be part of a silent auction that evening. Buyers can also opt to donate the cows back to community centers, libraries, schools and other public venues. The new American Family ChildrenвЂ™s Hospital is scheduled to open in 2007.ДЇorty-four of the herd of 101 life-sized cows will be auctioned beginning at 8 p.m. Proceeds from the sale of each cow will be donated to the American Family ChildrenвЂ™s Hospital, as well as 22 other nonprofit organizations. at the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall. The CowParade Wisconsin auction, вЂњDazzle in Dairyland,вЂќ is a cocktail party and fundraiser hosted by Friends of UW Hospital and Clinics and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. After five months of вЂњgrazingвЂќ in Madison, Sun Prairie and Fitchburg, nearly half of the CowParade Wisconsin cows will be put up for auction on Friday, Nov.

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