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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report was a cooperative project between three divisions (Agricultural
Resource Management, Food, and Operations) of the Wisconsin Department of
Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics
Service (WASS) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).
The authors would like to express their thanks to the many people who contributed
to its success.
Special thanks are due the 534 Grade A dairy farmers in the sample, without whose
cooperation there would have been no survey. We also thank the farmers who
agreed to be interviewed and who provided a valuable perspective on this subject.
Kevin Brey of the ARM Division kept track of all the sample results, wrote and
mailed the notification letters, entered much of the data into the computer,
collected the followup samples, and conducted many of the interviews. The survey
would not have been possible without his productivity and attention to detail. Jeff
Postle was always available to discuss the survey results and provide his perspective
on their possible interpretation, and to review drafts of the final report.
The Food Division inspector staff deserve a round of applause for collecting the
samples, week after week, during the hottest, driest summer ii Wisconsin history
and then in one of the iciest winters. The samples arrived at the lab on time each
week from beginning to end, which made everything else that much easier.
Jack Daubert of the WDATCP General Laboratory coordinated the sample
processing and analysis. His weekly progress reports were very useful by providing
a common dataset for the various participants to work with, and he also made sure
that each Food Division region had enough shipping boxes for that week's sampling.
We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of Steve Sobek and the other
chemists at the WDATCP General Lab.
Mike Barnett and Steve Steinhoff helped develop the sampling procedures used by
their inspectors, coordinated the sampling with the three Food Division regional
offices, and kept tabs on any problems the inspectors were having.
We would also like to thank Al Luloff, Bob Krill, Bill Rock, Dave Lindorff and
Kevin Kessler of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for their
suggestions during the planning phase of the survey, for providing the pamphlets
on pesticides and nitrate-nitrogen that were mailed to the participants, and for
their suggestions during the preparation of the final report. WNDR also provided
a grant to support needed personnel and for the costs of confirming pesticide
samples at the State Laboratory of Hygiene.
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