2016 Final Wisconsin Farm Technology Days Report
Walworth County
Innovation Square Committee
Committee Overview
Describe your committee’s responsibilities (big picture).
The primary responsibility of the Innovation Square Committee is the design and layout of Innovation Square, whose purpose is to showcase the latest in agricultural technology. In addition, Innovation Square gives the host county the opportunity to highlight interesting aspects of the county. These two responsibilities are handled concurrently by the Biological Systems Engineering (BSE) Department of UW (Brian Luck is the current coordinator of Farm Technology Days activities) and a more local group who concentrate on the local highlights aspect of Innovation Square which showcase each county and draw attendees into the center of Tent City.
Committee Responsibilities
List your Committee’s duties and the primary tasks.
Brian Luck and BSE handled the applications for the technological innovations in agriculture and the juried selection of the companies/groups which would be featured. In the first two years of Innovation Square, few applications were received, so basically all who applied and met the criteria for exhibiting were included. The local committee’s primary duty was to determine what local aspect of the county would be the focal point and create a plan to include this focal point and 10-12 innovations to exhibit in the square. Walworth County decided to create Geneva Lake in Innovation Square and have a park-like atmosphere where visitors could relax and sit around the lake. Historical stations around the lake featured some of the agricultural and cultural highlights of the area, including the first 4-H club in Wisconsin, Yerkes Observatory, the Pottawatomie Indian agrarian culture, and several of the innovative landowners of lakes estates who pioneered agriculture in the area. Volunteer docents were on hand to educate visitors at each station. There was also a beverage stand and an ice-cream tent in Innovation Square .
Committee Structure
Describe how your committee was structured along with a description of the responsibilities of the committee members.
Two Executive Committee Liaison recruited chair and two members. The liaison members essentially served on the committee. The committee chair was a small business owner who operated a floral business and had expertise in landscape design. The membership of the committee had extensive historical expertise and did the research for the educational stations around the lake. The liaison members worked with BSE and WI FTD to recruit innovators to exhibit in Innovation Square. From applications received, we determined what amenities were needed by the exhibitors including internet access, electricity, tent and display space, and tables and chairs. These were coordinated with the Tent City and Utilities committees. Beverage and ice-cream tents were coordinated with the Food Committee. The committee members recruited docents for each educational station, created the bullet points for each station and developed the display pictures and signs. The chair created the landscape design, and a local nursery provided trees and shrubs as an in-kind sponsorship. Benches were provided by Badgerland. These were delivered and picked up by Badgerland. Wood chips and mulch were provided through the Grounds Committee. Excavation of Geneva Lake was done by the host farmer and the Town of Linn fire department filled the lake. Liner was donated by Yunker Plastics.
Budget
Income
In Kind Sponsorship (Liner for Geneva Lake, trees and shrubs for landscaping, Town of Linn fire department) - $2,500, also benches from Badgerland; these are stored at their corporate HQ for use at future FTD shows.
Misc. Innovation Square is sponsored by Exacto, Inc. Exacto is a sustaining sponsor which means that they will also be sponsoring Innovation Square for Kewaunee and Wood Counties.
Expenses
Misc (Plant material, signs not included under sign committee) - $1000
Many expenses associated with Innovation Square were assigned to other committees, including the tents, tables and chairs, wood chips and shavings for landscaping, food stands, and some - signs for displays.
Timeline
Include a timeline of major activities of your committee and a brief description of each activity listed in the Timeline.
· Two years prior to event
o Designated committee chair and recruited committee members
o Decided on theme for county-based promotion and possible displays explored
· One years prior to event
o Attended the WI FTD show in Dane County
o Met with state board members to brainstorm the promotional role of Innovation Square and decide on an application process with UW BSE
o Assigned research roles to committee members to decide on the educational stations around the lake; they returned to committee meetings and reported
o Landscaping plan created
· Six months prior to the event
o Applications distributed and advertising for “innovations” for the FTD show.
o UW BSE and selection committee reviewed applications and decided on exhibitors
o Determine needs of exhibitors – electricity, Wi-Fi, chips, display space, etc.
o Meet with Food Committee to decide what food and beverages should be located in Innovation Square
o Determine what support materials should be included for educational displays
· Four to Six weeks prior to the event
o Train volunteers for educational stations
o Prepare site for layout design
· Two weeks out
o Excavate lake and stake tent locations
o Arrange for plants for landscape design
At the Show
Set Up: Describe when set up took place, individuals needed for set up, the amount of time required and any other set up concerns. Describe your committee’s cooperation and interaction with other committees.
Innovation Square was staked out with the rest of Tent City about a month prior to the show. Excavation of our major feature started about three weeks prior to the show and the lake was filled the week prior to the show. Landscaping was done the week before the show and watering of plants done each morning and evening. “Innovators” were able to start setting up two days prior to the show. At least six people are needed to do the setup on the county features and we worked on Innovation Square approximately six hours a day in the week leading up to the show. This needs to be coordinated with the Grounds Committee since their workers need to operate the machinery and it is being used all over tent city.
Equipment Needed
Use this section to outline the items used at the show. This should include items requested from other committees. You may wish to provide a very brief description of how each item was used. Include your plan for disposal/sale or use of surplus supplies, merchandise, or food to decrease or eliminate loss of revenue.
Radios, a gator, and a golf cart were used in Innovation Square. These were all assigned to other committees since two committee members were also part of the Executive committee. The Grounds Committee used a skid steer and telehandler to help build paths and plant trees and shrubs. We had use of a small shed that was donated and used to keep display materials and tools in during setup and the show. Grounds also provided a water tank truck to water plantings. The Town of Linn filled the lake using their water tank trucks, the host farmer provided excavation equipment, and the lake liner was provided by a local vendor. Tents from our tent vendor (Briggs) were erected according to the map provided by the Innovation Square Committee.
Volunteers
Explain how your committee recruited volunteers, the time for recruiting and when they were needed (before, during, and after the show). Include methods of communication with volunteers to keep them updated. How many volunteers worked in your area and how many were assigned to each job or task?
· Committee chairs created a list of volunteer docent s for each location, created a schedule of shifts for each location and scheduled a training session for volunteers. A script for each location was created. The training for docents was done by the Innovation Square committee and the UTV training was done by the Tent City Committee. Due to the weather forecast, we limited the length of shifts and provided shade and water for all volunteers. All volunteers were required to sign up for the show for scheduling and insurance purposes. Our volunteer coordinator tracked the personnel.
· Training for UTV’s and golf carts as well as training for Innovation Square was scheduled and completed
Additional thoughts for a successful Farm Technology Days show
Please list any ideas/tips/thoughts that would be helpful to know for future FTD volunteer leaders.
There is still a need for more innovations to be exhibited in Innovation Square. We had a problem with lack of coordination between the General Manager, Exhibitor Coordinators, and UW BSE. The written applications that were passed on to the Innovation Square Committee didn’t include all of the exhibitors who showed up to set up prior to the show and some of these hadn’t paid exhibitor fees prior to coming. All of the exhibitors in Innovation Square must go through BSE to be included in the competitive process and make sure that we have space and tents for them. There needs to be a clear understanding that they must also pay for exhibitor space at the show whether or not they use space in addition to their spots in Innovation Square. This is a great idea and as it evolves, should be a vital part of the show. It is a lot of work but gives the host county an opportunity to showcase their county and provide a place for attendees to rest during the show.