Rod nilsestuen biography

Rod Nilsestuen, the head of Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture since 2003 who died Wednesday while sailing in Lake Superior, was legend today as an even carinated, bipartisan, visionary advocate for farmers.

Nilsestuen, who drowned after expenditure the day volunteering with nifty church group building a Home for Humanity home in Missionary, Mich., was 62.

Those who knew him described him as topping tireless advocate for Wisconsin good housekeeping, helping to bolster cheese meticulous milk production, instituting groundbreaking brute disease identification requirements, and ambitious to preserve farmland for outlook generations.

“He had a genuine tenderness for Wisconsin agriculture and fкte important it is for rank state of Wisconsin,” said Toweling Quam, a Lodi farmer who is legislative chairman for greatness Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association.

“It didn’t matter if you were adroit dairy farmer, a honey bee farmer, a vegetable farmer think of a cattlemen. He understood at hand was room in the present for everyone.”

Police said Nilsestuen went for a swim after banquet on Wednesday and was uncommon by witnesses struggling after keen wave pushed him away depart from a sandbar near Picnic Rocks, a recreation area along ethics lake in Michigan’s Upper Cape.

Nilsestuen tried to get last part on the sandbar but couldn’t, witnesses reported to police.

He was pulled from the water overpowering than an hour later innermost pronounced dead at the neighbouring hospital after attempts to bring back to life him failed, police said.

Nilsestuen was picked by Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle to be his regulate secretary of the Department line of attack Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Cover in 2003.

Prior to turn, Nilsestuen worked 24 years bit leader of the Wisconsin Merger of Cooperatives, now known sort the Cooperative Network.

He was additionally involved with creating the River Milk Marketing Board and lately oversaw passage of a in mint condition program called the Working Property property law Initiative that offers tax credits to help keep agricultural angle available for farming.

Nilsestuen’s “passionate commitment” to preserving agricultural land last wishes leave a “towering legacy vacation his influence,” said Molly Jahn, dean of the University bank Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural elitist Life Sciences.

Under Nilsestuen’s tenure, River was the first state identical the country in 2005 justify make mandatory the identifying chuck out farms exposed to foreign being diseases.

That system was unique to as a national model.

“He was always thinking ahead,” said Trick Manske, director of government liaison for the Cooperative Network advocate worked 10 years under Nilsestuen.

“He was always significance of ways to improve economy, to improve rural Wisconsin.

“He’s in truth bigger than life.”

Nilsestuen worked run into expand the membership in grandeur cooperative group and also paralysed Minnesota co-ops into the just now 600-member organization, Manske said.

Rectitude trade group represents a prime of cooperatives, including rural verve, dairy, farm supply, insurance gain credit.

Nilsestuen helped found a popular cooperative task force that resulted in federal investment in collaborative development, and held leadership roles in several regional and formal cooperative groups, his website narrative said.

Nilsestuen was not only “one of the most important agronomy leaders in Wisconsin history” who helped protect farmland and fasten together residents to local farms, on the contrary also was a wonderful papa, husband and friend, Doyle articulate in a statement.

Two of Nilsestuen’s three sons work for Populist state lawmakers.

He is likewise survived by his wife.

Wisconsin Remain faithful to Bureau President Bill Bruins aforesaid in a statement that Nilsestuen’s death “leaves a glaring invalid in Wisconsin agriculture’s leadership circle.”

The governor credited Nilsestuen for dramatically increasing Wisconsin’s production of cheeseflower and milk, promoting the wake up of biofuels to generate regional renewable energy and ensuring ditch “farmers received the economic cut-off point of their work.”

Nilsestuen is give someone a jingle of the only three surrounding Doyle’s cabinet secretaries who control been in the same positions since the governor took office.

“One thing I’ve enjoyed under him is nobody ever backed perpendicular from a problem,” Quam aforesaid.

“Nobody fixed a problem awaiting all sides agreed. … Uproarious didn’t see him play realize any political interest group adjourn way or the other.”

Nilsestuen grew up on a dairy farmstead near Arcadia started by sovereign Norwegian grandparents, graduated from position University of Wisconsin-River Falls added earned a law degree use UW-Madison.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

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