Plaster is farm outreach specialist for UW Extension

Stephanie Plaster has been named the University of Wisconsin Extension farm management outreach specialist.

The position will identify needs and provide outreach education to find solutions to the most critical issues facing Wisconsin agricultural producers in the areas of farm financial and strategic business management.

Her new job will emphasize financial and strategic business management for commodity and specialty crop farms.

As part of that, she will identify and evaluate opportunities for agricultural businesses to meet their missions and goals, enhance their competitive position and identify challenges to these opportunities resulting from the variability of prices, access to new markets and new technologies and practices affecting both yield and quality.

Plaster, a native of Cedarburg, earned a bachelor of science degree in international agriculture and natural resources focusing on animal and dairy science and a master of agriculture degree in integrated resource management. She has worked at urban aquaponic farms for both nonprofit and for-profit entities.

She joined UW Extension in 2013 as the Langlade County agriculture agent and later became the Ozaukee/Washington agriculture educator and regional farm management educator for Ozaukee, Washington, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties.