April 2008

Puentes/Bridges Director Shaun Duvall was awarded the 2008 Distinguished Wisconsin Agriculturist Award for the leadership she has shown for promoting greater understanding of other cultures, most notably the Mexican culture.  One person is chosen each year by the University of Wisconsin River Falls for their leadership in Wisconsin agriculture.  It is the highest award that the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences gives. 

Shaun is the founder and president of Puentes/Bridges, a nonprofit corporation that takes Mid-western farmers and others to Mexico to experience first-hand the culture of the immigrants that are here in the Midwest working on our farms and in our factories.  Shaun has been instrumental to the success of this program through her efforts and has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, the Milwaukee Journal, on Wisconsin Public Television and on ABC News Nightline with Terry Moran.

Previously, Shawn was awarded the Award of Merit by the North Central Latinists, an organization of college professionals in the Midwestern United States.

November 2007

Lyssa Beyer, a UW EC student, created a web page documenting the origin of the Puentes/Bridges program.

http://people.uwec.edu/BEYERLR/puentes1.html
 

Wisconsin People and Ideas, Spring 2007

“Building Bridges”

            “An innovative program called Puentes – Spanish for “bridges” – helps Wisconsin dairy farmers and the Mexicans who work for them meet across the barriers or language and culture.

                “. . . The program is one of a kind, at least for now. ‘There may be some similar programs, but none for farmers,’ says (Buffalo County extension agent Carl) Duley, who was instrumental in creating the program. ‘There are a couple of universities that have contacted us about setting up similar programs.’
            “. . . John Rosenow routinely helps (Mexican employees) with phone calls, obtaining cars, arranging doctor and dentist appointments, resolving traffic tickets. He even made arrangements with a local bank to allow his employees to transfer money to Mexico for a reasonable cost. ‘Some of it is hand-holding,’ Rosenow says. ‘They’re far away from home; some are very young. It’s a difficult time in their lives.’
            “The young men on Wisconsin farms can find themselves in trouble. One area worker drove drunk into a house, killing himself. Sexual activity can be an issue. Rosenow plans to hold a seminar on condom use for the men on his farm. He relies on Puentes to help him navigate these sensitive issues.
            “. . . For Puentes, the focus is on individuals, a grassroots approach to building relationships that benefit people and communities on both sides of the border. Taking U.S. farmers to Veracruz has been a key part of that, Duvall says. The farmers learn about the culture that their workers come from, and meet the families that the employees work so hard for. On a visit to Veracruz, Rosenow held the newborn son of one worker before that father had seen the baby.”

Chicago Tribune, August 6, 2006

“Dairy owners visit hometowns of Mexican employees”

            “ . . . Probably 90 to 95 percent of the farms that hire non-family members have Hispanic labor,” said John Rosenow, 56, whose Rosenholm-Wofe Dairy churns out 20 tons of milk a day. Without them, he said, “We wouldn’t be able to get the cows milked.”
            “ . . . ‘What we’re finding is the local labor force just doesn’t want to work on farms,’ said Tom Theiding, spokesman for the Wisconsin Farm Bureau. ‘It’s not an issue of money.’
            “ . . . ‘We have an opportunity to do it the good way or the bad way with the Mexicans,’ Rosenow said. ‘They’re here whether people like it or not. Puentes has made the difference between being an ordinary employer and being a good one.’”

Associated Press, January 14, 2006
“Farmers call the trips an investment in a new kind of worker they hope won’t disappear. The interest comes from the newest farmers hiring Mexican workers, the dairy farmers along America’s northern edge. . . . The Pew Hispanic Center says Hispanic workers now make up about 40 percent of all U.S. agricultural employees . . . ‘I don’t want to be a missionary or something like that,’ Rosenow says. ‘But anything I can do to make things better for my employees will make this business run better.’”

The Arcadia News-Leader, Nov. 10, 2005

“Farm program builds ‘bridges’ from Waumandee to Mexico”

                “. . . . The class is open to anyone who wishes to take it . . . Not only do program participants receive a certificate endorsed by the Mexican government and the only of its kind while in the United States, they are also taught language skills, business skills, and how to get along in America.”

Mondovi-Herald News, Aug. 24, 2005
“Farm Credit Associations donate $2,000 to Puentes/Bridges Program”
                “Puentes/Bridges is not only a benefit to larger dairy operations, but rather the entire dairy industry in Wisconsin.”

Winona Daily News, Feb. 26, 2005

“Milking It: Dairy workers become first to get certification from Mexican government”
                “. . . . Mexican officials came to five farms in Winona and Buffalo counties this week to test 24 dairy workers. . . . the certificate is the equivalent of a G.E.D. in Mexico or a year of education following high school . . . one of the dairy workers, who can’t read or write, welled up with tears when he received his certificate . . . ‘It’s such a boost of self-esteem,’ Duvall said.”

University of Wisconsin-River Falls Student Voice, Feb. 11, 2005

“CAFES students travel to Mexico, learn culture, language”

                “. . . . ‘it was the first study abroad that really had anything to do with the agriculture field,’ said Nathan Wilber, a junior agricultural business major who went on the trip. . . . Jon Lundgren, a senior dairy science major who went on the trip, said he took the class to help him understand workers on his own farm . . . ‘Most of these kids are going to be staying in agriculture and 99 percent of them will be employing Mexican people,’ Duvall said.”

Hoard’s Dairyman, January 10, 2005

“Habla espanol? These dairy producers now can”

               “ A funny thing happened when a couple of western Wisconsin dairy producers set out to learn some Spanish. Their original quest snowballed into a whole host of activities to help bridge the gap between English-speaking dairy producers and their Spanish-speaking Mexican employees—a bridge that stretches from Wisconsin to southern Mexico. Fittingly, the program has been named Puentes/Bridges . . . . ‘It became very apparent that the dairy producers needed to learn more about the Mexican culture, too; the cultural differences were just about as hard to deal with as the language,’ Carl Duley said. . . . ‘I would love to see this program reach out to other areas of agriculture and/or industry in the United States,’ Duvall says. ‘The country is ripe for it. I’d love to see the dairy industry be the leader for a forward-thinking program such as this.’”

The Country Today, December 8, 2004

“Wisconsin employers visit immigrants’ families”

                “. . . There are no young men in this small village buried deep in the tropical hills of southern Mexico. They’ve all gone north to the United States where there are jobs . . . their families are lucky if they see their sons, husbands, and fathers even once a year . . . On Dec. 4, an even more rare event happened in the town of Villa Nueva Segundo. An employer of some of the young men traveled to the village to visit the families. ‘Never in my wildest dreams did I ever dream an American boss would come to our village,’ one mother said. . . The families repeatedly said how much they missed the men, how grateful they were for the jobs, and how wonderful and amazing it was that an employer should take an interest in them.”

The Lutheran, November 2004

“Building Bridges in Dairy Country”

                “. . . . Duvall is an energetic woman who radiates faith. She is deeply committed to Puentes. Her pastor, Joel Bacon, says she is ‘passionately just. Her view of the church and of the global community is large.’. . . . as a result of Puentes, Duvall has seen stereotypes disappear . . . In Duvall’s words, the entire program can be boiled down to this simple premise: ‘We seek to treat each other with respect.’”

Wisconsin State Farmer, November 14, 2004

“‘Puentes’ is the word for success in Buffalo County”
                “. . . . Carl Duley, an agricultural extension agent with the University of Wisconsin Extension in Buffalo County, worked with Alma High School teacher Shaun Duvall on the project. . . . ‘We soon found there was more to it than just a language difference. There were also cultural issues,’ he said. . . .he says those who were a part of his group admitted they had previously stereotyped Mexicans much differently until they actually visited the country . . . Duley, too, reports, ‘It was a humbling experience to stay in a home where our hosts only spoke Spanish. It gave a real feeling of what it must be like for them when they come up here to work and live.’”

Foremost Farms USA Value Line, December 2003

“Culture & Language Lessons Build Bridges”

            “Communication is key to the success of any operation, but communication can be hampered when employer and employee don’t speak the same language and come from cultures that are thousands of miles apart . . . . (Puentes) dispels a lot of misconceptions both have of the other.”

Associated Milk Producers Inc. Dairymen’s Digest, October 2003

“Taking a crash course in Spanish”

                “ . . . Our farm has benefited from the Puentes program in two ways: we better understand our employees’ culture and family structure, and we’ve secured responsible families in Mexico that want to come to our farm to work.”

Buffalo County Journal, Oct. 17, 2002

“Cultures meet in Buffalo County and Mexican village”

                “. . . . In November, 2001, 10 Wisconsin dairy farmers crossed that bridge to learn something about the language, lives, and families of the people who work for them. This September, 10 people from Mexico crossed into Wisconsin to learn about Wisconsin’s dairy industry, enroll in a UW-Madison short course and attend the World Dairy Expo in Madison. Later this fall another contingent from Wisconsin will take the bridge back to Mexico . . .”

Extension News and Ideas, October 2002

“Wisconsin-Mexico exchange builds culture bridges”

                “. . . . I saw how important family is in their culture,” said Chris Weisenbeck. “Those who come here do it to give their families a chance for a better life.”