Kenya and Paraguay RPCV Richard Otto Wiegand, Area Agricultural Agent
Richard Otto Wiegand, Area Agricultural Agent
otto.wiegand@ces.uwex.edu
Mr. Wiegand has moved here from Madison where he spent the past five years working as a consultant for dairy in the private sector and also teaching at a technical college.
He was born on a 120-acre Jersey dairy farm in Cleveland in southern Manitowoc County and obtained a Bachelors degree in Dairy Science from UW-Madison in 1970. Between two stints with the Peace Corps in Kenya and Paraguay, Otto worked for his father on the farm and did odd jobs off the farm. In the 1980s, after obtaining a Masters in African Studies from Ohio University, he operated the farm for six years, expanding from 28 to 45 cows.
In 1988, Otto left the farm to work on a Masters and PhD in Dairy Science Nutrition at UW-Madison, finishing in 1995. He did his field work in Ethiopia where he fed tree leaves to sheep. He then worked for Agri-Management, a dairy placement company in Madison, the African Development Bank in Ivory Coast, and New Age Computers in his hometown before his five years at Dairy Strategies in Madison with part-time teaching at Northeast Technical College in Green Bay. Otto also did short-term international work with Dairy Strategies in Costa Rica and Holland, and with the Babcock Institute in Cyprus.
Otto brings considerable experience to farmers and residents of northwest Wisconsin in dairy business planning, placement and teaching. He also has interests in international issues, historic preservation, land conservancy and the environment in general. Otto is an avid traveler, likes bicycling and enjoys taking photographs. He looks forward to serving his constituents in Burnett, Sawyer and Washburn counties.
