Melissa Ploeckelman is the outreach specialist for the National Children’s Center for Rural Agriculture Health and Safety and the National Farm Medicine Center. Ploeckelman is well-known to the Wisconsin agricultural community. She comes from the Colby School District, where she was the agriculture instructor, FFA advisor and Youth Apprenticeship coordinator for six years. Ploeckelman grew up on the family’s dairy farm in Stetsonville, WI, where she still helps out. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 2010 with a degree in agricultural education. While attending college she served as the 2006-2007 State FFA Parliamentarian, was named 2008 Marathon County Fairest of the Fairs, and selected the 2009 State Fairest of the Fairs. Ploeckelman loves sharing the story of agricultural safety and health and at the end of the day, she hopes every farm family is able to tuck their children into bed before getting a restful sleep themselves.
