Wis. agriculture secretary dies in drowning accident

Rod Nilsestuen, who headed the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture since 2003 and was credited with dramatically increasing the state's dairy production, died Wednesday while swimming in Lake Superior. He was 62.

Nilsestuen spent the day volunteering with his church group building a Habitat for Humanity home in Marquette, Mich., before going for a swim after dinner, said a report released from the city's police department on Thursday.

Witnesses said they saw him struggling after a wave pushed him away from a sandbar near Picnic Rocks, a recreation area along the lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the police report said. Nilsestuen tried to get back on the sandbar but couldn't, witnesses reported to police.

He was pulled from the water less than an hour later and pronounced dead at the local hospital after attempts to revive him failed, police said.

Wisconsin's agriculture and government leaders remembered Nilsestuen as influential in the state's cooperative movement before joining Gov. Jim Doyle's administration as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection seven years ago.

Nilsestuen was not only "one of the most important agriculture leaders in Wisconsin history" who helped protect farmland and connect residents to local farms, but also was a wonderful father, husband and friend, Doyle said in a statement.

Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Bill Bruins said in a statement that Nilsestuen's death "leaves a glaring void in Wisconsin agriculture's leadership circle.

The governor credited Nilsestuen for dramatically increasing Wisconsin's production of cheese and milk, promoting the development of biofuels to generate local renewable energy and ensuring that "farmers received the economic value of their work."

"Under his incredible leadership, Wisconsin has seen the greatest and most beneficial transformation of agriculture in generations," Doyle said.

Nilsestuen also was a respected leader in the cooperative movement. Before he became the state's top agriculture official, Nilsestuen spent 24 years leading the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, now known as the Cooperative Network.

Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, said Nilsestuen was well-respected in the agriculture community not only for raising the profile of co-ops but a new initiative to ensure agricultural land is preserved for farming.

"He meant a lot," Von Ruden said. "He's been involved in ag in many different aspects basically his whole life. He's really moved his agenda forward. Without some of his leadership we might not be where we're at today."

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

He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and earned a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, according to the biography.

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