Speaker Spotlight: Sylvia Burgos Toftness, President, Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association
Monday–Tuesday, March 30–31, 2026 | Havenwood Event Center | Sparta, WI
Sylvia Burgos Toftness
President
Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association
Born and raised in the Bronx, after college Sylvia transplanted to the Upper Midwest for a TV reporter’s job at KDAL TV, Duluth, Minnesota.
That led to graduate school, and a long career public relations and marketing communications. After nearly 40 years in service to major manufacturers, higher education, and healthcare, Sylvia traded her business suits for tractors and muck boots.
She and husband Dave (a chiropractor) established their 72-acre farm as an education and conversation platform. Every year, they welcomed hundreds of visitors for pasture walks and lively conversations about cows, rotational grazing, and sustainable agriculture.
They bred, grazed and direct-marketed grass-fed-grass-finished beef on their rocky Wisconsin farm for nearly 15 years. In fact, Sylvia’s interest in medicinal herbs was sparked by daily managing the herd’s grazing movements across the farm. What were all those plants?
In 2024, she launched Herbal Safari©, a way to help people discover and use the helpful plants growing in their own backyards. She does this through guided herb walks and remedy making classes. She is in the Master Herbalist program at the Midwest School of Herbal Studies, Plymouth, Minn.
Sylvia also strives to build city-farm connections through her Saturday morning program, Deep Roots Radio. She and co-host Dave Corbett interview farmers, scientists, educators, film-makers, chefs, policymakers and investigative journalists from all across the country. The guests help connect the dots between what we eat and how it’s grown. Broadcast and streamed live from WPCA Radio 93.1 FM, Amery, Wis., the podcasts are available on Spotify, https://spoti.fi/3DpxLrm .
Sylvia serves on the board of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association. She is a past board member of the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Services (renamed Marbleseed), the Farm Table Foundation, and the Wedge Community Co-op.
Sylvia and Dave have six grown children and three delightful, herb gathering grandchildren.