OUTSTANDING YOUNG FARMER - 2005

Century Farm Awardees | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

To be eligible for the Young Farmer Award, applicants needed to be age 37 or younger and receive at least 2/3 of their income from farming. Any agricultural enterprise was accepted and the applicant could either be the farm owner or an operator involved in the business. Each applicant was evaluated on the progress in their agricultural career, soil and water conservation practices they implement, as well as their involvement in community activities. Receiving the 2005 Young Farmer Awards were:

CHRIS LANGENHAHN - MARATHON
Chris Langenhahn, 21, who grew up working on his family’s dairy farm near Marathon. He decided to farm full-time in 2002 after attending NTC for Machine Tooling. The farm operation includes his father, Keith, mother, Paula, brother, Jacob and recently his fiancée Jodi. They milk 72 cows and operate 400 acres of cropland and 4 acres of ginseng. Besides working on the farm full-time, Chris also works part-time for the Town of Marathon snowplowing and serves on the Marathon School Board. He is currently the Marathon FFA Alumni President and has chaired the Alumni Tractor Pull for the past three years.

PAUL KRAUSE - EDGAR
Paul Krause, 35, who with his wife Jodi and daughters Andrea, Katelyn, and Natalie operate 350 acres of cropland – 175 of corn and 175 of soybeans. Paul has a Bachelor of Science in Broad Area Agriculture, with an Agronomy Minor, from UW-River Falls. Paul and Jodi started farming in 1994 by renting 30 acres and as Jodi says, “Farming is Paul’s passion.” All production is weighed across the scale at harvest time so yields per acre for each field are precise. Paul also utilizes a computer program for crop planning that helps calculate his cost per acre, a break even yield level and an estimated profit per acre. To minimize his risk, he works with a grain advisor to help with marketing the crops. Paul also helps his parents, Jim and Pat, with their dairy farm and hopes to eventually buy it and make it a fourth generation farm. Besides farming, Paul also worked as an agronomist for 13 years and currently works in machinery sales at Central Wisconsin Cooperative and Jodi is a registered nurse for St. Joseph’s Hospital. Paul is a member of the Edgar FFA Alumni, Wisconsin Corn Growers Association and the Wisconsin Soybean Association. Their two daughters are active in the Wein Wildcats 4-H.

MARK ASHBECK - EDGAR
Mark Ashbeck, 29, who was born and raised on the farm he currently operates near Edgar. After high school, Mark attended NTC and earned a marketing degree, while helping out on the farm. Upon graduation he obtained a full-time job off the farm, but working off the farm only confirmed his desire to return to the farm later in his career. After the death of his father in June 2001, he became an integral part of the operation’s management, while maintaining a full-time job. In April 2002, Mark officially began farming on a full-time basis. His goal was to double the herd size from 30 to 60 milk cows. Purchasing his neighbor’s farm increased Mark’s housing capacity and land base in order to support additional animals. He officially bought his family’s farm from his mom in January 2003. Since purchasing the farm, he has added onto the milking barn and presently owns 110 head of cattle total with 60 milking cows and runs 190 tillable acres of land. Mark is also a member of the Farm Bureau.

BRIAN FORREST - STRATFORD
Brian Forrest, 34, who after graduating from UW-River Falls with a degree in Agricultural Engineering, began farming full-time with his father on the farm he grew up on near Stratford. He worked for a few years as a salaried manager until 1996 when he began purchasing the personal property (cattle and machinery) and in 2002 purchased 40 acres where the buildings were located on a land contract with his parents. Brian has made many changes to improve cow comfort and labor efficiencies. Last summer he built a 40-stall addition, bringing his total herd size to 104 cows with 80 young stock. This change enabled him to hire one full time employee, which has allowed him some more scheduled free time. The milking herd is housed in a free stall barn and milked in a 30-year-old-double five parlor. Daily milk production is approximately 75 pounds of milk per cow per day. The farm’s original barn houses pregnant cows and calves, and heifers are housed in a rented barn. Brian leases 185 acres from his parents and rents an additional 200 acres from neighbors. He currently serves on the Marathon County DHIA Board and is involved with the local Youth Wrestling Club. Brian also donated time and money toward building the children’s playground in Stratford.

BART SCHREIBER - ATHENS
Bart Schreiber, 28, who grew up as his dad’s right hand man on their dairy farm near Athens. At age 14 he acquired his first dairy calf through the Marathon County 4-H/FFA Dairy Heifer Project. He continued to participate in the program and by the time he was 19, owned five milk cows and three heifer calves. While attending the UW-Eau Claire to attain a Business Finance degree, he worked on the farm whenever possible. After graduating, he took a job at Abbotsford State Bank as an Ag Loan Officer. Before and after work Bart helped with chores and used many vacation days to do field work or whatever needed to be done around the farm. In January of 2000 Bart and his dad combined their assets and formed Schreiber Acres, LLC. He started with 7% ownership and has worked up to 14% ownership today. In March of 2000, he began the cash crop part of his operation when he purchased 80 acres of land and planted corn and soybeans. Today he owns 220 acres and operates a total of 635 acres. The farm has two barns; milk cows are housed in one and the heifers are kept in the other. Bart constantly strives to keep improving his herd. A year and a half ago a TMR was installed to increase production and Bart keeps close tabs on the sires used. He recently resigned from the bank to focus all his time on his farm business. Bart is a member of the Marathon County Holstein Breeders and will be hosting their annual twilight meeting this summer. He is also a member of the Abbotsford FFA Alumni and speaks to the high school ag classes on a regular basis.

KEITH & NINA POCH - ATHENS
Keith and Nina Poch, both 32. After deciding that farming was what he wanted to do in life, Keith attended Lakeshore Technical College. Upon graduation he worked as a herdsman for 10 years, gaining knowledge and experience that he knew would someday be invaluable on a farm of his own. Keith and Nina found a farm near Athens that caught their eye in an agricultural newspaper, went to look at it and found their home. The couple who owned the farm agreed to let Keith and Nina work as herds people until their farm loan was approved. One of the biggest challenges Keith and Nina faced was just getting started. They were applying for loans during low milk prices and people were leaving the industry, not starting a farm. With much perseverance, they got involved with the Farm Service Agency and the Northcentral Technical College farm program, and got a farm loan approved. Since officially taking over four years ago, the main focus of their operation is the cows. Cow comfort, feed rations and herd health are a top priority, so they hire custom operators for field work. They milk approximately 65 cows twice a day and maintain a rolling herd average of 26,300. Keith and Nina are members of the Farm Bureau and Customer One Co-op, and Keith served on the Ag Advisory Board at NTC. Both are also avid promoters of agriculture, visiting their daughter’s classrooms to explain the importance of the dairy industry.

The Pochs were also chosen to represent Marathon County at the State Competition next January.

CENTURY FARM AWARDS - 2005

Farm families honored for maintaining 100 years of continuous farm ownership were:

WINTER DAIRY FARM - TOWN OF TEXAS
Winter Dairy Farm in the town of Texas, operated by Delmar Winter. The farm has been in the Winter family since 1892, when it belonged to Delmar’s great-great Grandfather, August Winter. The original farm consisted of 200 acres and was split into two 100-acre farms, and one of those parcels was passed on to John Winter, August’s son. Around 1920, an additional 80-acre farm was purchased across the road and milking was done at both locations, at the first farm by John Winter and the second by John’s son Emil. In 1947, John retired and the first farm went to Emil and was converted into a heifer facility. Emil’s son, Delos, purchased the first farm in 1957 and they farmed together for over 10 years until Emil retired. Delos bought the second farm and in 1982 his son, Delmar, joined in the operation, with additional land being purchased. The entire operation today consists of nearly 240 acres.

FUST FARMS - RINGLE
Fust Farms in the town of Ringle. Arthur Collier bought the land where the Fust Farm stands from the United States Government in 1876. On October 25, 1905 Herman Yolitz bought the land and sold it the next day to his daughter and son-in-law, Emma & Fred Fust, who had just been married. Today there are four generations of Fusts living on the farm property. The family farm consists of Roger and Darleen, their son Brian, daughter-in-law Wendy, and their children, Nicki, Brad, Jenni, and Tyler. Their daughter Brenda and son-in-law Kevin and their son Ryan live close by and help when needed. Roger’s mother, Dorothy lives across the field and is usually the first one to let them know when the heifers are out. They have 150 registered Holstein cows and another 200 head of young stock. They crop about 800 acres, which consists of hay, corn and soybeans.

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