The results are in!
Winner: Shane and Jennifer Sauer of Waterloo, WI. Shane and Jennifer operate Sauer Dairy LLC where they care for 150 registered Holsteins and operate 650 acres. They grow corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat. Shane is the third generation on his family’s dairy and the farm has been selected to host the Watertown Agribusiness Club dairy breakfast in June of 2021. Shane has been farming since he was 15 years old. He focuses on the cows and producing high quality milk. When Covid-19 affected markets for dairy products, Shane and Jennifer bought 5,000 bags of cheese curds from their dairy cooperative and sold them throughout the area. Their family was able to tell the farm story to the public and they shared their passion for farming. SauerDairy LLC was sponsored to Wisconsin OYF by Horicon Bank, Rolling Hills Dairy Producers, Insight FS and Mid-State Equipment. Phone: 920.988.7898
Runner Up: Joe and Ashley Dudkiewicz of Crivitz, WI. Joe and Ashley have a beef herd and cash crop enterprise with about 1400 acres in northwest Wisconsin. They are sponsored by GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Country Visions Cooperative and Pioneer Seeds. Phone: 715.927.4069
“Speak up for Agriculture” award Winner, sponsored by Agri-View: Shane and Jennifer Sauer of Waterloo, WI. Phone: 920.988.7898
Other finalists in the WI OYF event:
Clint and Erin Hodorff of Eden, WI. Second Look Holsteins is sponsored by Ottery Brothers Trucking, CP Feeds and Sartori Cheese.
Michael and Jenny Jenson, Jr. of Elk Mound, WI. Jenson Family Farms LLC is sponsored by ABS Global, Hoof & Paw Clinic, Byron Seeds, Leedstone, Equity and AMPI.
Leslie and Scott Svacina of Deer Park, WI. Cylon Rolling Acres is sponsored by Premier 1 Supplies, Prairie Creek Seed, Compeer Financial, La Crosse Seed and Frontier Ag & Turf.
Next year, Sauers will host the Wisconsin OYF Awards Weekend in January 2022 at the Best Western Premier Resort Hotel and Conference Center in Neenah.
Judges for the event include: Kevin Coffeen, Green Bay, WI, is Vice President, Senior Agriculture Banking Officer at Investors Community Bank; Sara Maass-Pate, Gillett, WI, is Farm Business and Production Management instructor at Fox Valley Technical College; and Brian Schaal, Burlington, WI, a past Wisconsin OYF State Winner and National OYF Winner, who has been partner in Schaal Dairy Farm LLP since 2002. The Awards Banquet emcees were Sam and Jenn Zimmerman, Ringle, WI, past Wisconsin OYF State Winners and National OYF Winners, who operate On-Q Holsteins LLC, near Wausau.
At the Wisconsin OYF event, they networked with the other candidates and participated in two ag forums, picking up tips on how to speak up for agriculture with Jamie Mara with DBA/Edge Dairy Forward and Daphne Holterman, past Wisconsin OYF State Winner and National OYF Winner and focus on well-being during these challenging times led by Karen Dickrell, Human Development and Relationships Institute Professor of Family Development, UW Madison Extension Outagamie County. Candidates also took part in virtual tours of: Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center, Homestead Meadows Farm/Wedding Venue, and Red Barn Family Farms cheese.
Sponsors of the Wisconsin OYF event were: Diamond: Compeer Financial, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, USAgNet; Platinum: Agri-View, Byron Seeds, Dairy Business Association, Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association, GreenStone Farm Credit, Insight FS, Inc., Leedstone, Inc., Rolling Hills Dairy Producers, Ken & Ann Reckelberg; Gold: Lloyd & Daphne Holterman, Robert & Karyn Schauf, Wayside Dairy LLC Dan & Barb Natzke, Country Visions Coop, CP Feeds, LLC, Dairy Department Inc., Frontier Ag & Turf, Homestead Meadows, Hoof & Paw Clinic, Horicon Bank, La Crosse Seed, Mid-State Equipment, Ottery Transportation, Premier 1 Supplies, Ron’s Cheese/Pagel’s Ponderosa, Sartori Cheese, Wisconsin Farmers Union; Silver: ABS Global, AMPI, Eau Claire Energy Cooperative, Prairie Creek Seed; Bronze: Animart LLC, Fox Cities Convention & Visitor’s Bureau, Kwik Trip and Lakeshore Farm Management.
