The Wisconsin Hereford Association Annual Meeting was held January 25, 2025 at The Lodge, at Mauston, WI. Approximately 90 attendees enjoyed networking with other WHA Members, and a delicious beef luncheon followed by specially decorated cakes for dessert! The meeting’s program included a review of year 2024, through WHA organization and committee reports. Information was presented for upcoming WHA events in 2025. The 2025 Annual Meeting day had several educational aspects. Before the meeting, members enjoyed a presentation by Dr. Amy Radunz, Purina Animal Nutrition, “Adding Value to the Cowherd during a time of Historically Low National Cattle Inventory.” The presentation was sponsored by Allied Cooperative. During the Annual Meeting, Corbin Cowles, American Hereford Association, provided an update 2024 registration statistics and Hereford-influenced feeder cattle marketing. Corbin also reported on the upcoming 2025 World Hereford Conference to be held in conjunction with the annual AHA meeting and the American Royal. Dr. Amy Radunz, President of the Wisconsin Beef Council Board of Directors, and provided an update on the activities of the Wisconsin Beef Council, to support and benefit Wisconsin’s Beef Industry, including the Best Burger contest, Quality Beef Workshops, Beef in the Classroom, Direct Marketing into Schools, and the Beef Leadership Institute.
Jackie Bevan provided the Royalty report, thanking the 2024 Wisconsin Hereford Royalty for their service and representation throughout the year 2024. The 2024 Royalty were Madison Kegley, Allison Bartlett, Elayna Aue, Makenna Smith, Amari Edge, Charlie Kent, and Liberty Wetenkamp. 2024 Wisconsin Hereford Queen Madison Kegley gave her farewell speech. The 2025 Wisconsin Hereford Royalty was named at the meeting. Allison Bartlett and Tessa Smith will be the 2025 Wisconsin Hereford Princesses, and Amari Edge and Liberty Wetenkamp will be Wisconsin Hereford Sweethearts. Rosie and Madison Katzenberger reported on their membership and participation in the National Hereford Women Board, and encouraged ladies’ membership in the National Hereford Women organization.
Steve Merry provided a report on The Wisconsin Review magazine and the upcoming 2025 – 2026 member Directory. The Wisconsin Review magazine will be published 4 times in 2025. To help facilitate the economics of going back to 4 issues of the magazine per year, a change in the weight of the cover paper will occur, with the cover being the same paper as the interior pages. Prime pages were auctioned for the Review and the Directory.
Caleb Ahrens reported on a successful 2024 Summer Tour at host farms Plum River Ranch, CMA Herefords, Wildcat Cattle Company, and SandRock Ranch Herefords. Liz Johnson provided information about the upcoming 2025 Tour on August 23. Katrina Edge reported on Hereford Feeder Calf marketing opportunities. The Wiechert Family reported on a successful County Youth Awards Program in 2024. Approximately 50 scotch combs were mailed to top Hereford Showman at Wisconsin’s County Fairs. A new supply of combs will be purchased for 2025 & 2026; the WHA and WJHA will cost-share the purchase of the combs. Steve Merry provided information on the upcoming WHA Spring Sale. The sale has a great selection of cattle to complement many different herd breeding programs. The WHA hopes to see everyone at the sale on March 1, 2025, at Fennimore Livestock!
BJ Jones announced the WJHA Scholarship winners: Madison Kegley, Allison George, Jordan Lamb, and Hannah Oleson (Espenscheid Scholarship). 2025 WJHA president Hannah Oleson provided information on upcoming activities for the year, including the Spring Preview weekend and JNHE. Hannah and the WJHA thank C & B Farms for providing the Donation Heifer in 2024, and MGM Polled Herefords for the 2025 Donation Heifer. The WJHA greatly appreciates the support of the heifer donors and all ticket purchasers.
The WHA thanks retiring WHA Directors are Shawn Prodell (NE District), and Jamie Kent (SE District) for their service to the WHA. The WHA Hall of Fame Award, traditionally presented at the Annual Meeting, will be presented at the upcoming Spring Sale Banquet on February 28, at The Cottonwood, Fennimore, WI.
New and re-elected board members were announced: BJ Jones, Wildcat Cattle Company (SW District), Kelly Oleson (NW District), Janet Wiechert, Maple Crest Farm (NE District), and Dave Steinhoff, Steiny’s Herefords (Director At-Large).
The WHA says “Thank You” to all attendees; we hope you enjoyed the meeting and networking time with the WHA Membership! The WHA is also very appreciative to the generous sponsors for the Annual Meeting. Also, “Thank You” to The Lodge for the great hospitality to the WHA and WJHA! The WHA and WJHA looks forward to the 2026 WHA Annual Meeting!
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsors
Bronze Sponsors
Festival Foods Mauston
Cake Sponsors
Starck Century Farm Hillside Oaks Farm Neptune Enterprises MGM Polled Herefords
Silent Auction & Bake Sale
WHA members participated in a Silent Auction and Bake Sale on Annual Meeting Day, fundraising for the WHA Youth Outreach Programs and the WHA. $473 was raised through the Silent Auction and Bake Sale! The WHA greatly appreciates the generous donations of Silent Auction and beautiful Bake Sale items! Silent Auction Donors include:
Thank you to the Silent Auction Purchasers: Scott & Michelle Klemme; John Gillingham, Ben Babcock, Jim & Katrina Edge, Kelly Oleson, Heather Clarke, and the Maas Family. Thank you to everyone that provided and purchased items for the Bake Sale also! Thank you for supporting the WHA!
Food Pantry Donations Thank you to everyone that brought donations for the Community Sharing Food Pantry at Mauston. 59 lbs of non-perishable food and cleaning supplies were donated. The pantry was greatly appreciative of the WHA members’ donation. Thank you for supporting the Mauston community!
August 24, 2024 was the annual Wisconsin Hereford Association Tour, in the Southwest District. It was a great day of touring, education, and networking with Hereford breeders and enthusiasts! Many thanks to host farms Plum River Ranch, CMA Herefords, Wildcat Cattle Company, Thousand Hills Polled Herefords, and SandRock Ranch Herefords for providing the opportunity to see their farms and cattle. Throughout the day, tour participants had the opportunity to participate in several educational programs:
At each host farm, tour participants viewed Hereford breeding stock of all ages and of diverse genetic backgrounds, including bulls, cows, replacement heifers, and calves. Tour participants had the opportunity to visit with host farms about many topics, including cattle breeding, management, feeding, and housing systems. Tour participants also had the opportunity to network and discuss current and upcoming events and topics in the cattle industry.
The Wisconsin Hereford Association also greatly appreciates the sponsors for the tour stops: Boviteq & Stateline Veterinary Services for Plum River Ranch, Compeer Financial & Reddy Ag for CMA Herefords, Trans Ova for Wildcat Cattle Company, and SandRock Ranch/ Thousand Hills Polled Hereford for the evening meal. Please take a few minutes to visit the websites of the host farms and sponsors, available through the WHA Calendar page.
The WHA “Travelling Tailgate” Silent Auction visited each stop of the Tour! Several local farms and businesses donated items for the "Travelling Tailgate" Silent Auction, to benefit the WHA.
Sponsoring businesses and Silent Auction winners are:
Many thanks to all Silent Auction donors and winners for supporting the WHA. Over $370 was raised through the Silent Auction, to benefit the programs of the Wisconsin Hereford Association!
Many thanks to all that attended the 2024 Wisconsin Hereford Association Tour - it was great to see everyone! The WHA looks forward to the Annual Tour in 2025!
The WHA had a great show at the 2024 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days! The show was held at the Country Fest Grounds and Close Farms, Cadott, WI. The WHA Booth in the Beef Tent featured information about the WHA and Hereford Cattle, as well as pens, magnets, and Certified Hereford Beef Sticks for those that visited the booth. A Hereford Cow-Calf pair was on display at the WHA Booth, to showcase the quality of Wisconsin Herefords. The WHA says "Thank You" to Jack Johnson, Double J Ranch, Medford, WI for bringing the Hereford Cow-Calf pair. Many thanks to Rick and Jenny Starck, Starck Century Farm, and Butch and Brandon Boettcher, Boettcher's Brookview Acres, for staffing the WHA Booth at the 2024 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days. Many visitors stopped by the booth to talk about Wisconsin Herefords and enjoyed seeing the Hereford Cow-Calf pair! Several celebrity guests visited the WHA Booth also. Halei Heinzel, 2024 Alice in Dairyland greatly enjoyed seeing the Cow-Calf Pair, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers visited with Butch Boettcher and Jack Johnson! 2024 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days was a great event for the WHA, to promote Wisconsin Herefords. The WHA appreciates all of the visitors that stopped by to say hello at the booth. The WHA hopes to see you at the 2025 Wisconsin Farm Technology days, August 5-7, at Clinton Farms, Bear Creek, WI!
Many thanks to all that stopped by to visit the WHA at the WPS Farm Show, at the EAA Grounds at Oshkosh, March 26-28. The WHA had a great show! Many thanks to Doug Schulz, Schulz Polled Herefords, for coordinating the booth on behalf of the WHA. Thank you to Jerry Huth, Jim and Diana Wiechert, and Rick and Jenny Starck for staffing the WHA booth at the show. The WHA hopes to see you at the 2025 WPS Farm show!
The Wisconsin Hereford Association Annual Meeting was held January 20, 2024 at The Lodge, at Mauston, WI. Approximately 90 attendees enjoyed networking with other WHA Members, and a delicious beef luncheon followed by specially decorated cakes for dessert! The meeting’s program included a review of year 2023, through WHA organization and committee reports. Information was presented for upcoming WHA events in 2024. Steve Folkman presented the the 2024 WHA Hall of Fame recipient: the Kevin Bennett Family, SandRock Ranch Herefords, Benton, WI. The 2024 Wisconsin Hereford Royalty was named, and 2023 Wisconsin Hereford Queen and Current National Hereford Queen Marie Prodell crowned Madison Kegley as the 2024 Wisconsin Hereford Queen. Also, Caleb Ahrens presented information on the upcoming Southwest District Tour, Saturday August 24.
The 2024 Annual Meeting day had several new educational and informational aspects. Before the meeting, members enjoyed a tour at Wisconsin River Meats, Mauston, in the morning. The tour covered the retail, meat cutting, and sausage kitchen areas of Wisconsin River Meats. During the Annual Meeting, Shane Bedwell, Director of Breed Improvement at American Hereford Association, provided an update on the new Delayed Blindness (DB) genetic defect and a Question and Answer session regarding the DB. Dan Coulthard, Compeer Financial, provided a report summarizing the activities of the WHA working with Compeer Financial for Accounting Services. Also, Tressa Lacy, President-Elect of the Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association provided an update on WCA 2023 Activities to support and benefit Wisconsin’s Beef Industry.
During the meeting, President Rick Starck presented two by-laws for amendment. Members voted to approve the two by-law updates. By-law 3, section 3 was amended to allow voting by electronic methods in the future (such as email, through website, etc.), as prepared by the association. Members may request paper ballots if they wish. By-law 4, section 1 was amended to allow district representation by 2 Directors in each of the four districts, and up to 4 statewide Directors-At-Large. Notification of Director Elections will occur with the Annual Meeting notice. The Annual Meeting notice will be printed in the Fall Issue of The Wisconsin Review, and will be provided electronically to the membership 45 days prior to the Annual Meeting (via email and on the WHA Website). Both nominated and write-in candidates will be eligible for election to the WHA Board of Directors. Ballots may be returned electronically, by mail, or brought to the Annual Meeting. For a complete copy of the WHA Bylaws, please visit the WHA Website Officers & Directors Page, and click on the “Bylaws” button.
Retiring WHA Directors Fred Larson (NW District), Steve Folkman (SE District), and Doug Schulz (NE District) were recognized for their service to the WHA. New and re-elected board members were announced: Katrina Edge, Larch Grove Farms (SW District), Liz Johnson, Steiny’s Herefords (NW District), Kim Johnson, J & J Polled Herefords (SE District), and Bruce Thorson, Tower Hill Farms (Director At-Large).
The WHA says “Thank You” to all attendees at The Lodge, and on Zoom; we hope you enjoyed the meeting and networking time with the WHA Membership! The WHA is also very appreciative to the generous sponsors for the Annual Meeting. Also, “Thank You” to The Lodge for the great hospitality to the WHA and WJHA, and we look forward to the January 25, 2025 WHA Annual Meeting at The Lodge at Mauston!
Central Star Cooperative
Cody Chaulklin
Brittany Cristopherson
BMO Bank
Neptune Enterprises
Hillside Oaks Farm
Starck Century Farm
Thank you to everyone that donated to the Bake Sale & Silent Auction! Over $300 was raised to support the WHA and Youth Outreach programs!
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The Wisconsin Beef Council features profiles of several WHA members on its’ website, in the page “Beyond the Beef: Meet Your Wisconsin Beef Farmers.” The web page is found at:
https://www.beeftips.com/raising-beef/behind-the-beef
Please visit the webpage to learn more about the members and their farms! Congratulations to all WHA member farms featured!
Information courtesy of the Wisconsin Beef Council
WHA Member Dreamy 280 Cattle Company was recently featured in the October 12, 2023 Agri-View Newspaper, in an article authored by Lynn Grooms. Please click on the link below to view the article on Agri-View’s website.
WHA Member Pierce’s Hereford Haven was recently featured in the August 24, 2023 Agri-View Newspaper, in an article authored by Lynn Grooms. Please click on the link below to view the article on Agri-View’s website.
Please stop by and see the WHA at the WPS Farm Show at the EAA Grounds at Oshkosh, March
28-30, 2023!
Thank you to Doug Schulz and Jerry Huth for setting up the WHA Booth.
Please stop by and say hello, and enjoy visiting about Herefords with the WHA!
Two Wisconsin Hereford Association Member Farms were featured in the September issue of American Hereford Association's Hereford World Magazine. The article is on Page 156, and can be viewed through the link below. The Wisconsin Hereford Association congratulates Bacon Branch Beef, LLC, Platteville, WI, and Narrows Creek Farm, Loganville, WI! Thank you to the American Hereford Association for all of the support to member farms and the Wisconsin Hereford Association!
