Edge members elect board of directors, officers and approve name change

MADISON – Three board members were re-elected by members of Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative at its annual business meeting on Jan. 17 during the Dairy Strong conference at the Monona Terrace. 

Members also approved a resolution to change the name of the organization to Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative. The former name was Dairy Business Milk Marketing Cooperative.

Members re-elected John Pagel, Todd Doornink and Mitch Davis to the board. 

Pagel owns and operates Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy in Kewaunee, Wis., with multiple family members. He also has a farm-to-table restaurant and a retail cheese store, and his farm makes cheese curds on site. He was a founding member of the cooperative and has served on the board of directors since its inception. Pagel has been active in advocating for dairy farmers in Washington, D.C. 

Doornink, owner of Jon-De Farms in Baldwin, Wis., has been involved in the dairy business his whole life and farms with his father and daughter. He brings experience from local and state 4-H dairy programs and many Holstein Association activities, and is developing a farmer-led watershed group. 

Davis, of Davis Family Dairies in Belle Plaine, Minn., has been part of the dairy community for 35 years and has participated in many areas of the supply chain. He operates several dairy farms in Minnesota with his family and he has also been involved in dairy processing. 

Board officers: Pagel, president; Brody Stapel, vice president; Jim Winn, secretary; and Davis, treasurer.

The co-op’s new name was unveiled in November with the tagline “The voice of milk.” Today’s resolution made the change official.