Bragger succeeds Holte as new WI Farm Bureau president

WISCONSIN DELLS – There are a lot of new faces on the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Board of Directors and a new president at the helm.

Joe Bragger, a dairy farmer from Buffalo county was elected as the president of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and Rural Mutual Insurance Company. He succeeds Jim Holte who served as WFBF President since 2012.

Bragger was first elected to the WFBF Board of Directors in 2011 to represent District 4 which includes Buffalo, Trempealeau, La Crosse, Jackson, Monroe and Eau Claire counties.

Bragger and his wife, Noel, along with his brother, Dan, and a team of employees run Bragger Family Dairy. The dairy located near Independence, Wis., supports a herd of 300 dairy cows along with a flock of 32,000 pullets. The Braggers run around 1,400 acres and have four children: Rosli, John, Tessa and Allison.

Dave Daniels of Union Grove in Kenosha County was elected Vice President and succeeds Kevin Krentz of Berlin in Waushara County.

Brian Preder of Weyauwega in Waupaca County was elected to a three-year term on the board representing District 7 (Langlade, Marinette, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano and Waupaca counties).

Ryan Klussendorf of Medford in Taylor County was elected to a three-year term on the board representing District 8 (Clark, Lincoln, Marathon, Portage, Price, Taylor and Wood counties). He succeeds Don Radtke of Marathon County who has served on the board since 2003.

Peter Kimball of River Falls in Pierce County was elected to a three-year term on the board representing District 9 (Superior Shores, Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Pierce, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer and St. Croix County Farm Bureaus). He succeeds former WFBF President Jim Holte who retired after serving in this role since 1995.

Nine of the 11 members of the WFBF board of directors are elected in each of Farm Bureau’s nine districts. These nine individuals also make up the board of directors for the Rural Mutual Insurance Company. Rounding out the WFBF’s board are the chairs of the Young Farmer and Agriculturist and Promotion and Education Committees, both of which serve a one-year term on the board.

Darby Sampson of Melrose in Jackson County was elected to a one-year term as the representative from the Promotion and Education Committee on the board. She succeeds Andrea Brossard from Dodge County.

Kelly Oudenhoven of Outagamie County was elected to a one-year term as chair of the Young Farmer and Agriculturist Committee and will serve as the representative on the board. She succeeds Julie Wadzinski of Barron County as YFA Chair.

Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation Board Directors who were not up for re-election are: Dave Daniels of Union Grove in Kenosha County; Arch Morton Jr. of Janesville in Rock County; Robert Nigh of Viroqua in Vernon County; Kevin Krentz, of Berlin in Waushara County; and Rosie Lisowe of Chilton in Calumet County.

The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization, made up of 61 county Farm Bureaus and representing farms of all sizes, commodities and management styles. WFBF provides legislative representation, public relations, leadership development and services to farmers across the state.