Eric Hillan, President
Rusk Rose Holsteins, Ladysmith, Wis.

Eric and Carol Hillan started dairy farming in 1982 by renting her parents’ farm. They bought that farm in 1986 and have slowly expanded the dairy since that time. Today, Eric and Carol own and operate their 250-cow dairy. Their son Evan is a sophomore at UW-Eau Claire majoring in business. Over the years Eric has been involved with Farm Bureau, church council, interns on our farm, PDPW Mentor Program, PDPW committees and the PDPW board of directors.

Mark Diederichs, Vice President
Lake Breeze Dairy, LLC, Malone, Wis.

Mark is part owner and general manager of Lake Breeze Dairy, a multi-owner 3,000 cow dairy. Upon graduation from the Moraine Park Technical College Farm Business program, Mark, and his wife, Laurie, began milking with 50 cows. They continued to grow their dairy until creating Lake Breeze Dairy LLC in 2002, which expanded from 1,500 cows to 3,000 in 2005. Currently, Mark serves on the Ag Ambassador Committee for the Fond du Lac Area Agri-Business Council.

Marion Barlass, Secretary
Barlass Jersey Farms, Janesville, Wis.

Marion, along with her husband Bill and their son Brian, have a 400-cow registered Jersey dairy with nine full- and part-time employees in addition to family members. After college and working for two years as an extension agent, Marion and her husband moved back to his family farm to run the dairy. Marion and her family are very active in the state and national Jersey organizations. In their spare time, Bill and Marion enjoy traveling and getting to know people from all over the world. Marion was honored in 2008 as World Dairy Expo Dairy Woman of the Year.

Walter Meinholz, Treasurer
Blue Star Dairy Farms, DeForest, Wis.

Walter is in partnership with his brothers Louie and Art and two of Louie’s sons, Craig and Brian. Their farm consits of three milking facilities located in DeForest, Arlington and Middleton – milking a total of 2,250 cows. Walter has been involved in several agriculture organizations and currently serves on the boards of Badgerland Farm Credit Services and Alto Dairy Cooperative. He is also chairman of the Vienna Township planning committee. Walter and his family frequently host farm tours on educational seminars on their operation.

Doug Knoepke
More-To-Do-Farms, Durand, Wis.

Doug and his wife Toni own and operate More-To-Do Farms, where they milk 600 cows. Their dairy team consists of Doug, general manager; Toni, manager/calf manager; Henry Yoder, herd manager/farm operation manager; Greg Knoepke, feed department supervisor and office/technology manager; Corey Knoepke, farm operation assistant/assistant herd manager; Miguel Hernandez, assistant herd manager/assistant calf manager; 1 assistant feeder and 5 milkers. The Knoepke's have three sons, with two working on the farm. Paul, their middle son, and his wife live in Weston, Wis.

Patty Endres
Endres Jazzy Jerseys, Lodi, Wis.

Patty and her husband, Dave, own and operate Endres Jazzy Jerseys. The operation consists of 750 milking Jerseys and about 700 head of youngstock. The Endres’ have 11 employees. During her 22-year tenure in the dairy industry, Patty has served as chairperson of the Young Farmer and Women’s Committee for Farm Bureau and Waunakee FFA Alumni founding member and secretary for two years.

Kevin Krentz
K & D Dairy, Berlin, Wis.

Kevin is one of two partners who own and manage K & D Dairy, a 550-cow dairy near Berlin, Wis. Kevin returned to the dairy in 1993 after completing the Short-Course program in Madison. In 2006 he and long-time employee Dave Doolittle joined into a business partnership. Together they expanded the business from 350 to the current 550 Holsteins.

Russel Strutz
Strutz Farm, Inc., Two Rivers, Wis.

When Russel joined his family’s farming operation, they milked 120 cows and cropped 750 acres. They have since grown to include 700 cows and 1,550 acres of land. Russel and his wife, Karen, have been married for 16 years, and they have four children, Nicole, 14, Meghan, 11, Ryan, 8, and Cameron, 4. In his spare time, Russel enjoys playing basketball and softball, as well as coaching basketball and soccer. He also enjoys watching their children play in their sporting events and going on family vacations.

Keith York
Merry Water Farm, Lake Geneva, Wis.

Keith farms along with his brother Ken, cousin John Tueting, and his parents, Walter and Mary York. Keith and his family crop 750 acres and raise all of their own replacements. They currently milk 1,000 cows and plan to grow to 1,500 cows in 2011. Keith is a graduate of UW Madison with a degree in Dairy Science and has been involved FFA Alumni, 4-H as dairy leader, Select Sires as delegate and on various committees with Farm Credit, AMPI, and PDPW.

Joan Behr
Foremost Farms USA Cooperative, Baraboo, Wis.

Joan is responsible for the cooperative's internal and external communications, media relations, and corporate identity, and coordinates business-to-business marketing communications aimed at the cooperative's customers of cheese, butter and whey ingredients. She has been with the cooperative since 1985. In addition to being a PDPW advisor, Joan serves on the Wisconsin FFA Foundation's Marketing Committee.

Steve Bodart
Lookout Ridge Consulting

Steve is a senior agribusiness consultant and dairy industry leader for Lookout Ridge Consulting with  a deep understanding of the family dairy business and large producer operations. Previously,  he was CFO of Emerald Dairy, LCC, where he developed and managed several pieces of the operation and conducted direct consulting with select large dairy businesses. Prior to that,  Steve held the positions of dairy business trainer and dairy business specialist with Land O'Lakes, and livestock production specialist with the Co-op Equity Association, managing dairy rations and feed programs for Land O'Lakes.

Le Luchterhand
Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition, Roseville, Minn.

Le is a dairy enterprise consultant for Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition. He works with nutritionists/consultants and producers through technical support on the Arm & Hammer product portfolio. His responsibilities include evaluating rations and dairy records, and he’s involved with dairy team meetings and industry meetings. Luchterhand grew up on his family’s dairy farm outside of Unity, Wis., and is a graduate of UW-Platteville.

Doug Wilson
Genex & CRI, Shawano, Wis.

Doug grew up on a dairy farm in southern Iowa and attended Iowa State University majoring in Dairy Science. His entire career has been spent in Wisconsin working with and for the dairy producers of the U.S. The majority of his career was spent in the genetic development arena of the AI industry and, in recent years, he has spent his time in general management at Genex and CRI. Doug has also served on the National Association of Animal Breeders (president), Wisconsin 4-H Foundation and Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives.

Shelly Mayer, Executive Director
Shelly is an authority on dairy industry education. She leads PDPW’s efforts to provide education-based programs that help dairy producers build more profitable businesses. In 2003, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle appointed Shelly to the Department of Ag Trade and Consumer Protection board of directors. She was elected to the Center for Food Integrity executive committee in 2008. In her spare time, she works with her husband on their dairy operation. Shelly grew up on a dairy farm in southwestern Wisconsin and was involved in 4-H, FFA, and the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association. Dairy youth activities remain an integral part of her work.
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Julie Gabris, Member Resource Manager
Julie’s roots in the dairy industry began on the family dairy farm in Dodge County, where she was born and raised. Her brother now operates the farm. Julie spent over 18 years at East Central Select Sires as telecommunications supervisor before coming to PDPW. In 1993, Julie joined the PDPW staff just one year after the organization was established and has been integral to our growth ever since. In her present position as member resource manager, Julie always has member needs top-of-mind and continually meets the goal of serving them. Julie is involved with her local FFA Alumni and enjoys camping and traveling with family and friends.
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Kathy Muth, Program Manager
Kathy has been active in the dairy industry for over 25 years. She and her family operate their dairy farm in Washington County, where she once served as the county’s agriculture ambassador, providing educational programs for local schools and civic groups. Prior to joining PDPW, Kathy was director of educational services for Stewart-Peterson, Inc. for 13 years, working with both secondary and post-secondary agriculture education departments across the country. Kathy is passionate about the dairy industry and is committed to bringing superior educational programs to the dairy industry, helping both the individual and their businesses grow and capture success. Kathy enjoys antiquing, traveling and time spent with friends and family.
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