Farms Awarded for Outstanding Land Conservation Efforts

Jun 16, 2022 (Westby, WI)

Westby Cooperative Creamery was formed in 1903 by a group of family dairy farms with a purpose to always provide a market for our farmers’ milk. Today, that purpose remains the same with an added caveat of doing so in an environmentally sustainable manner.

It is now, as it was over one hundred years ago, the responsibility, commitment and pride of Westby Creamery family dairy farms to manage their land, cows and the surrounding natural resources to ensure the future of farming for the next generation.

As farmers who make their living off the land, they are committed to sustainability and conserving natural resources for today’s efficiencies and tomorrow’s productivity. 

Many Westby Creamery farms have been awarded for outstanding farmland conservation efforts over the years. The following is a list of farmer-owners awarded for their conservation efforts in recent years:

• Monroe County:
  • Dave & Diane Brueggen – Farmer of the year 2020
  • Joseph & Debra Hemmersbach – Farmer of the year 2019
  • Paul & Geralyn Klinkner – Farmer of the year 2017
  • Gerald & Ann Klinkner – Farmer of the year 2017
• Vernon County:
  • Marvin & Kris Amundson – Farmer of the year 2019
  • Grant & Jenny Rudrud – Farmer of the year 2017
  • Daniel D. Obert – Farmer of the year 2016
  • Ralph & Sheila Petersheim – Farmer of the year 2015

These farms are enrolled in preservation programs monitored by the county. Those in the program are nominated by county residents and voted on by the county’s nominations committee. Each winner is then recognized at Wisconsin’s Conservation Observance Day and put in the running for the state’s Conservation Farm Family of the Year Award. This event is hosted by the state winner and funded in part by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

Westby Creamery farms awarded for Wisconsin’s Conservation Farm Family of the Year Award:

• Vernon County:
  • Ralph & Sheila Petersheim – 2015

See an awarded Westby Creamery dairy farm missing from this list? We want to know about it! Please contact marketing@westbycreamery.com with the family, award and year achieved.