Ben Brancel, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), certified today the results of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) 2011 Board of Directors election.
There were 12 candidates running for nine board member positions. Of the 4,672 dairy producers in the election districts, 14.6% returned valid mail-in ballots. That number is down from 25.6% in 2010 and 16.7% during the 2009 elections. Each licensed dairy operation within the affected district received one vote.
WMMB directors guide the organization’s finances, formulate and set its policies and long-range business plan, and maintain its mission: To help grow demand for Wisconsin milk by providing programs that enhance the competitiveness of the Wisconsin Dairy Industry. Through these initiatives, a WMMB director has the opportunity to represent Wisconsin dairy farmers and products, as well as to become involved in activities that inform and educate consumers.
Commencing July 1, the following dairy producers will begin to serve a three-year term as elected members of the WMMB:
District 1: Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Rusk, Sawyer and Washburn Counties
Benjamin Peterson, Four Cubs Farm, Grantsburg, Wis.
District 4: Barron and Polk Counties
Lyle Jensen, Jens-Gold Farm, Amery, Wis.
District 7: Clark County
David Bangart, Viaduct Holsteins, Greenwood, Wis.
District 10: Brown, Door and Kewaunee Counties
John T. Pagel, Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy, Kewaunee, Wis.
District 13: Buffalo, Pierce and Pepin Counties
Lanette Harsdorf, Trim-Bel Valley Dairy, Beldenville, Wis.
District 16: Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Marquette Counties
David Schmitz, Schmitz’s East Branch Dairy, Fond du Lac, Wis.
District 19: Columbia and Dodge Counties
Michael Scott Zastrow, West Crest Dairy, Mayville, Wis.
District 22: Grant County
Mary Wackershauser, Wack-E-View Registered Holsteins, Lancaster, Wis.
District 25: Green, Rock and Walworth Counties
Stacy Eberle, Eb-Acres, Monroe, Wis.
Source: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board