The members of Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW) elected three new individuals to the board of directors. Mitch Breunig, Sauk City, Wis., Brian Forrest, Stratford, Wis., and Marty Hallock, Mondovi, Wis., were each elected to a three-year term. The new board members were introduced at the 2013 PDPW Business Conference March 13 in Madison, Wis.

Serving on the 2013-14 PDPW Board of Directors are, front row, from left: Mitch Breunig, Sauk City, Wis.; Marty Hallock, Mondovi, Wis.; Brian Forrest, Stratford, Wis. Back row, from left: Tom Vander Heiden, Cargill Animal Nutrition; Keith York, Lake Geneva, Wis.; Charles Crave, Waterloo, Wis.; Dr. Richard Wallace, board advisor, Zoetis; Linda White, Reedsburg, Wis.; Matt Repinski, board advisor, Land O Lakes Winfield Division; Roger Swigart, board advisor, AgStar Financial Services; Mark Diederichs, Malone, Wis. Not pictured: Kay Zwald, Hammond, Wis. and Walter Meinholz, DeForest, Wis.


Mitch Breunig owns and manages Mystic Valley Dairy LLC which milks 430 registered Holsteins and has 450 youngstock. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in dairy science, Breunig worked for Land O' Lakes as a livestock production specialist before returning to the family farm. He has been a Foremost Farms USA delegate for several years, has coached 4-H dairy judging for Dane County for 15 years and has been a PDPW mentor for three years.

Brian Forrest began working on his family's 60-cow dairy after graduating from UW- River Falls. He took ownership of the farm in 2002, growing the dairy to 140 cows and adding two full-time employees. In January 2012, the dairy entered into a partnership with Maple Ridge Dairy and now has 1,300 cows and 25 full-time employees, with Forrest managing the dairy operations and a majority of the employee administrative duties. He currently serves on the Marathon County DHIA Board.

Marty Hallock is a first-generation dairy producer. Starting with 40 cows in 1990, MarBec today has 800 cows, 700 heifers and 150 heifers raised off farm. A graduate of UW-River Falls, Marty is president of the local school board and president of the Cooperative Education Service Agency Board of Control, which coordinates state and federal funding for schools. He has served on the Ellsworth Creamery Board for nine years and has been active on several committees within the dairy industry.
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These three join six other dairy producers who complete PDPW's nine-member board: Charles Crave, Waterloo, Wis.; Mark Diederichs, Malone, Wis.; Walter Meinholz, DeForest, Wis.; Linda White, Reedsburg, Wis.; Keith York, Lake Geneva, Wis.; and Kay Zwald, Hammond, Wis.

PDPW welcomes two newly appointed advisors to the board: Matt Repinski, Land O Lakes Winfield Division, and Dr. Richard Wallace, Zoetis. Repinski and Wallace replace outgoing advisors Dennis Frame, University of Wisconsin Discovery Farms, and Gary Sipiorski, Vita Plus Corporation. Also continuing their service as advisors to the PDPW board are Roger Swigart of AgStar Financial Services, and Tom Vander Heiden of Cargill Animal Nutrition.

Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin is a dairy-producer founded organization that provides educational programs and services to fellow dairy producers. PDPW's mission is "to share ideas, solutions, resources, and experiences that help dairy producers succeed."

03.18.2013