LISBON, Wis. [February 6, 2024] – The Wisconsin Corn Growers Association (WCGA) held its Board of Directors election at the WCGA Annual Meeting during the 2024 Wisconsin Corn & Soy Expo.
Grant Melms, Kyle Van Bogaert and Brent Wink will join the WCGA board as directors, while the board welcomes Kate Lonze as an Associate Director. Everyone will begin their first term on the board.
Melms farms 2000 acres of corn and soybeans with his father and sister, near Orfordville in Rock County, Wisconsin. Recently, the farm has integrated both cover crop and strip till management into the operation. After graduating from UW- Platteville in 2016, Melms workedas a credit analyst for a local bank. In 2020, he returned to his multi-generational family farm.
Van Bogaert is a third-generation farmer from Belmont in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin. His operation consists of 630 acres of corn and 310 acres of soybeans. He started
farming in 2014. He continued his education at Southwest Technical College in Fennimore and graduated in 2017 with an Ag Business Degree. He currently is a Lafayette County FSA committee member. Van Bogaert has participated in activities through the National Corn Growers Association with entries into the National Corn Yield Contest. In addition to his agricultural related endeavors, he serves as a volunteer fireman for Belmont.
Wink farms 4000 acres of corn and soybeans in St Croix County on his family farm near Glenwood City. In addition to working with his family farm, Wink and his wife also do custom planting, combining, and drying for others. He is also a member of the local FFA alumni and assists with Tractor pulls and other fundraisers. Wink is employed by WinField United, the Ag Division of Land O Lakes. He has been involved in the Ag Retail cooperative system since 1994. He currently is the Retail Development Manager in Northwest Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota working with agronomists and growers to help with agronomic decisions to enhance their operations.
Lonze has worked in crop insurance for 10 years, joining the Premier team in 2014. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2008. Lonze has been involved in all aspects of agriculture production working at her family’s grain elevator and fertilizer/chemical business. With a lifetime of learning and now farming with her own family, she brings a valuable perspective to crop insurance.
At a reorganization meeting immediately following the Annual Meeting, the WCGA Board of Directors named their 2024 officer team: James Giese, President; Paul Jarvis, Vice President; Rick Gehrke, Secretary/Treasurer. At-Large Directors include Ben Augustine, Mark Hoffmann, Kevin Hoyer, Grant Melms, Kyle Van Bogaert and Brent Wink. Ben Huber and Kate Lonze serve as Associate Directors.
Wisconsin Corn serves the state’s corn growers through the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board (WCPB) and Wisconsin Corn Growers Association (WCGA). The WCPB utilizes checkoff funds to develop and defend markets, fund research and provide education about corn and corn products. WCGA is a united, grassroots-driven member organization representing growers from across Wisconsin on important state and national agricultural issues in an effort to increase member profitability and opportunity. For more information, visit wicorn.org.
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