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Farm Events: |
Farm News: Potato And Veggie Industry Lifetime LeaderscommentsPosted: 02.08.2011 The Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers have honored some lifetime achievements in the industry during their annul industry meeting in Stevens Point. John Schroeder of Antigo and August Winkler of Plainfield were the 2011 inductees.
John H. Schroeder joined Prudential Insurance Company in 1960 and was an adjuster for eight years. He also established Schroeder’s Farm Market and became a partner in the Blackjack Steak House which he and his wife operated for 40 years. He returned to farming in 1970 when his brother Thomas was severely injured in a snowmobile accident. He joined his father, Henry, and they soon put the expansion program in motion.
Over the years the farm grew from 350 acres of potatoes plus rotation crops of alfalfa, corn, oats and soybeans to the present 2,200 acres of potatoes.
In 1974, he purchased Walter Diercks’ farm in Bryant, Wisconsin which was the beginning of the aggressive growth of the farm. The farm has extended into neighboring counties and townships.
Schroeder has always been very progressive in his ideas and supportive of new methods and changes over the years and was always open to suggestions by his sons and peers. His philosophy has been: surround yourself with good help, treat them well, and appreciate them; work hard and enjoy the benefits of your success.
Schroeder has been very active through the years, serving on various potato boards, attending many conventions, always trying to promote and improve the marketing of Wisconsin potatoes. He served two complete terms on the WPVGA Board of Directors from 1989-1994, and was the board treasurer for four years. He also served on the Wisconsin Seed Potato Improvement Association Board of Directors and was a Wisconsin delegate on the National Potato Council.
Schroeder is very proud that Schroeder Bros. Farms received its third award from Frito-Lay this past year as the top seed grower of the year (2004, 2009, 2010). Schroeder Bros. Farms is the largest Frito-Lay seed producer in the United States.
Schroeder feels very fortunate in his retirement to see the family doing such a wonderful job of carrying on the “Schroeder Brothers Tradition.” He very much enjoys just “hanging out” at the office, watching his eleven grandchildren grow into adulthood, watching sporting events, and wintering in St. Augustine, Florida with Jackie, his wife of 53 years. August Winkler was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Originally from Plainfield - Winkler was born in 1899. As a young man he worked as an accountant in Milwaukee before coming back to the family farm. Through a unique partnership with UW professor, Emil Jorgenson - Winkler ultimately became farm manager for Oneida Farms in Clearwater Lake. The two were devoted to research and development, especially for the seed potato industry. Their goal was to develop an improved potato variety that was resistant to blight and insects. They also worked on finding disease-resistant varieties along with higher yields. In the mid-1940s, Winkler purchased the old Campbell farm on the southeast side of Three Lakes and renamed it Winkler Farms. August continued expansion of the farm and leased substantial additional farmland (primarily between Eagle River and Three Lakes on Highway 45). His efforts at developing higher yields and more disease-resistant potato varieties resulted in successfully proving that potassium in the sulfate form was an excellent fertilizer for potatoes.
Winkler was well-known as one of the largest and most successful potato growers in the state of Wisconsin. In 1940, he was elected president of the organization that preceded the WPVGA, the Wisconsin Potato Growers Association. In the early 1940s he was actively involved in the industry’s annual potato show and convention. He helped organize the two-day Wisconsin Potato Show and Convention held in Waupaca in 1940 and was a keynote speaker as Association President.
Winkler later served on the second-ever Wisconsin Potato Growers Association board of directors in 1949 (the organization that is now the WPVGA, which was formed in 1948). He served on the board from 1949-1951, along with WPVGA Hall of Famers such as Edward Okray, J.G. Milward, W. James Prosser, Bill Hoeft and Mel Luther.
Winkler was also committed to potato research, as evidenced by his membership in the Potato Association of America.
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