MADISON - BJ Jones of Darlington recently earned the title of Cattleman of the Year from the Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association at its annual conference in Wisconsin Dells.
Jones, of Wildcat Cattle Company in Darlington, was one of two Wisconsinites chosen for the 2018 honor by the WCA board of directors at the conference in early February. Each year the board selects a Cattleman of the Year and this year decided to award two. The goal of the conference is to promote Wisconsin's beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.
After getting his start in the Hereford business as a 12-year-old from the suburbs, Jones and his parents had little working knowledge about what it took to raise cattle but were determined to learn all they could, according to a news release. He purchased his first show heifer and attended his first JNHE in 1984 in Des Moines, Iowa. Jones and his family have been actively involved in the Wisconsin Hereford Association, and then in 2006, he became the co-advisor of the Wisconsin Junior Hereford Association.
Sondra Brancel was asked by Jones to co-chair the efforts to host the 2016 Junior National Hereford Expo in Madison, which she accepted, according to the release.
Jones and Kim Jones own the family enterprise Wildcat Cattle Company, along with their children Bailey, Brett, Riley, Lauren, Brady and Nicholas. He currently works as a large-animal veterinarian at the Center Hill Veterinary Clinic in Darlington. Kim Jones works as an independent marketing consultant. The children are instrumental in running the show string and are an integral part of the family cattle operation, the release said.
Matt Breneman of Pardeeville was announced as the second Cattleman of the Year. He is described by his cattle friends as an innovator that puts his ideas into action. Breneman has spent his career trying to make every diversified venture in the beef industry profitable.
Breneman graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a degree in animal science. Following graduation, he went to the University of Nebraska for the UNL Feed Yard Management internship. Upon completing the program, he returned home and started to grow his crop and feedlot operation. Currently, Breneman farms 1,600 acres, and his cattle operation is best described as diversified. His cows serve as an embryo transfer cooperator herd for Angus genetics. He is custom feeding bulls and a group of cows for a genetic development program. Members of the public can visit Breneman's operation in June on the Wisconsin Cattlemen's Summer Tour and meet his wife, Kelley, and their three children, Anna, Wade and Hope.
WCA also awarded a scholarship to Annah Dobson, a UW-River Falls sophomore, to attend the 2018 National Cattlemen's Beef Association Conference. Dobson, from Johnson Creek, is studying ag marketing communications with a minor in ag business. She is involved in the Block & Bridle as assistant prospect weekend chairman and the treasurer of the Beef Management Team. She also currently serves as president for Wisconsin Junior Hereford Association.
At its annual meeting, WCA held elections for the board of directors. The directors-at-large elected to the board were Amy Radunz, Ellsworth, for her second term and Brad Spain, Sparta, for his first term on the board. The board also selected Mackenzie Cash, Beloit, as secretary, Austin Arndt, Janesville, as treasurer, Matt Ludlow, Viroqua, as president-elect, and Jena Swanson, Belleville, stepped into her role as former president.
Eric Johnson took the reins of leadership as WCA president at the board of directors meeting. Johnson and his wife, Cindy, operate Johnson Valley Shorthorns near Lodi and is employed at ABS Gobal in De Forest, where he is herdsman for one of the company's main barns housing mostly young genomic bulls. He has been raising registered cattle for over 20 years and currently serves on the Wisconsin Shorthorn Association Board of Directors. He has also served on the Wisconsin State Fair Open Show and World Beef Expo as a breed association representative. In his community, Johnson has been a member of the Lodi agricultural fair for over 25 years, primarily serving as the Livestock Committee chairman.
More information can be found on the WCA website, www.wisconsincattlemen.com, or by contacting WCA at 608-228-1457 or infor@wisconsincattlemen.com.
Jones, of Wildcat Cattle Company in Darlington, was one of two Wisconsinites chosen for the 2018 honor by the WCA board of directors at the conference in early February. Each year the board selects a Cattleman of the Year and this year decided to award two. The goal of the conference is to promote Wisconsin's beef business through advocacy, leadership and education.
After getting his start in the Hereford business as a 12-year-old from the suburbs, Jones and his parents had little working knowledge about what it took to raise cattle but were determined to learn all they could, according to a news release. He purchased his first show heifer and attended his first JNHE in 1984 in Des Moines, Iowa. Jones and his family have been actively involved in the Wisconsin Hereford Association, and then in 2006, he became the co-advisor of the Wisconsin Junior Hereford Association.
Sondra Brancel was asked by Jones to co-chair the efforts to host the 2016 Junior National Hereford Expo in Madison, which she accepted, according to the release.
Jones and Kim Jones own the family enterprise Wildcat Cattle Company, along with their children Bailey, Brett, Riley, Lauren, Brady and Nicholas. He currently works as a large-animal veterinarian at the Center Hill Veterinary Clinic in Darlington. Kim Jones works as an independent marketing consultant. The children are instrumental in running the show string and are an integral part of the family cattle operation, the release said.
Matt Breneman of Pardeeville was announced as the second Cattleman of the Year. He is described by his cattle friends as an innovator that puts his ideas into action. Breneman has spent his career trying to make every diversified venture in the beef industry profitable.
Breneman graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a degree in animal science. Following graduation, he went to the University of Nebraska for the UNL Feed Yard Management internship. Upon completing the program, he returned home and started to grow his crop and feedlot operation. Currently, Breneman farms 1,600 acres, and his cattle operation is best described as diversified. His cows serve as an embryo transfer cooperator herd for Angus genetics. He is custom feeding bulls and a group of cows for a genetic development program. Members of the public can visit Breneman's operation in June on the Wisconsin Cattlemen's Summer Tour and meet his wife, Kelley, and their three children, Anna, Wade and Hope.
WCA also awarded a scholarship to Annah Dobson, a UW-River Falls sophomore, to attend the 2018 National Cattlemen's Beef Association Conference. Dobson, from Johnson Creek, is studying ag marketing communications with a minor in ag business. She is involved in the Block & Bridle as assistant prospect weekend chairman and the treasurer of the Beef Management Team. She also currently serves as president for Wisconsin Junior Hereford Association.
At its annual meeting, WCA held elections for the board of directors. The directors-at-large elected to the board were Amy Radunz, Ellsworth, for her second term and Brad Spain, Sparta, for his first term on the board. The board also selected Mackenzie Cash, Beloit, as secretary, Austin Arndt, Janesville, as treasurer, Matt Ludlow, Viroqua, as president-elect, and Jena Swanson, Belleville, stepped into her role as former president.
Eric Johnson took the reins of leadership as WCA president at the board of directors meeting. Johnson and his wife, Cindy, operate Johnson Valley Shorthorns near Lodi and is employed at ABS Gobal in De Forest, where he is herdsman for one of the company's main barns housing mostly young genomic bulls. He has been raising registered cattle for over 20 years and currently serves on the Wisconsin Shorthorn Association Board of Directors. He has also served on the Wisconsin State Fair Open Show and World Beef Expo as a breed association representative. In his community, Johnson has been a member of the Lodi agricultural fair for over 25 years, primarily serving as the Livestock Committee chairman.
More information can be found on the WCA website, www.wisconsincattlemen.com, or by contacting WCA at 608-228-1457 or infor@wisconsincattlemen.com.