Wisconsin Ag Connection - Klinkners, Huber Earn WFBF's Top YFA Awards

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Klinkners, Huber Earn WFBF's Top YFA Awards
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 12/09/2019

A Vernon County farm couple has been selected as the winners of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau's Young Farmer and Agriculturist Achievement Award. Travis and Krista Klinkner were honored during the organization's annual meeting in Wisconsin Dells on Sunday.

The Klinkners own and operate Klinkner Dairy LLC, which is a 60-cow organic dairy farm that they purchased from her family in 2015. Krista, who is the fourth-generation on the farm, earned degrees in chemistry and spanish from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a chemist, she worked for the American Institute of Toxicology Labs and Virent Inc.

This year's Excellence in Agriculture Award goes to Ben Huber of Green County. That program recognizes members between the ages of 18 and 35 who are actively engaged in agriculture, but derives the majority of their income from an off-farm agricultural career.

Ben is the agronomy department manager for Insight FS where he works with the marketing and purchasing of the cooperative's fertilizer, chemical and seed business, along with coaching and training their agronomy staff. A native of northern Illinois, Huber earned his bachelor's degree in agriculture education from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He has been a Farm Bureau member since 2009 and serves as the Green County Farm Bureau president.

And Rachel Leege of Green County was selected winner of the 2019 Discussion Meet contest. She is a science communications manager at the Alliance of Crop, Soil and Environmental Science Societies. Leege earned her bachelor's degree in soil and crop science from UW-Platteville, and is a former Collegiate Discussion Meet contestant and served as historian.

Meanwhile, the WFBF also held its Collegiate Discussion Meet over the weekend. Meikah Dado, a senior at UW-Madison majoring in dairy science and life sciences communications, was the winner of that competition. She grew up working on her family's dairy farm in Amery and served as the Wisconsin FFA Reporter from 2017-18. In college, she has been active in Badger Dairy Club and Association of Women in Agriculture.

All award winners will compete in their respective areas during the American Farm Bureau's annual meeting early next year in Austin, Texas.

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