Wisconsin Ag Connection - In Memory of John Pagel, 1959-2018

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In Memory of John Pagel, 1959-2018
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 02/22/2019

It was one year ago today that the CEO of Wisconsin's largest single family-owned dairy operation and his son-in-law were killed in a plane crash. John Pagel and Steve Witcpalek of Pagel's Ponderosa Dairy in Kewaunee were traveling with pilot Nathan Saari on the evening of February 22, 2018 when their small Cessna aircraft went down in rural Indiana.

Pagel was serving at the time as president of the Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative. He was also a member of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Dairy Business Association, Kewaunee school board, Kewaunee County Board of Supervisors, and the Wisconsin Deer Management Control Council.

In 2017, John was named 'Top Producer of the Year' by Top Producer magazine, which is an award given to farmers whose excellence in business can teach industry peers about value-added ventures, succession plans, overcoming adversity and more.

Pagel's Ponderosa began over 70 years ago by John's parents, Carl and Garnet. When John took the operation over in 1980, they were only milking 65 cows and farming 380 acres. The farm has since grown much larger and now employs 120 full-time and 10 part-time workers.

In addition to the dairy, the family owns three cheese manufacturing facilities, as well as a farm-to-fork restaurant and food market in Green Bay.

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