Integrity

Never go into a business proposition with anyone you can't trust. We believe in and practice good old-fashioned honesty. Trust should be earned and maintained through integrity, not merely granted to everyone regardless of their track record. We're not "respecters of persons." The way we see it, everyone starts out with the benefit of the doubt and is then given a chance to establish their own history of reliability, sincerity and responsibility.

We love our country. We respect authority. We appreciate our blessings and opportunities, and we don't take them for granted. We also give credit where credit is due.

Farming Background

Don began learning about and participating in farming as a young boy when he expressed an interest in the operation of the farms of family friends. During high school, he was employed (oftentimes full-time in addition to classes) at a local coop in Montello, where he obtained hands-on experience regarding virtually every aspect of farming. As a young adult, he was a salesperson for another coop in Fond du Lac, where he voluntarily participated in many of the day-to-day activities of his customers. Later, he spent many years gaining valuable experience in the trades, but his interest in farming remained. He bought his own farmland in the fall of 2008 and immediately returned to farming part-time. Ever since then, his involvement has increased, with the goal of reaching sustainability of a full-time operation.

Engineering Background

The same year his oldest child was born thirty years ago, Don began a career in Industrial Refrigeration as a Steamfitter. He worked his way up from apprentice to journeyman, from greenhorn to field superintendent. His innate ability to think outside the box and to visualize the solutions to problems and challenges have served him well. He has earned a reputation as a "go-to guy" in the industry. To be clear, Don does not hold an engineering degree. All of his knowledge in the area is practical, obtained from hands-on experience on a multitude of jobs.

Common Sense

It's good to have dreams and goals, but you can pedal as fast as you can and never reach them if they're not realistic. We plan for the future, but live in the present. We tackle projects one step at a time. We make adjustments as needed to stay on track. We admit mistakes and move on. We're not quitters, but we try to balance optimism with common sense.

If tried and true solutions from the past somehow fail us, then we'll think outside the box. But if what has worked in the past is still working, then why re-invent the wheel?