Evan Schrauth Named 2025 Compeer Financial GroundBreaker of the Year
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jill Carlson, Public Relations Strategist
[email protected], 309-945-8716
Compeer Financial Announces 2025 GroundBreaker of the Year
SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. (March 7, 2025) — Evan Schrauth from Cloven View Holsteins in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, has been named the 2025 GroundBreaker of the Year by Compeer Financial, a Farm Credit cooperative serving the upper Midwest. Alex and Kirsten Udermann from Stearns County, Minnesota, and Jon Goetz from Washington County, Wisconsin, received honorable mentions.
The award honors young, beginning or small operation farmers who demonstrate resilience, innovation and dedication to advancing agriculture and their local communities.
Resilience is an understatement when describing Schrauth’s journey as a first-generation dairy producer trying to build a milking herd from the ground up with countless obstacles in his way. Getting started with 40 cows in a barn that hadn’t had cows in it for more than 10 years depleted his savings to the point where a simple pitchfork to throw silage as a Christmas gift from his parents was like gold.
“We had to move from that farm due to a sale of the buildings, which was the first of four moves in just seven years,” Schrauth said. “I’ve always dreamed of doing this, and you have to be willing to make sacrifices. But those aren’t anywhere near the reward you get from raising a calf and then watching her next three to four generations in the barn.”
Even when people were betting against him, he proved that with his passion and dedication he could do it — taking risks, solving challenges and adapting along the way.
Other hardships during those years included animal health issues due to contaminated water, feed issues, substantial repairs to a farm they purchased, and township ordinances preventing growth at that farm. After selling and moving to yet another rental property, Evan and his wife, Taylor, connected with a farmer near retirement. They are now working toward ownership and are on the right track for future success.
“Schrauth’s tenacity has seen him through a lot of bumps in the road,” said Compeer Financial Officer Alex Costello. “We celebrate that dedication and passion; we’re here to support him and tailor our products to help him. He embodies how we think of a GroundBreaker — someone who gives it their best day in and day out, doesn’t give up when times get tough.”
With all the challenges of growing his herd to 70 cows plus 100 head of youngstock, he still finds the time to give back to the ag industry and his community. He serves on several industry boards of directors,and is committed to teaching the game of football and valuable life lessons to Campbellsport High School football players as a coach.
He still has that pitchfork to remind him where he came from, and he hopes his three young daughters will share his passion for dairying.
Honorable Mentions
GroundBreaker of the Year honorable mention recipients Alex and Kirsten Udermann run a diversified, multi-generation farm with dairy cows, feeder steers and row crops, farming with their family including Alex’s parents John and Mary Lou, his brother Jake and wife Sam. They also provide custom manure hauling and custom no-till planting and cover crop seeding services, in addition to direct-to-consumer beef sales. Their leading conservation practices helped earn Kirsten the honor of Women Farmer of the Year at the 2024 Minnesota Farmfest event.
The farm has implemented a variety of conservation and regenerative agriculture practices to conserve water, improve soil health and biodiversity, optimize nutrient management, and educate fellow farmers and the public. They were recognized as the first farm in the state of Minnesota to achieve all five endorsements through the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program: integrated pest management, soil health, wildlife, irrigation water management and climate smart.
“We believe that continuing to focus on these conservation practices will make for a better today and a better future,” Alex said. They host field days, lead discussions at industry meetings and participate in local cooperative efforts to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable agriculture. They also donate meat to community efforts and volunteer their time to educate youth about how food is grown and how livestock are raised.
Jon Goetz, who also received an honorable mention, is an energetic specialty farm product producer who is farming land on the outskirts of Milwaukee that has been in his family for seven generations. His business, Grappling Gardens, began with growing garlic, but has expanded to include decorative corn, pumpkins, honey and maple syrup.
Goetz walked away from an engineering career to farm full-time. His dedication to providing pesticide-free, farm-to-table products, and educating the public about where their food comes from is matched only by his desire to build community relationships and give back to the sport that gave so much to him: wrestling.
After suffering a debilitating knee injury during a crucial college match, he went on to win that match for his team. He coaches and inspires young wrestlers at Askren Wrestling Academy with lessons he learned about facing adversity. Grappling Gardens sponsors many wrestling tournaments and donates to local wrestling clubs.
“Through drought or storm, whether on the mat or in the field, he remains the hardest and most determined worker there is,” said Jon’s wife, Alison.
All honorees served on panel discussions at the recent Compeer GroundBreakers conferences, sharing their stories of success, challenges and key learning moments with the other young, beginning and small operation farmer attendees. Schrauth received a $5,000 cash award and the opportunity to give back to an organization of his choice — the Wisconsin Guernsey Breeders’ Association — with an additional $2,500 donation through the Compeer Financial Fund for Rural America. Honorable mentions each received a $2,500 cash prize.
To learn more about their inspiring stories, watch Compeer Financial’s 2025 GroundBreaker of the Year videos here.
Nominations for the 2026 GroundBreaker of the Year Award will open in early summer.
About Compeer Financial
Compeer Financial is a member-owned Farm Credit cooperative serving and supporting agriculture and rural communities. The $33.1 billion organization provides loans, leases, risk management and other financial services throughout 144 counties in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Based in the Upper Midwest, Compeer Financial exists to champion the hopes and dreams of rural America, while providing personalized service and expertise to clients and the agriculture industry.
Compeer Financial is the third largest cooperative of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of lending institutions supporting agriculture and rural communities with reliable, consistent credit and financial services. Learn more about Compeer Financial’s patronage program.
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