Meet your 2023 State YFA Committee
District 4 (Buffalo, Eau Claire, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe and Trempealeau counties)
Savannah Brown, Committee Chair
715.896.8780
Savannah did not grow up on a farm, but her grandparents were just down the road from a Brown Swiss farm, where she grew to love the big brown cow. She showed Brown Swiss at the county, state and national levels in addition to being an active member of 4-H and FFA. Savannah earned a degree in dairy science and agricultural business from UW-River Falls. She is a graduate of WFBF’s Leadership Institute. Savannah is the plant manager at the Land O’ Lakes Animal Milk Solutions plant in Black River Falls. Additionally, she just received her master’s degree in organizational leadership and development. Savannah serves on the Jackson County Farm Bureau board of directors as the YFA chair.
District 1 (Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties)
Darren and Kendall Riskedal
608.516.7269
Darren and Kendall both grew up in Illinois agriculture; Darren was raised on a row crop and beef finishing operation, and Kendall grew up involved in 4-H. Meeting through a leadership conference for 4-H and FFA members in college, Kendall and Darren are passionate about giving back to their communities through agricultural-related initiatives. Darren works for Insight FS as a precision equipment specialist and Kendall works as an account manager for Filament in Madison.
District 2 (Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Rock and Sauk counties)
Kat and Brady Peper
Kat and Brady raise beef cattle and grow crops and hay on approximately 200 acres on their farm near Rock Springs. Additionally, Brady owns and operates a welding and fabrication business. Kat works as a technical services manager for CRV USA. The Pepers serve on the Sauk County Farm Bureau board of directors; Brady serves as both the YFA chair and Local Affairs chair, while Kat serves as the Promotion and Education chair and is the county’s secretary.
District 3 (Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland and Vernon counties)
Morgan and Casey Lobdell
608.574.0403
Casey and Morgan were raised on farms in Southwest Wisconsin. They met through their involvement in FFA. Casey works as an animal nutrition consultant with Reddy Ag and Ross Soil. Morgan works as an associate brand manager with Ever.Ag. They reside in Mineral Point. Together, they raise sheep and pigs that are sold across the country for breeding stock and 4-H and FFA projects.
District 5 (Adams, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Juneau, Marquette, Waushara and Winnebago counties)
Jeff and Sara Menard Huber
318.572.9731
Jeff and Sara serve as your District 5 YFA representatives. Sara grew up in Louisiana and was involved in agriculture. She moved to Wisconsin in 2015 as a food scientist and now is the research and development manager at Brakebush Brothers. Jeff grew up in Adams County and is the Alsum Farms agronomy manager in Grand Marsh, growing potatoes. Sara and Jeff met at the 2019 YFA conference and got married in 2021. They reside in Easton, on their 240-acre cash crop farm.
District 6 (Brown, Calumet, Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties)
Luke and Ashley Lisowe
920.418.0987
Luke and Ashley both grew up on their parents’ family dairy farms. Ashley graduated with a degree in dairy science from UW-River Falls. Luke graduated from UW-Madison’s Farm & Industry Short Course. Luke is part owner of his family’s dairy farm. Ashley works alongside Luke on his family’s farm while taking care of their son, Rhett.
District 7 (Oconto, Outagamie, Langlade, Marinette, Shawano and Waupaca counties)
Jacob and Jennifer Hoewisch
Jake: 920.810.5640
Jennifer: 920.585.7590
Jacob and Jennifer are fifth-generation farmers on Jacob’s family dairy farm near Fremont. Jacob is a graduate of Fox Valley Technical College and has served as the Waupaca County YFA chair for the past five years. Jennifer is a registered nurse at the local hospital. They have two daughters: Adalynn and Everlee.
District 8 (Clark, Lincoln, Marathon, Portage, Price, Taylor and Wood counties)
Vacant
District 9 (Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Chippewa, Douglas, Dunn, Iron, Pierce, Polk-Burnett, Sawyer, St. Croix and Rusk counties)
Matt and Lexi Cook
715.415.6701
Matt and Lexi live in Baldwin. Matt is a Minnesota native who did not grow up in agriculture but has always enjoyed hunting and archery sports. He moved to Wisconsin after meeting Lexi and is learning more about Wisconsin agriculture and the dairy industry. Lexi grew up on her family's dairy in Northern Wisconsin and has made dairy her career. Lexi works for Central Star Cooperative as a dairy herd information technician and works part-time milking cows for a local farm. Matt works for a feed mill in Minnesota.
Lexi serves on the St. Croix County Farm Bureau board as the YFA chair and vice president. Matt and Lexi are excited to learn more about Wisconsin Farm Bureau as they serve as the District 9 representatives.
Ex-Officio Members
Ben and Haily Sand
715.308.4633
Ben and Haily purchased their farm, south of Menomonie, in 2018 where they farm as Sand Grains LLC. On the farm, the couple grows corn, soybeans, rye and fresh produce. In addition to their work on the farm, the couple holds off-farm jobs. Ben works for 715 Ag Supply as a Pioneer sales associate and agronomist. He also runs a crop insurance business, 715 Risk Advisors. Haily is an independent agriculture consultant with AgSource/VAS Laboratories where she takes soil and plant tissue samples and works with farmers to create and review nutrient management plans. The couple has two daughters, Rye and Ryv. Their Farm Bureau involvement includes serving as Dunn County Farm Bureau board members, where they helped with the Dunn County Dairy Drive-Thru along with the Dunn County Farm Bureau food stand. Something new they tried was handing out milk and string cheese at Menomonie’s Winter Daze parade and had great success.
