Outstanding Young Farmers in Wisconsin

The Thorp Courier (Thorp, WI)
January 24, 2007
Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon
 

Bill and Bridget Ciolkosz were the Jaycees Outstanding Farmers of 2005. On January 12 and 13 they attended the 2007 Wisconsin State Jaycees Outstanding Farmer Awards weekend in Richland Center. The couple toured area attractions around Richland County and attended a special dinner with the nine other candidates from all over the state of Wisconsin. On Saturday, January 13, Bill and Bridget attended a banquet where they were awarded second runner up for the most outstanding young farmer in the state. The winners live near Polaski, Wisconsin and operate a thousand cows, dairy farm.

The Ciolkoszes operate their dairy farm in Thorp and produce crops such as alfalfa, corn silage, high moisture corn and soybeans. Bill and Bridget focus a lot of their effort on conservation. Eighty percent of their land requires protection from erosion, so they implemented a one-of-a-kind diversion dam to divert the water run-off and keep erosion to a minimum. The Ciolkoszes have two children, Carley, age 4, and Bryce, who is two years old. Loving country life, Bill took the farm over from his parents after he graduated. Seeing the results of his hard work is very rewarding for him.