The Jefferson County Agri-Business Club’s membership has approved awarding scholarships to residents of Jefferson County or students attending Jefferson County school districts.

Tyce Bettenhausen

Tyce Bettenhausen of Cambridge was a member of Lake Ripley 4-H, where his projects included beef, swine, crops, and photography. He served as vice president for two years. In Cambridge FFA, he served as president and vice president. Tyce was chairman of the parliamentary procedure team and also participated in agronomy and livestock judging.

At Cambridge High School, he participated in football, wrestling, and baseball. He milked cows at A and D Olson Farm and worked at Bettenhausen Beef Farm, where he cared for cattle and did field work.

He plans to attend UW-Platteville to study agricultural business with the hope of working in ag sales upon graduation.

Julian Bos

Julian Bos from Fort Atkinson plans to attend Fox Valley Technical College for diesel technology and farm mechanics. To gain valuable experience, he participated in the youth apprenticeship program with Griffin Dodge and Harold’s Muffler for two years.

He was a member of Rock River Clovers 4-H Club, where he earned gold and emerald awards. His projects included photography, poultry, woodworking, archery, diorama, home environment, fishing, and wildlife.

At Fort Atkinson High School, he was a member of the golf and archery teams. He earned second place at the Fort Atkinson Archery Tournament. He served as Fort Atkinson FFA’s sentinel and earned his state FFA degree. Additionally, Julian was on two state-qualifying wildlife judging teams.

Brandon Boyd

Brandon Boyd of Watertown is the recipient of the Jones Dairy Farm Scholarship. This is the second year the scholarship has been awarded. It was established with the ticket sale revenue from Jones Dairy Farm’s Yellow Barn Centennial Celebration in 2022.

Brandon is finishing his freshman year at UW-Madison majoring in agronomy and agricultural business management. He is a member of Collegiate Farm Bureau, Badger Dairy Club, Badger Crops Club, and ¼ Scale Tractor Pulling Club. Brandon is also involved with the crop judging team and the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He competed in the Young Farmers and Agriculturists Collegiate Discussion Meet and placed third at the local level.

He graduated from Watertown High School as valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA and was inducted into the National Honor Society. In high school, Brandon was involved with the trap shooting team, solo and ensemble, and marching band.

Brandon was in the Lebanon Luckie 4-H Club for eight years and served as president, vice president, treasurer, and reporter and earned the Wisconsin 4-H Key Award. He participated in avian quiz bowl and poultry judging.

He served as Watertown FFA’s vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Brandon earned his Wisconsin State FFA Degree and state gold proficiency awards for diversified crop production placement and diversified livestock production entrepreneurship. Brandon also served on the state of Wisconsin’s Agricultural Youth Council.

He is a member of his church’s brass choir and has played trumpet for seven years. Brandon umpires youth baseball and also works at Boyd Family Farm, Tietz Family Farms, and Rural Mutual Insurance.

Ashley Brandel

Ashley Brandel of Lake Mills is a member of South Side Eagles 4-H with projects of dairy, sheep, horse, and beef. She will graduate from Lake Mills High School this spring. Ashley will attend UW-River Falls to major in dairy science, with plans to work in dairy cattle reproduction upon graduation.

She served as Lake Mills FFA sentinel and for two years as vice president. Ashley participated on the dairy judging team and earned her state FFA degree. In 4-H, she served as vice president, secretary, and reporter. Ashley was also on the Jefferson County 4-H dairy judging team.

Ashley was a four-year member of Lake Mills High School basketball and was named a “Dairy Athlete of the Month” by Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

As a member of the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association, Ashley competed in dairy bowl and serves on the junior activities committee. She was the recipient of a Distinguished Junior Member award and Progressive Breeder Awards for her Holsteins.

Ashley works at Straussdale Holsteins where she milks cows, feeds calves, and works with the showstring. Additionally, she worked for Ocean-View Genetics during the summer where she milked cows, fed animals, and worked with the show animals.

Maryann Gudenkauf

Maryann Gudenkauf graduated from Watertown High School. She is a sophomore at UW-Madison majoring in dairy science and agronomy. She aims to have a career in dairy consulting and sales.

She served as the Watertown FFA president, treasurer, and sentinel. Her first FFA supervised agricultural experience (SAE) was dairy production placement. She started feeding calves and milking cows and advanced to mixing feed, eventually earning a gold proficiency award in this area. She has been working at the UW-Madison Swine Research and Teaching Center since July 2021, preparing college research projects as well as caring for 1,200 head of swine. This project has expanded her knowledge and makes her excited to learn more about the agriculture industry.

Maryann participated in several FFA speaking contests. She placed second at in the district and third in the section in the FFA creed speaking contest in 2019. Additionally, she placed second in the district in extemporaneous speaking and her team won the district parliamentary procedure contest three years.

She played varsity volleyball, was a team captain, and earned first team all-conference. Other activities included Watertown FFA trap shooting team and Watertown forensics.

Jena Lenz

Jena Lenz is from Lake Mills, where she was a member of the Hubbleton Hustlers 4-H with projects including poultry and woodworking. Jenna held the offices of treasurer and reporter.

In the Jefferson FFA, she served as vice president and reporter. In high school, Jena was on the golf and swim teams, a four-year track athlete, and a four-year basketball player and two-year team captain.

She plans to attend UW-River Falls with an agriculture education major and an agribusiness minor. Her goal is to become an agriculture teacher and FFA advisor. In addition to her Jefferson County Agri-Business Club scholarship, Jena is the recipient of the Will Larsen Agriculture Education Scholarship. Larson was the FFA advisor at Jefferson High School, and his friends and family established the scholarship in his name. This is the second year the scholarship has been awarded.

Jena has work at Bennett’s Greenhouse and as a member of the grounds staff at Evergreen Cemetery. In addition, she worked on two dairy farms, Hasel Farms and Straussdale Farms.

Mia Schroeder

Mia Schroeder of Fort Atkinson was a member of Rock River Clovers 4-H and Fort Atkinson FFA. With an impressive high school GPA of 3.95, Melia is now a freshman at Taylor University on an equine rehabilitation track. In college, she is on the equestrian team and is a member of Basics.

Melia worked at Lone Star Stables and has her own horse as her supervised agricultural experience (SAE) project. In FFA, Melia was on the dairy judging and horse judging teams. Exhibiting dairy cattle and horses at the county fair were part of Melia’s summers for years. She served as 4-H club secretary and reporter. In high school, Melia was on the swim team and ran track. She was also a four-year member of show choir. These activities helped Melia earn an academic letter and vocal music letter.

Ian Spoke

Ian Spoke of Waterloo was a 10-year member of the Portland Boosters 4-H Club, where he carried dairy and beef as his projects. As a Waterloo FFA member, he was Star Greenhand and Star Chapter Farmer. He also participated in the FFA creed and extemporaneous speaking contests.

In 4-H, Ian served as vice president and reporter. In high school, he was active in sports including football and wrestling. Ian was honorable mention all-conference lineman and a sectional qualifier in wrestling. He also played trumpet in the high school band.

Ian will attend South Dakota State University and major in agriculture science and dairy production. He works on the family farm, Northcrest Dairy, where he feeds calves and handles a variety of chores.

Laura Traver

Laura Traver of Johnson Creek is a seven-year member of Farmington 4-H, where she served as president. She carried the dog project, earning high marks in showmanship, county, and state shows.

At Jefferson High School, Laura was in FFA, forensics, and on the tennis team, earning a varsity letter. She worked at Jefferson County Parks as a groundskeeper and at Jelli’s Market as a strawberry picker.

Laura is attending UW-Stevens Point, majoring in forestry with an emphasis in ecosystem restoration and management with a minor in soils. She is on the school’s tennis team and is a peer tutor.

The mission of the Jefferson County Agri-Business Club is to promote an active interest in agribusiness and be a resource to take us into the future. The Club’s goal is to promote the agribusiness community to the local and state population. This is accomplished through education, media, visits to local agribusinesses, fundraisers utilizing agricultural products, offering scholarships toward ag careers, and offering funds to organizations that promote the ag community.

Luis Avila Vette

Luis Avila Vette graduated from Watertown High School and attends the UW-Platteville, majoring in soil and crop science. Luis is on the collegiate soils judging team and is a member of the Pioneer Dairy Club and Horticulture Club. His team earned third place at the Region 3 Soils Judging Contest.

 In Watertown FFA, he participated in creed speaking, soil judging, and parliamentary procedure. Luis served as chapter sentinel and reporter. He placed first in the parliamentary procedure and employment skills contests. Additionally, he was on the first place team at World Dairy Expo’s Forage Judging Contest. Grain and forage production were his FFA SAE program in addition to vegetable production, where he maintains a garden and sells to local customers.

He carried several projects in the Lebanon Luckies 4-H Club and played youth baseball. Additionally, Luis is active in his church and serves as a confirmation mentor.

Luis feeds cattle at his grandfather and uncle’s farm and helps during planting and harvesting of corn, oats, alfalfa, and wheat when not at college. At UW-Platteville, Luis is a resident assistant where he oversees the agricultural living learning community, where freshmen agriculture majors reside.

Ava Wilson

Ava Wilson of Cottage Grove attends Lakeside Lutheran High School. She will attend UW-River Falls to major in agriculture education with plans to become a teacher.

Ava is secretary of the Richwood Ranger 4-H Club and will be showing beef this year; she has also showed sheep as part of Lakeside Lutheran FFA. In high school, she played basketball and soccer. Ava is a member of National Honor Society and the Lakeside Acapella Choir. She also plays music for her church.

Ava gained valuable skills when she worked for H.M. Clause Research Station. This summer will be the third year she has worked with their crop research projects.

Emily Zilisch

Emily Zilisch from Jefferson is a sophomore at Iowa State University. Emily is studying dairy science and agronomy so she can have a career as an agronomist. She is the public relations officer in the Iowa State dairy science club and is in the agronomy club. At college, she is also active in intramural sports.

She was the Jefferson FFA President for two years and also served as chapter historian. Emily also helped with the Jefferson County Agri-Business Club 4th Grade Farm Tour. She played volleyball for four years, gymnastics for three years, and track and field for four years. She earned her varsity letter in all three sports.

During high school, she milked cows and fed calves at Magritz Dairy LLC. In her free time, Emily volunteered at St. Vincent’s de Paul thrift store and at her church’s fall festival.