Phil Holman, Agronomy Researcher
Superintendent
pholman@wisc.edu

1036 E Maple Street
Spooner, WI  54801
715-635-3735

Phil Holman is the Superintendent and Agronomy Project Researcher at the Spooner Ag Research Station. He grew up on a dairy farm near Barronett. During summers while in college, Phil worked as a Limited Term Employee at the Spooner Ag Research Station. He earned his B.S. in Ag Business from UW-River Falls and his M.S. in Agronomy (Soil Science) from South Dakota State University. His Masters Degree work focused on nitrogen leaching to the groundwater under different tillage systems. Phil previously was a UW-Extension Agriculture Agent at Spooner and taught Agriscience courses for Chippewa Valley Technical College.

Kevin Schoessow, University of Wisconsin-Extension
Area Agricultural Development Agent
kevin.schoessow@wisc.edu

1036 E Maple Street
Spooner, WI  54801
715-635-3506
800-528-1914

Kevin Schoessow is the Area Ag Development Agent for UW-Extension in Burnett, Sawyer, and Washburn Counties.   In addition to providing information and education to area farmers on crops and soils and alternative agriculture, Kevin also provides information and education in home and commercial horticulture.  Some of his horticulture responsibilities include coordinating the Master Gardener Volunteer Program for the Tri-county area, managing the Teaching and Display garden at the Spooner Ag Research Station and organizing horticulture workshops and field days.  He has a special interest in soil ecology and composting. Kevin received both his M.S. and B.S. in Soil Science from the UW-Madison and from UW-River Falls.

Richard Otto Wiegand, University of Wisconsin-Extension
Area Agricultural Agent, Retired, Emeritus
Retired July 2017
rowiegand@wisc.edu

1036 E Maple Street
Spooner, WI 54801
715-635-3506
800-528-1914

Mr. Wiegand is a retired Agricultural Agent Emeritus working previously for Burnett, Sawyer, and Washburn Counties specializing in livestock and grazing. He moved here from Madison where he spent the previous five years working as a consultant for dairy in the private sector and also teaching at a technical college.

He was born on a 120-acre Jersey dairy farm in Cleveland in southern Manitowoc County and obtained a Bachelors degree in Dairy Science from UW-Madison in 1970. Between two stints with the Peace Corps in Kenya and Paraguay, Otto worked for his father on the farm and did odd jobs off the farm. In the 1980s, after obtaining a Masters in African Studies from Ohio University, he operated the farm for six years, expanding from 28 to 45 cows.

In 1988, Otto left the farm to work on a Masters and PhD in Dairy Science Nutrition at UW-Madison, finishing in 1995. He did his field work in Ethiopia where he fed tree leaves to sheep. He then worked for Agri-Management, a dairy placement company in Madison, the African Development Bank in Ivory Coast, and New Age Computers in his hometown before his five years at Dairy Strategies in Madison with part-time teaching at Northeast Technical College in Green Bay. Otto also did short-term international work with Dairy Strategies in Costa Rica and Holland, and with the Babcock Institute in Cyprus.

Otto has brought considerable experience to farmers and residents of northwest Wisconsin in dairy business planning, placement and teaching. He also has interests in international issues, historic preservation, land conservancy and the environment in general. Otto is an avid traveler, likes bicycling and enjoys taking photographs. In his retirement, he is writing his autobiography and plans on traveling more with the Farmer-to-Farmer international education program.

Forrest Anderson, Agricultural Research Equipment Operator

Mike Scheffel, Agricultural Laborer TE

Alyssa Degner, Administrative Assistant, Office Manager