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Volume 27, No. 6
May 10, 2025
Ready for the next generation Expansion, remodel take Gerrits family into future By Stacey Smart
stacey.s@dairystar.com
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The Gerrits family — Tom, Craig, Nick, MaƩ, Jon and Mike — gathers May 6 at Country Aire Farms near Greenleaf, Wisconsin. The family milks 6,000 cows and farms 7,640 acres.
GREENLEAF, Wis. — When the fourth generation made a long-term commitment to the dairy farm, the plan for a new generation of facilities and updates was set in motion at Country Aire Farms. The expansion included a new 80-stall rotary milking parlor and two new freestall barns to house nearly 3,000 cows. This was accompanied by a large-scale remodeling project of the farm’s four existing freestall barns, holding area and rotary parlor. Both projects incorporated the lat-
est technology. “Our old parlor was limping along, and we didn’t know where we were going to milk more cows,” Mike Gerrits said. “Our boys all committed to staying, so we decided to expand.” The Gerrits family milks 6,000 cows and farms 7,640 acres near Greenleaf. Country Aire Farms is owned by brothers Mike and Tom Gerrits and their sons, Craig, Matt, Nick and Jon. Craig is the operations manager, Matt is the chief nancial ofcer, Nick is the shop manager and Jon is the eld/crops manager. The Gerrits family operTurn to GERRITS | Page 7
Christmas in Titletown
Riewe savors NFL Draft experience By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
OCONTO, Wis. — For as long as he can remember, Charlie Riewe has bled green and gold for his beloved Green Bay Packers. Attending the NFL Draft, hosted by the Packers last month, he said was like celebrating a family holiday. “You feel like they are part of your family,” Riewe said. “It’s so ingrained, you feel so invested, it’s part of our culture. There’s no big fancy owner (of the Packers). The fans own the team. I bought my kids stock in the Packers the last time. We’re all shareholders. It’s our team.” Riewe and his brother, Kenny, are the fourth generation to operate their farm near Oconto that has been in their family since 1915. The brothers milk 140 cows. They transitioned into ownership from their parents, Rick and Diane, two years ago. The dairy farm is a 35-minute drive from Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.
“The rst season I really remember actively following through was in 1989, when we had Don Majkowski, the Majik Man,” Riewe said. “Then he got hurt and Favre came along — everyone just fell in love with Favre. He was like us. You just felt like he’d sit down and have a beer with you.” Riewe’s passion for Packers football deepened as he became aware of the role the NFL Draft played in the future of the team. “The draft has been like Christmas for me since probably 1994 when the Packers picked Aaron Taylor in the rst round,” Riewe said. “I’d listen to the draft on the radio because we didn’t have cable. On Saturday I’d go to my uncle’s in town and watch the picks all day. Back then it was 15 minutes a pick, so it was a longer day.” With 30 years of draft watching under his belt, Riewe made the half-hour pilgrimage when the event landed in his backyard, taking his wife, Keriann, and their sons, Bennett and Greyson. Turn to RIEWES | Page 6
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The Riewe family — Charlie (from leŌ), Keriann, Greyson and BenneƩ — attends the NFL DraŌ April 25 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They said their experience at the NFL DraŌ felt like aƩending a huge game-day tailgate party.