Corey Geiger 12/22/23 Corey Geiger 12/22/23

Wisconsin author offers last-minute shopping idea with taste of region's history

By: MacLeod Hageman Posted at 6:37 AM, Dec 22, 2023 and last updated 7:14 AM, Dec 22, 2023

REEDSVILLE (NBC 26) — The saying goes, "A book is a gift you can open again and again."

More people are finding creative ways to stretch their holiday budget this year because of record-high inflation.

Wisconsin author Corey Geiger says you don't have to look far for an affordable last-minute gift.

Geiger invited me to his sixth-generation family farm and shared the inspiration behind his two books "On a Wisconsin Family Farm" and "The Wisconsin Farm They Built."

"The interesting part about our farm is that generations 3, 4, and 5 went through the women of our family," Geiger said.

Geiger says he started writing a column in The Brillion Newspaper, and it was titled "Homesteaders' Hope" when the family farm turn 150 years old.

Corey Geiger discusses the inspiration behind his two books

"Remembering their stories but also going out and fact checking and doing the historical research. They were actually very good in their storytelling, and almost everything checked out, and that's very rewarding," Geiger said.

Geiger said it started as 20 columns, but it quickly grew to 99, and he eventually started writing his two books that are documented with photos left behind by his grandmother.

"It's one thing to know these stories, but to have the pictures to bring them to life," Geiger said.

76th Alice in Dairyland Ashley Hagenow says Geiger's books and the hundreds of other Wisconsin products on the Something Special From Wisconsin website make excellent last-minute gifts, because they're easy to find, inexpensive and unique to the region.

"I am loving the chance to promote supporting local businesses, supporting local communities, and supporting local farmers not only through this campaign, but really all year round," Hagenow said.

"People who lived in the area but don't live here now, it gives them a piece of hope," Geiger said.

Geiger says the books not only document his family's experiences like when his grandfather transformed his farming business by buying his first Allis-Chalmers tractor that still works today and is featured on one of his book's covers, but his work also chronicles so much about he region that most people take for granted.

"Wisconsin is a unique place, and some of the other stories in the book describe how we became the cheeseheads. I mean, we're the number one cheese-producing state in the country and make more cheese than many countries in Europe," Geiger said.

Corey Geiger 11/23/23 Corey Geiger 11/23/23

Something Special from Wisconsin™ celebrates local businesses this holiday season

The holiday season is officially here, which means storefronts, television commercials, and online advertisements are filled with ideas for meals to share and gifts to give. As you make your holiday buying decisions, it’s easy to choose products that support local Wisconsin businesses by looking for the Something Special from Wisconsin™ (SSfW) logo.

The red and yellow SSfW logo is a quick, reliable way to identify genuine Wisconsin products. Nearly 500 companies are SSfW members, which means you can find a wide variety of products including meats, cheeses, wines, sodas, snacks, candies, condiments, syrups, soaps, lotions, candles, books, and more.

To help you pick the perfect Wisconsin product this holiday season, Ashley Hagenow, the 76th Alice in Dairyland, will be featuring products from several SSfW members through television and radio interviews, newspaper articles, blog posts, and social media starting November 13, 2023. You can follow the campaign on the SSfW Facebook and Instagram pages, or the Alice in Dairyland website as well as following your local media. For more information and a complete listing of all the SSfW members, visit somethingspecialwi.com.

“Buying local from the Something Special from Wisconsin program members is a great way to show your support for our local producers, processors, small businesses, and our state’s economy,” Hagenow said. “Timeless holiday traditions, whether generations old or just started, are made easy with these locally-produced items.”

Member businesses participating in the campaign include: Christine’s Kitchen, CJ’s Premium Spices, Author Corey Geiger, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese LLC, CTL Foods, Inc., Doorstep Peppers LLC, Emmanuel’s Mix LLC, Flavor Temptations, Franciscan Peacemakers, Grilled Cheese Life, Honestly Cranberry, Jolly Good Soda, Little Bull Falls Soap Works, Mister Burns, Moose Lake Mustard, Mrs. Beaster’s Biskits, Northleaf Winery, Oak Creek Hemp Company, Olympia Granola, Palo Popcorn, Pine River Cheese Spread, Pop’s Kettle Corn, Real Wisconsin Products, SEHR Essentials, Sheboygan Pasty Company, Stanton Legacy Acres, Sweet P’s Pantry, Tom & Ma’s Maple, White Jasmine LLC, White Winter Mead, Cider, Spirits, Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, and Wisconsin Candle Company.

About Something Special from Wisconsin™

Founded in 1983, Something Special from Wisconsin™ is a trademarked marketing program, which provides members with a red and yellow logo that is a quick, reliable way to identify genuine Wisconsin products. The nearly 500 participating companies receive exclusive benefits, including use of the logo, access to member-only events, educational webinars, and additional publicity through a business profile on the program’s website. SSfW companies must certify that at least 50% of a product’s ingredients, production, or processing is located or completed in Wisconsin. Eligible companies can apply for membership or renew an existing one online at somethingspecialwi.com.

About Alice in Dairyland

Alice in Dairyland is a full-time communications professional for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). The Alice program is supported by several partner organizations including Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Kettle Moraine Mink Breeders Association, Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board, Midwest Jewelers Association, Wisconsin Potato Industry Board, Ginseng Board of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Beef Council. For more information about the Alice in Dairyland program, visit aliceindairyland.com/ and follow Alice on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Corey Geiger 5/28/23 Corey Geiger 5/28/23

WFRV TV interview - The Wisconsin Farm They Built

Thank you Millaine Wells for the opportunity to do a tv interview about my newest book - The Wisconsin Farm They Built on the Midwest Farm Weekly WFRV Local channel 5.

New Book from Wisconsin Author Corey Geiger

(WFRV) – Corey Geiger, an international agricultural journalist, pairs his rural roots and lively storytelling talents to capture six generations of life in America’s Dairyland.

“The Wisconsin Farm They Built: Tales of Family and Fortitude,” is a new nonfiction book.

After his mother, Anna, was killed by a train, Elmer Pritzl was thrown into adulthood at the tender age of sixteen. A clever and crafty fellow, Elmer quickly found work at the local foundry. Promoted to foreman by age eighteen, he began supervising men double and even triple his age during the depths of the Great Depression. However, that professional career track ended abruptly five years later when Elmer fell in love with a farmer’s daughter, Julia Burich. Six months after their wedding, Julia’s father passed away, and with no living male relatives left in her life, Julia’s mother, Anna Burich, asked, “Elmer, will you run my farm?” So, Elmer, born a city boy, transformed his life and began a love affair with a Wisconsin family farm.

Corey Geiger is the author of the award-winning On a Wisconsin Family Farm: Historic Tales of Character, Community and Culture. In 1995, this University of Wisconsin–Madison graduate joined the Hoard’s Dairyman editorial team. In 2013, Geiger was tapped as the publication’s fifth lead editor. Geiger was elected the sixty-fifth president of Holstein Association USA and serves on the board of directors for the World Dairy Expo. He remains true to his farming roots, managing and owning a portion of his six-generation family farm that serves as the epicenter for The Wisconsin Farm They Built: Tales of Family & Fortitude.

Corey Geiger 2/16/23 Corey Geiger 2/16/23

Wisconsin Foodie

Watch as Corey and Wisconsin Foodie host, Luke Zahm, talk about cheese and America’s Dairyland.

In this episode of Wisconsin Foodie we travel to Fort Atkinson, home of Hoard’s Dairyman to find out more about the heavily decorated St. Saviour cheese. Hoard’s Dairyman is a dairy publication that was started in 1885 by W.D Hoard and has been a staple in the dairy industry since. Hoard’s also runs a dairy farm utilizing the newest robotic milking technology. Most recently Hoards has gotten into cheesemaking, partnering with Willow Creek Creamery, winning several international awards. Host Luke Zahm finds himself at one of the oldest restaurants in Wisconsin, Union House, to sample the St. Saviour.

https://youtu.be/rvUZh7JFrFI