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Volunteering important for ag way of life

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini For Agri-View
Jul 22, 2026
12 hrs ago

1 of 7

Kim Ponterio of Melrose, Wisconsin, right, waits with her family for a tractor ride to begin. From left are her daughter Valerie Massie – with grandchildren Ariel and Malakai – and son Vinnie Ponterio. Kim Ponterio milks a herd of 70 Holsteins.

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini/For Agri-View

Kim Ponterio checks on a two-year-old Holstein cow. She manages the dairy operation on Ponterio Holsteins and her husband, Frank Ponterio, handles the crops. They farm about 580 acres.

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini/For Agri-View

Kim Ponterio milks about 70 cows in a tiestall barn.

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini/For Agri-View

Frank Ponterio holds grandson Malakai on the farm’s John Deere tractor.

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini/For Agri-View

Kim Ponterio pulls a parade float for the annual Fourth of July parade in Melrose, Wisconsin.

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini/For Agri-View

Kim Ponterio volunteers her time to work an FFA Alumni shake stand for the Fourth of July Celebration in Melrose, Wisconsin. She’s an active volunteer for the FFA Alumni, the 4-H program and the Jackson County Fair; she currently serves on the fair board.

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini/For Agri-View

About 45 tractors are entered in the John Cain Memorial Tractor Ride, hosted by the Ponterio family.

Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini/For Agri-View

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Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini For Agri-View

MELROSE, Wis. – “Sometimes just having a nice cow in the barn is what gets you out to the barn the next day,” Kim Ponterio said.

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Sarah Pfaff-Cavadini and her husband, Tim Cavadini, enjoy their 175-acre farm near Mindoro, Wisconsin, where they raise registered-Angus and Simmental beef cattle as well as horses and other small animals.