About Us Learn a little bit more about our Family of Farmers

When Russell and Nancy started farming, they fell in love with the land. As their family grew, so did their passion for agriculture. They expanded the family’s traditional livestock farm homesteaded in 1858 to one focused on dark red kidney beans.

Our family has nurtured an honest, sincere relationship with our growers by doing everything we can to bring premium quality to their kidney beans; it’s this commitment to them and the product they produce that has allowed us to thrive. In 1998, Russell received the UW College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Honorary Recognition…poignantly "Russell Doane; Kidney bean wizard and perpetual good neighbor."

We are a family of farmers. Lifetimes of knowledge and experience goes into bringing a “Chippewa Valley” quality to our grower’s light and dark red kidney beans. We understand the challenges of a bad growing season or a cold, wet harvest. In the best and worst times, a grower should never be at the mercy of their elevator, but rather genuinely respected by their processor.

As the business grows and changes, Russell and Nancy are excited and pleased with the transition to the next generation. Their belief in family, pride, respect for the land and the production of quality food, which was the motivation some 40 years ago, still sustains us today providing energy and inspiration for tomorrow with the next generation being a major role in what is now a joint management corporation.

Russell and Nancy’s three children, Cindy Brown, Ruth Anne Hofland, and Brian Doane, along with long-time business partner Bob Wachsmuth are all shareholders and are a major part of the business today. Cindy is the President of Chippewa Valley Bean and plays a leadership role in the bean industry. Ruth Anne oversees quality control and is in charge of the finances. Brian and Bob’s positions overlap in many areas with Bob primarily responsible for production and Brian responsible for the processing. Each of them have been a part of the business for the past 40 years. They all have the same pride and belief in keeping this family tradition going for many years to come.