The Hartungs were a family before they were a business, and the lessons taught in that family continue to shape how the business operates today. Galen and Lorna Hartung taught their children the values of hard work and honesty, and not just with words. Randy Hartung remembers learning the value of work when his parents presented him with a bill for his 6th grade school clothes. The Hartung children earned their way working Lorna’s Amway route, mowing neighbors’ lawns, working for local farmers, and sweeping floors at the Co-op.
One such “childhood” endeavor began in 1974, when twin brothers Dan and Don, both aged 17 and still (theoretically) in high school, rented 40 acres to grow corn, using borrowed and rented equipment from local farmers they knew through the Co-op. Dan and Don teamed up with older brother Robert (old enough to drive), younger brother Randy (young enough to do whatever was asked), and sister Gayle Ann’s boyfriend Jim to run their first farming operations. Still younger brothers (not yet in high school) Steve and John proved useful picking stones out of the field.
After a successful harvest, in 1975, the siblings and Galen decided to incorporate, and Hartung Brothers, Inc. was born, with all of the above (who were old enough) as founding shareholders. The remainder of the siblings (Randy, Steve, Tara, and James) “bought in” when they were of legal age. To the present day, many of these Hartung siblings can be found working their special part of the family business.
The company grew at a fast pace as the Hartung Brothers worked with local farmers to do “custom farming” and growing their own corn. The company jumped from 40 acres in ’74 to 800 acres in ’75. With borrowed two-way radios and shop space, the new company gobbled up every opportunity to fill-in farmers’ needs throughout the county. The company bought the first John Deere 7520 tractor used in Wisconsin, and has been at the forefront of innovation ever since.
The growth, flexibility, and dedication to solving customer’s specific needs continues to grow the family business to this day. In the intervening years, Hartung Brothers has grown many vegetable and grain crops, performed custom work for farmers, sold fertilizer, and operated seed corn and vegetable processing facilities. Sister-companies have hauled the products. The company has operated throughout the United States, Hawaii, and Ontario.