30 under 30: Young people impacting agriculture

Mark and Haley Miles, Ainsworth, Neb., are a young ranch couple interested in growing their own beef business, but also in helping their community grow as well. They work hard to be involved in community and county activities, serving their church family, as well as volunteering for numerous community activities and ventures. They have a 200-head cow-calf herd of their own and operate a family feedlot and graze stockers on grass with Mark’s father, Bob. The couple recently welcomed their first child, a son, Bogue to the family. They hope to help build their community and their business for the benefit of those next generations of ranchers.

Learn">https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-life/young-beef-producers-boost-commun... more about the Miles operation.

Nathan Bush is a professional at pulling soil samples. You can see his six tips to achieving more consistent soil test results in the story (on June 17). He is an agronomist for Greene Crop Consulting, Franklin, Ind. But this 29-year old is much more than a field technician who pulls soil samples. He also works with farmers to determine their soil fertility programs, and is the specialist for crop insurance sales for his employer. 

A Johnson County, Ind., native, he graduated from the University of Kentucky and began his career with Farm Credit Services before becoming an agronomist with Greene Crop Consulting.

Bridjet’s life plans took a detour in college when she realized she missed the farm too much to become a dentist. In short order, she called her parents, changed her major and today, at 27, farms full-time with her parents and grandparents in their Prairie City, Ill., grain operation. She’s also meeting with local women in ag careers for the occasional power lunch, and inspiring a new generation of young women to follow in her footsteps.

Learn">https://www.farmprogress.com/management/female-and-farming">Learn more about Bridjet.

Kyle and Jessica Froehlich, an Eau Claire, Mich. couple, started selling fruits and vegetables at Chicago farmers markets after college. While it had been talked about for several years, the husband and wife team last year – as COVID hit –  launched a Community Supported Agriculture program providing home delivery service of fresh fruits and vegetables.

While COVID-19 brought much anguish, it also brought opportunity, as more people were at home eating.

Sunny Harvest Farms, which includes a woodlot, now has two high-tech, temperature-controlled 30-by-96-foot greenhouses that Kyle built, which allow their heirloom tomatoes to reach consumers two months before field-grown tomatoes. They are grown hydroponically by using just coconut fiber as a base.

The farm also includes six varieties of high-density apples, peaches and high-density raspberries, along with open ground for vegetables and cut flowers.

“People who saw this place eight years ago wouldn’t recognize it now — we’re pretty proud of it,” Kyle says.

Read">https://www.farmprogress.com/crops/covid-19-motivates-young-farmers-offe... more about SunnyHarvest Farmers

Emily Glenn, Scott City, Kan., is a top notch meats judger and she has the hardware to back it up—first team All American in 2019, High Individual at the 2019 American Royal, and High Individual at the 2019 Houston Livestock Show, to name a few. She discovered she had a knack for meat judging when she was in sixth grade, thanks to her older brother Skyler, a decorated collegiate meat judger himself. In 2019, she was on the history-making Garden City Community College Meats Team that won the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Intercollegiate Meats Contest for the first time in program history. All that despite the team’s setbacks of losing their workout space at the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Holcomb, Kan., after the fire that shut down the plant for a time. Glenn says the secret to meat judging is preparation and quick decision-making skills in the cooler, and those same skills translate into other aspects of her life. In 2018 she was named a Star in Agribusiness by the Kansas FFA. She was a member of the Kansas State 4-H Youth Leadership Council. And in 2019 Kansas Farm Bureau named her one of its Collegiate Fellows. This fourth generation farmer has plans to become an agricultural teacher after graduating from Kansas State University with her bachelor’s degree. She says she wants to help young people find their own places in agriculture, whether that’s the meat cooler, the farm, or the board room. “I think it really comes down to encouraging young women or whoever it may be to pursue whatever their passion may be,” Glenn says. “It just comes down to having the confidence to pursue your passions and stand up for what you believe and what you enjoy doing. Even if it’s against the norms.”

Lehman is the first graduate of North Dakota State Universities Precision Agriculture degree program. He chose this degree path to combine his love for agronomy and technology, and to help producers with complicated technology. He hopes to continue farming on his family’s farm in south-east North Dakota, where they have a diversified crop farm and a cow-calf Angus operation.

Read more about Justin: Young">https://www.farmprogress.com/technology/young-farmer-return-home-precisi... farmer to return home with precision ag degree

Savannah Moore created a direct market beef business plan when she was just a sophomore in college. Today, Savannah’s Farm Fresh offers beef and lamb directly to consumers, along with restaurants. The Centralia, Mo., native saw an uptick in customers due to COVID-19. She says individuals are wanting to interact with the farmer who produces their food and searching for local contacts. A cross of Charolais and Red Angus make up the genetics in her beef herd which she sources from her mom who is also in the cattle business. Savanah raises calves from weaning on a little grass and a lot of grain. In her spare time, she and her husband are foster parents. Read more about her rise to budding ag entrepreneur  

Learn more about Savannah: Next-gen">https://www.farmprogress.com/livestock/next-gen-farmer-creates-direct-ma... farmer creates direct-market beef business

 Jared and Valerie Luhman, Goodhue, Minn., believe diversity is a strength in business and can help when times are tough. They raise pastured beef and poultry. They direct-market their Red Angus as meat and sell bulls as a cooperative producer for a Colorado-based cattle company. They recently built a new pasture hoop house for 600 chickens. Plus, they both have off-farm jobs. Jared works as the soil health lead for the Sustainable Farming Association in Minnesota. Valerie does contract work for a website design and farm store platform called Barn2Door, and she teaches online classes, showing other farmers how to market, develop relationships with customers and use social media. Currently, they farm with Jared’s dad. Someday, they plan to have land of their own. “There’s tremendous opportunity for us in these growing enterprises,” Jared says. “With our direct marketing, we can be price makers instead of price takers. Building a customer base of hundreds of customers rather than one individual market gives us more market stability. Building soil health and healthy pastures gives us resiliency against weather extremes.” 

Read more about the Luhmans: On">https://www.farmprogress.com/management/ags-diverse-career-path">On ag’s diverse career path

Megan Nelson was hired in 2019 as University of Wisconsin Extension livestock outreach program manager. She has an office on the UW-Madison campus, but when the COVID-19 lockdown started in March 2020, Nelson moved back home to Eleva, Wis., where she grew up near Eau Claire, Wis.

Nelson works with Extension personnel from across the state as well as at UW-Madison. She says she is eager to get back to Madison in July. “My goal is to begin offering Extension programs, utilizing my knowledge of general meat science and the meat industry,” Nelson says. “While I like my current role, I miss being in the classroom, so I am really looking forward to offering programs.” Nelson received a bachelor’s degree in animal science at UW-Madison. She got her master’s degree and a certificate in teaching in higher education at University of Minnesota. She received her PhD at North Dakota State University in animal science and a certificate in teaching in college STEM courses. At 29, Nelson is one of the youngest Extension employees in Wisconsin with a doctorate degree.

Read more about Nelson: Megan">https://www.farmprogress.com/extension/megan-nelson-values-education-hel... Nelson values education that helped shape her career

Sean McDonald went to college with the intention of becoming a physical therapist. Of course, life rarely goes according to plan, and McDonald’s story is no different. Instead of starting a physical therapy practice, he bought a farm at the age of 21. Today, at just 30 years old, McDonald and his wife, Morgan, own eight broiler houses, run a cow-calf operation, and manage a custom hay baling business, as well as a custom fertilizer business near Laurel, Miss. He also serves as chairman of the Mississippi Poultry Association’s Grower Advisory Committee. 

Read more about McDonald: Sean">https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-life/sean-mcdonald-finds-his-calling-f... McDonald finds his calling on the farm

Doug and Maria Bichler, Linton, N.D., recently received one of four National Outstanding Young Farmer Awards from the Outstanding Farmers of America Fraternity.

Read more about their operation: First-generation">https://www.beefmagazine.com/management/first-generation-beef-producer-b... beef producer builds family business

Meet Caroline Mills, left. She is representative of a new, inspired, energetic generation of ag teachers in Indiana. Now ready for her fifth year as a vocational agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, Mills works with one of her students, Abby Funk, to prepare her for a state contest. Funk will compete live in an interview with judges on June 15.

Mills grew up raising Southdown sheep in Rush County, and was a Rushville FFA  member and district officer. She graduated from Purdue University and taught one year at Shenandoah High School in Henry County before joining Tom Younts at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Hamilton County, near Fishers. Younts, on the other end of the experience scale, began teaching and advising in the late 1970s. He has spent his entire career at HSE.

The Robisons are a fourth-generation ranch family in south-west, North Dakota. Besides both holding full-time jobs off their ranch, ranching full-time, they both also run side businesses. Haley works with North Dakota Farm Bureau, and manages direct meat sales from their ranch, and Max is an NDSU Extension Agent and custom leather worker. In addition to all of this, they are adding another baby to their family this fall. Watch out for the upcoming story in Dakota Farmer.

Luke Baugess has been around farming his entire 23-year-old life, but 2020 was the first year he planted for himself as a first-generation farmer. His introduction to growing crops was a bit of happenstance, not a family legacy. Through a friendship and mentorship with Gregg Pontius (left) of Lancaster, Ohio, Baugess (right) leased his land and equipment for the first time in 2020, taking on the risk, responsibilities and the rewards. Baugess knows being a young farmer has many challenges, “But I feel like this is where I need to be,” he explains. “I was that one kid who went to school with beat-up boots and a well-worn Carhartt jacket. Farming is not just a job or career, it’s a lifestyle. I like being outdoors and working ground. I’ve found purpose in it.”

Read more about Luke: Young">https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-business/ambition-bests-troubling-time... farmer breaks out on his own

Jaryth Barten has spent much of his young life adhering to the 4-H philosophy of using one’s talents for the greater good. While a student at Fort Hays State University, this young man from the rural community of Woodbine, Kan., not only founded the university’s Collegiate 4-H Club, but he also worked with Kansas State 4-H to coordinate a grant-funded leadership and communication project called “Stories Matter.” The project’s goal is to bridge the communications gap between different segments of society, by training more than 90 youth and adults to serve as communications facilitators for difficult community conversations on topics such as policing, mental health, and more. Barten says people have a lot of different and strong opinions on the issues society faces, and this project trained neutral facilitators who can bring those sides together and come to consensus in a productive manner. Barten graduated from Fort Hays State this spring and he’s starting his career as a program associate for the Kansas Leadership Center. He brings a distinctly rural perspective and sensibility to his work, and he credits his family and neighbors back home and his rural roots with giving him the foundation to serve others. “I definitely feel like I have the opportunity to serve as an intermediary a lot of time, because in the fields I get into, it’s pretty dominated by people who are not from a rural background,” Barten says. He hopes that his work both with Kansas 4-H and now with the Kansas Leadership Center will be a catalyst for others like him to use their rural backgrounds to connect with diverse audiences to help Kansas in the future.

After relocating with her family and their dairy farm from the Netherlands, Murphy originally was a trauma nurse before deciding to get back to her roots. She began her own company, Cows and Co. Creamery, and using her family’s dairy as the sole supplier for her gelato and cheese products. Murphy (formerly van Bedaf) and her family started the company in their garage, and she was most recently recognized by Forbes 30 under 30 for her entrepreneurial ventures.

Read more about Maartje: Gelato">https://www.farmprogress.com/dairy/gelato-connects-consumers-dairy">Gelato connects consumers with dairy

From left Kirk, his grandfather James, his father Glen and brother Aaron. Kirk farms cotton, peanuts and wheat near Wellman, Texas, with his father Glen and brother Aaron. Kirk is also president of the West">https://www.facebook.com/WTYFA">West Texas Young Farmers Association. 

"I really enjoy the West Texas Young Farmers Association because it's a group of people, men and women, who are interested in representing West Texas to our government officials. I like being involved because I want to fight for ag policy. Whether it's good or bad, I want to know what's happening, what we need to fight for and what we need to push for."

 Tony Motz has a catchy tagline he recites at the end of his Facebook videos, “Motz Meats – it’s the best you’ll eat.” It’s a direct outreach to consumers, as he seeks to build a business he started five years ago selling what he says is a premium product with no added hormones and grown locally on his farm just north of St. Johns, Mich. Motz, 24, is a fourth-generation farmer and has always wanted to be the next generation to work the ground. That transition is often complicated, but he says the key is to plan ahead and take small steps. While he doubts his dad, Dave, will ever really retire, Tony is transitioning into the operation while building his own enterprises. Together they farm 3,000 acres in St. Johns, Mich., but he also has his own side operations including his direct-market beef operation and straw bale sales.

Read more about Tony: Farmer">https://www.farmprogress.com/livestock/farmer-stairsteps-ag-new-enterpri... stairsteps into ag with new enterprises

At Louriston Dairy near Murdock, Minn., Erin Larson’s job is building community on and off the farm. She is responsible for overseeing dairy tours at Louriston, a 9,500-cow facility that attracts roughly 5,000 visitors annually. Larson also plays an important role in helping co-workers, the majority who are Mexican and learning to speak English. She helps them navigate new experiences and integrates them into the community. Essentially, the reputation of the parent company, Riverview LLP, rests in her hands.

“My role is to show visitors what we do here and to help them understand why we do it,” Larson says. Whether she’s explaining how a cow is milked or helping a new co-worker get settled into the job, Larson loves what she does. “I wasn’t born on a production farm and this job provides that experience,” she says. “I get to show our value to the community. We work towards being good stewards to our animals, our people and our environment while providing high quality milk.”

Read more about Erin: On">https://www.farmprogress.com/management/ags-diverse-career-path">On ag’s diverse career path

Whitney Hochstein (second from right) is pictured here with her siblings, including Joslyn (right), and Sonya, Shelby Wuebben, and brother-in-law, Connor Wuebben (left), all showing off their chore boots at Hochstein Dairy near Wynot, Neb. Along with her parents, Neal and Sharlee, and her siblings, Whitney is an integral part of the family dairy operation. Next fall, she will be a sophomore at Wayne State College, majoring in graphic design and entrepreneurship, with a minor in foods and nutrition. Hochstein serves as a Nebraska Dairy Ambassador, promoting and advocating for dairy farmers and dairy products to consumers. She also owns her own business, “Stick with Whit,” which she started while still in high school, marketing planning stickers and all sorts of magnets, keychains, shirts and more with faith-based messaging. Whitney has her own podcast called “The Abundantly Yours Podcast,” where she shares her faith messages and inspirational thoughts to listeners.

You can learn more about Hochstein Dairy and Whitney: Family">https://www.farmprogress.com/dairy/family-dairy-values-togetherness">Family dairy values togetherness

Sonja Perry says any sunny day outside working cattle is a great day. Being a veterinarian is a career she thought about for 11 years and today is finally a DVM at Bowling Green Veterinary Clinic in Missouri. Sonja traveled the U.S. and internationally learning veterinary science, but the small-town girl had her heart set on returning home to be near family and friends. Her career may have her working on average 60 hours a week, but she says it is all worth it when she’s around to attend a nephew’s birthday party. Not one to back away from a challenge, Sonja was one of a few females developing a skillset for large animal care at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. She says that much of the college is made up of females, but not many look to specialize in large, food animals like cattle.

Read more about Sonja’s quest: Next-gen">https://www.farmprogress.com/animal-health/next-gen-veterinarian-tackles... veterinarian tackles large animal care

Blayne Vandeveer was thrilled when he made this appearance at the Franklin FFA banquet in early May. It was his first return to live interaction as an FFA state officer. Vandeveer is the 2020-2021 Indiana FFA northern region vice president. He hails from White  County and attended Tri-County High School near Wolcott. The entire team of state officers were able to present some banquets in person this year. The 2020-2021 team did not get to experience delivering any live banquet speeches.

Vandeveer and his team will preside over a live state convention, beginning with contests on June 14. However, the convention will not be held at Purdue University. It will be spread over three locations in central Indiana, with sessions held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Bregel is an ag teacher in Whapeton, North Dakota, and works to instill a passion for agriculture with her students. After growing up being heavily involved with FFA, Bregel knew that she wanted to teach after pursuing an Ag Education degree. She also recently graduated with her Master’s degree from North Dakota State University, also in ag education. Aside from creating and co-hosting an education podcast, and serving as a national FFA Teacher Ambassador, she is the first teacher in N.D. to tie agriculture to space travel while working directly with NASA.

Learn more about Breanna: Ag">https://www.farmprogress.com/education/ag-teacher-helps-students-find-th... teacher helps students find their place

Zoe Schultz says she knew when she was a very young girl on the family farm in Grainfield,  Kan., that she wanted to return farm with her parents Daniel and Joan Schultz when she was older. The path she’s taking to get there may seem unconventional to some. She started with obtaining an associate’s degree from Colby Community College, Colby, Kan. in one year. After being unsure if she wanted to pursue a bachelor’s degree, she then juggled classes at Fort Hays State University while also working full time on the family farm and as the Logan County Farm Bureau county coordinator. Today she is attending Kansas State University, working toward a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communication with a minor in agronomy and ag sales, which she’ll put to use in the family’s grain and seed sales business. Along the way she’s been recognized with awards and honors, including being named a Cargill Fellows Member at K-State. She’s also sought out opportunities to add to her farming skill set with internships at Crop Quest (agronomy), Kansas Corn (grower services and communications), Kansas Department of Agriculture (sales and membership), Servi-Tech (laboratory work), and now a summer internship at Bayer Crop Science’s Boone, Iowa, farm (seed production and sales).

“Each experience has really helped me gain a full understanding of how the ag industry works,” Schultz says. “I grew up driving the tractor, but I really didn’t understand the science behind why we did what we did on the farm.” She says it wasn’t just enough for her to dream about a return to the farm, she knew she needed to bring valuable skills and education back to the family business so that it could become a reality. She advises other young people who want to work in production agriculture to not be afraid to leave home for a little bit and gather the skills and experiences they’ll need to bring back to the farm themselves. “Be ready to learn and be ready to just take every opportunity,” she says. “It’s important to know your end goal and where you want to be, but still remain in the moment and grasp anything you can during the time you have in college.”

For some young people returning to the farm is a passion, for others a distant dream and then there are those it is thrust upon out of necessity. The latter is dairy farmer Adam Mareth who returned to the family farm in 2017 at age 22 to take over day to day operations after his father suffered a stroke. Today, the Monett, Mo., next generation dairyman enjoys interacting with the cows and being his own boss. Adam’s family operation consists of milking 200-head of Holstein cows in a parlor system. He also raises corn silage for feed. Adam plans to increase the size of the herd to 600 cows in the coming years. His unique rental agreement with his father allows him to take control of every aspect of the farm from cows to equipment to land on a gradual step-up basis.

Learn more about his successful young dairyman and the family’s succession plan: Dairy">https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-succession/dairy-farmers-stroke-calls-... farmer’s stroke calls son back home

Lyman and Chelsey Rudgers met when they were teenagers. They have since married and now run Rudger’s Registered Jerseys in Attica, N.Y., in partnership with Chelsey’s parents.

Read more about them: Lyman">https://www.farmprogress.com/dairy/lyman-and-chelsey-rudgers-keep-focus-... and Chelsey Rudgers keep focus on their cows

Marissa Mills, 22, of R & K Orchards in Corning, Calif., fills trays of apricots at a farmers’ market in Redding, Calif. Marissa is the oldest daughter of Robert and Karen Mills, who farm 65 acres of peaches, apricots, cherries and nectarines for direct sales and a small amount of plums for prunes for Sunsweet Growers. Marissa and her siblings – Joe, 23, Stephanie, 19, and Jason, 17 – have been actively involved in the family farm. As the West is mired in drought this summer, Marissa persuaded her parents to water enough to turn crops on a portion of their property. R & K is well known in Northern California for the quality of their fruit, which they achieve through meticulous attention to detail in the growing process.

After graduating from University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a bachelors in Ag Business, Paige Clothier has been back at the family farm doing “a little bit of everything,” with hopes to eventually handle more of the marketing at MorAgra. 

Learn">https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-operations/firing-all-cylinders-planti... more about Paige, and her family farm

This young man came to the U.S. from his native Brazil while on an internship during college, and later came back to stay. In 2016, Gustavo Parizotto Santian graduated from a university in Brazil with a degree equivalent to an animal science BS degree in the U.S. After college, he worked for Whiteshire Hamroc Farms near Albion, Ind. Today, he is assistant manager at one of Country View Family Farms hog farms near Lynn in Randolph County. He, his wife Jessica and infant daughter Elena live near Lynn. One reason he chose to live in the U.S. rather than return to Brazil was because of more economic opportunity for jobs in his field than in his home country.

Will Gabbert found the perfect career mixing time in an office and time outdoors. As a certified general appraiser for FCS Financial in Missouri, he spends time on row crop operations, livestock enterprises and even recreational land. Will grew up on a hobby farm and ran a row crop operation with his brother outside of Sedalia, Mo., so he understands agriculture. But as an avid hunter and outdoorsman, he understands buyers wanting land assessed for recreational purposes. Not many young people know of a career as an agriculture or rural appraiser, actually, Will learned about it from his dad who also works with FCS Financial. “It is great to get out in the country and visit with landowners,” Will says. “It really is the perfect job for me.”

Early on, Garrett Dixon wasn't sure he'd become a full-time farmer. But he's been dialing in his operation over the years and is not taking anything for granted.

"When I was young, I wasn’t sure whether or not I'd have my own farm, but I wanted to be in production ag in some shape or form," said Dixon, 29, who farms in Lee County, Ala.

Spending time with Dixon, you pick up quickly his natural optimistic manner and practical style, both handy tools for farming. But he started his farming venture during un-optimistic times.

Dixon was Auburn University Young Farmers chairman and in 2019 the Alabama Farmers Federation’s State Young Farmers Committee chair. He served on the federation's state board of directors as an ex-officio member. He's a champion for organization and for getting young farmers involved.

"The federation and Extension Service along with FFA are all good organizations. And for us being involved, getting to know other farmers and young farmers who want to get started, too, has been very beneficial and rewarding," he said.

Learn more about Garrett: A">https://www.farmprogress.com/crops/young-farmer-leader-dials-new-operati... young farmer leader dials in the new operation

Sierra Day joined the staff at the oldest farm publication in the country this spring, as field editor at Prairie Farmer, which dates back 180 years to 1841. Sierra is an Illinois farm girl and cattlewoman whose education took her from Illinois to Kansas and back again. She graduated from Kansas State University in 2020. And when she’s not reporting on Illinois agriculture, she and her fiancé are farming, raising cattle and marketing beef in their direct market business, High Prime. She also freelances as a livestock show photographer on the weekends. Clearly, the grass isn’t growing under her feet these days!

Read more about, and from, Sierra: We">https://www.farmprogress.com/commentary/we-are-all-passionate-about-agri... are all passionate about agriculture

Before joining the team at Dakota Farmer, she was a 4-H Youth Development Extension agent with North Dakota State University.

Writing about improving production practices, shining a spotlight on the region’s farmers who are outstanding in their field, and showcasing those organizations and individuals who are working to improve the agriculture industry are just a few of Sarah's many passions. She is very excited to join the fantastic team at Dakota Farmer.

Learn more about Sarah: Cows">https://www.farmprogress.com/commentary/cows-coffee-and-cardio">Cows, coffee and cardio