Best Young Farmers, Ranchers

CHICAGO (DTN) -- DTN/The Progressive Farmer announced its 2014 class of America's Best Farmers and Ranchers Program honorees at its annual Ag Summit in Chicago on Tuesday.

Now in its fourth year, America's Best Young Farmers and Ranchers recognizes the next generation of farmers and ranchers who are building successful agricultural businesses and who are making positive impacts on agriculture and in their communities.

"DTN and The Progressive Farmer have a nationally-recognized reputation for their support of America's young farmers and ranchers," said Gregg Hillyer, editor in chief for The Progressive Farmer magazine. "The America's Best Young Farmers and Ranchers Program is an exciting extension of our appreciation for their innovation and for their imagination."

The class of 2014 possesses a wide range of farming skills. The six farmers honored this year come from all walks of farming in America -- a grain and lumbering operation in Virginia; a Mississippi farm testing cutting-edge water conservation practices; a first-generation Ohio farm; a highly diverse farm in Colorado taking a leadership role in dramatically expanding local feed markets; and a grass seed and hazelnut operation adding high-tech irrigation equipment to reduce operating costs and increase its efficiency in using water.

Honorees have made a substantial commitment to their communities, whether that is in their home community or in the communities of other nations where they sell their products.

"They all bring their same talents for farming and ranching to the challenges facing the rural communities where they make their homes and to the places where they sell their production," Hillyer said. "We view involvement beyond farm and ranch production as important to the future of agriculture in the United States. If farmers and ranchers aren't advocates for small-town America, for their markets and for their profession, who will be?"

Nominees for America's Best Young Farmers and Ranchers are 40 years old or younger. They manage at least 500 acres and show a high level of commitment to their community. Nominations will soon be accepted for membership in the 2015 class of America's Best Young Farmers and Ranchers.

Here's a brief look at the 2014 honorees. Full features accompanied by photographs will be included in a special section of the February 2013 issue of The Progressive Farmer magazine.

-- Brenda Frketich, Kirsch Family Farms, St. Paul, Ore.

When she graduated from her small-town high school, the last place Brenda Frketich expected to be was back at the farm running her family's ryegrass seed and hazelnut operation near St. Paul, Ore. After high school, she left for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a plan to study business and then earn her law degree. But at the end of her junior year at Loyola, she found she missed the harvest, the dirt of the 1,000-acre farm where she grew up. And, that is when her plans changed. After Brenda earned her business degree, she returned home to work on the farm, where her father Paul offered Brenda a two-year internship. She would be an hourly employee, but also work with her father on all aspects of the business. If at the end of that time, both father and daughter agreed she was ready, Brenda would gradually take over operational control of the Kirsch Family Farms. That was seven years ago. With her father stepping back earlier this year, Brenda, 30, faces the risks and stresses of a business now in the family for three generations. Brenda is newly married to Matt Frketich.

-- Philip J. Hayne III, Haynie Farms, Burgess, Va.

Philip J. Haynie III is determined to teach his three children about the contributions the family's diversified grain farm makes in feeding the world. With a family farming history reaching back five generations, he wants them to have an appreciation for the work of their grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather in building a business that today includes a corn, wheat and soybean farm, a trucking operation and a timber business. As an African-American farmer, Philip stands among a group of American farmers who have declined in numbers to near extinction. Through his board position on the National Black Growers Council, Philip works to teach progressive management skills and technological proficiency to other farmers. The council is a coalition of African-American commodity growers who are advocates for the 21st century needs of black row-crop farmers. The mission of the council is to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of black row-crop farmers. Philip serves on the Agricultural Advisory Council for Virginia's first congressional district. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and currently serves on the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Advisory Committee for both Virginia Tech and Virginia State Universities. He is a Board member of Chesapeake Academy and a member of Macedonia Baptist Church, in Heathsville, Va. Philip is married to Lisa, a family practice physician. They have three children, Colette, 11; Philip IV, 10; and Trevor, 5.

-- Mark Ruff, Ruff Farms, Circleville, Ohio.

Mark Ruff and his wife, Marcia, are working to build a legacy with their corn, soybean and wheat farm, and an erosion-control business. They began this first-generation farm in 1997 and run it with clear lifestyle and economic goals. But the construction of a business is unrewarding if it cannot be passed onto someone else, Mark believes. So, this farm is being built to grow beyond the ownership of Mark and Marcia onto future generations. To get there, Mark, who is 40, focuses on three goals: build yield, build profit per acre, and when the opportunity presents itself, add land to the operation, now at 3,000 acres. The goal is to grow 10% a year. Mark does not see advantage in increasing acreage just for the sake of growing the farm. It is better to be good, he believes, than it is to be big. Ruff Farms is intentional in its work within his community. Mark has given money to his countywide food bank. He and Marcia award an annual scholarship to a senior from Westfall High School who is planning a career in agriculture. This past year, they awarded two scholarships. Mark is currently president of the Westfall Board of Education. With Marcia, the couple is raising three children, Matthew, 9; Mitchell, 6; and Mae, 20 months.

-- Marc Arnusch, Marc Arnusch Farms, Keenesburg, Colo.

Following the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who immigrated to the United States from Austria in 1952, Marc Arnusch, 40, became the third generation of the family to work and cultivate land in the Prospect Valley in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. The valley has highly productive soils and lies directly on top of the Lost Creek Water Basin, allowing Marc to irrigate the farm's 2,400 acres. The core of his Colorado farm centers on row-crop farming, including sugar beets, wheat, sunflowers, alfalfa, corn and corn silage. It is important to Marc to derive revenue from value-added crops, rather than simply marketing bulk products. Marc is an advocate for agriculture within both its political and consumer arenas. Through his work, Weld County made a change in its zoning laws that encouraged a fistful of new dairies to move into his part of the county -- the dairies provide an important source of high-value feed demand for area farms. Through a land management consulting business, Marc works with developers to maintain an agricultural presence within their building plans. Marc is the past president of the Colorado Corn Board, past president of two county farm bureaus -- Weld and Morgan counties -- and is serving on the Colorado Farm Bureau board of directors, as well as on the board of the Colorado Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company. He is married to Jill, and they have a son, Brett.

-- Jeremy Jack & Stacie Jack-Koger, Silent Shade Plantation, Belzoni, Miss.

This brother and sister tandem emulates the idea of farming progressivism. Jeremy, 31, manages the day-to-day operations of the 8,500-acre corn, soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton farm. Under his management, precision farming has become a key practice on this Mississippi Delta operation. Every pound of fertilizer and every seed planted (with the exception of the rice) are applied at a variable rate depending on soil types and conditions. Jeremy is a leader in environmental stewardship. The farm has committed 800 acres to a water reclamation project that will demonstrate systems to fully recover all of the water used to irrigate this land. Stacie, 34, is the managing partner for Silent Shade. A veteran certified public accountant, Stacie handles all things related to the farm's finances. She has a keen eye for successfully making marketing and acquisition decisions. She has a key role in Willard Jack Trucking, Inc., the farm's trucking company, and in their new venture, Delta Air, Inc. that provides aerial application services to Humphreys County and beyond. Stacy is secretary of the Mississippi Soybean Association and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Jeremy is president of the Mississippi Soybean Association and serves on the Mississippi Farm Bureau Water Task Force Committee.

(CZ/AG)

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