Young Farmers
Trey Wasserburger, the 2023 Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award winner, is redefining the conception-to-consumer beef model to live out his dream of being a cowboy.
At the age of 15, Callee Pellett signed her first lease, and today, the 16-year-old farmer has nearly 20 acres she farms on her own. As the seventh generation, it’s a unique opportunity she doesn’t take for granted.
With a slogan of “raised, not sourced,” Tim Haer had a wild idea to differentiate their business: create a vending machine to sell meat produced on their family’s farm, an idea he says that’s been wildly successful.
As Mary Pat Sass’ social media shows glimpses of life from the seat of the tractor, it’s not the view she envisioned for her life even a decade ago. But through humor and candor, she’s now an inspiration to others.
Travel to Carpenter, Wy., and you’ll see two-thirds of the state’s 9,000 dairy cows, who are milked at Burnett Dairy. You’ll also get to see an upcoming second-generation dairy farmer, Reese Burnett.
Three under-30 producers from Illinois, Ohio and Mississippi sound off on the struggles, pressures and hopes of farming’s next generation.
In just a decade on the farm, Virginia dairy farmer Ben Smith’s journey has been one of dedication and innovation, which is what makes him the 2023 Milk Business Young Producer Award winner.
As the seventh generation of the Cullipher family carves out a new opportunity, a Farmall serves as a time capsule of the past and motivation of what it takes to keep their farming legacy intact.
With a tractor that had been sitting untouched for at least 30 years, Charlie Bortner knew he had his work cut out for him. He figured the restoration project would take shape years down the road, but fate intervened.
Finding and restoring tractors has become a hobby for 18-year-old Charlie Bortner. When he had the chance to acquire a special Farmall, he jumped on the opportunity to help keep one man’s memory alive.