Top Producer magazine announce the top finalists
Creativity is everywhere in the workforce. It might not seem like there is room to be creative in retail, but if ten people were given the same seasonal endcap to put together, there would be ten unique endcap designs. That’s creativity.
Believe it or not, there is also room to be creative in farming and ranching.
Actually, a large portion of farming and ranching is finding creative solutions to issues that crop up.
Flat tire on the tractor and rain is coming? You can bet the farmer will figure out a way to plug, patch, or fix the tire -- and if it isn’t fixable, perhaps a different tractor tire will fit.
Cow is hiding her calf? Come back to see her at normal calf-feeding times (there are a few times throughout the day when just about the whole pasture is feeding their calves).
Top Producer magazine agrees: Farming and ranching can be creative. They’ve chosen one Top Producer of the Year and a separate award called the “Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award.”
The Top Producer this year is from a little railroad town called Villard, Minnesota. The family of Todd and Louise Malecha milk 1200 dairy cows and grow 1100 replacement heifers, in addition to producing 2500 acres of crops -- like corn and soybeans- and forage -like alfalfa, silage, and hay. The Malechas also ‘do custom work,’ and they own and operate a gravel pit. With all those irons in the fire, it’s no surprise that
Malecha Enterprises is a family affair -- five of Todd and Louise’s seven children take part, along with two daughters-in-law.
The “Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award” recognizes a young producer under 35 years of age. Husbandand-wife team Brendan and Elaine Martin own Martin Angus and Blue Cedar Beef in Mt. Solon, Virginia. Alfalfa, corn, small grains, and hay are all included in their operation, along with a registered Angus and a commercial Angus herd, fed cattle, and feeder calves. The Martins also directly market their beef (through their Blue Cedar Beef business).
Brendan and Elaine’s businesses began early on, after Brendan realized in high school that what he wanted to do was run cattle. He custom baled and calved out heifers, both of which can be laborious. Baling hay isn’t usually so labor-intensive, but when things go wrong, fixing and digging out bales from a round baler can take some hard work. Like so many around our area, Brendan fell in with an elderly neighbor who was searching for a young rancher to do a ‘work-for-takeover’ sort of deal, lease his 280 acres, and buy his cows. Brendan took the job, and still today, that 280 acres is what they call their “home base.” For the rest of their acreage, they rent.
In addition to the rest of their operation, they recently added custom mowing, litter spreading, and a trucking business. If that didn’t keep them busy enough already, Brendan owns a mobile large animal veterinary practice called “Valley Herd Health.” His wife Elaine works with him in the ideal rancher’s wife scenario -- keeping records, doing payroll for their four employees, managing the farm’s finances, and checking the cows.
Top Producer finds some good examples of go-getting farmers and ranchers -- but even those who don’t have ten irons in the fire are doing their level best to be good stewards of the land and of the animals to feed America and beyond.