For Sparks, the wall creates a problem. “If the wall is ever (fully) installed, our farm will essentially be cut in half. We’ll have roughly 900 acres south of the wall,” he explained. That day will come with a problem. “We’re worried it is going to pose a problem with trying to find a labor force that will work south of the wall.” It’s a concern of safety and access already expressed by some of Sparks farming associates. “My family is already concerned when I work down here,” he said.
IMAGINATION FOR THE FUTURE
Writing about America’s Best Young Farmers and Ranchers, I meet people who are successful and creative, employ innovative business practices and cutting-edge technologies, and their operations are defined by an imagination for a future some may think improbable.
Farther north from Sparks lives Taylor Nelson from South Sioux City, Nebraska. I actually met Taylor at the 2022 CES in Las Vegas. CES was once known at the Consumer Electronic Show. Taylor was working the John Deere display, talking about technology — specifically, the technology he brings to the farm he and his father, Doug operate. (I did an interview with him at the show you can see at https://www.dtnpf.com/….)
We thought Nelson would be an excellent honoree for this year’s Young Farmer and Rancher class. He was certainly that.
So, one night, full moon over a field of corn, sharing a couple of beers on a hill outside the farm’s shop, Nelson and I talked about technology. He is chief technology officer for Nelson Farms, after all. But we also talked about his wife, Emily who runs Orderly Elegance, a professional organizing business, and their children, Brock and Teagan. Taylor and Emily love their kids and love family.
Emily’s work ethic is second to none, Taylor said. But family and friends are not lost in all the work. “Sometimes it’s easy to get tied up in constant business relationships and numbers, but she’s always that person that remembers to send the card or the bouquet of flowers.”
The Nelsons make family life a priority. “We have to be very deliberate about making time for family because we’re constantly engaged in phone calls and text messages, emails, whatever it is,” he said. Emily and Taylor make time for one another, short vacations even close to home. They schedule a weekly movie night, popcorn, and an animated movie. Just Taylor, Emily, Brock and Teagan. Phones and laptops put up for the night. “That’s kind of the point of movie night, we’re just going to sit and watch a simple movie, and life’s going to be no more complicated than what candy or snack you want.”
GETTING TO KNOW FAMILIES
It’s these kinds of memories, quick takes into someone else’s life, beyond the farm business, those production numbers, yields, temperatures and rainfall that makes meeting these folks so much fun.
This year this, besides visiting Sparks in Texas and the Nelsons in Nebraska, I also had the opportunity to spend time with Roger Smith from Brinkley, Arkansas and Zack Brown from Pocahontas, Arkansas (from them I learned about rice and can’t-fail irrigation), and Jared and Rachel Kunkle of Monmouth, Illinois (a young farmer couple who are building a vibrant first generation farm while running full-time insurance and farm management businesses).
I walk away with new friendships, but often with new things to consider, new ideas and always a better understanding how farmers and ranchers live their lives, honor those who came before them and how they share their hopes for the generations to come.
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Editor’s Note:
To see an interview with Dan Miller about what he looks for when picking America’s Best Young Farmers, see the Reporter’s Notebook video: https://www.dtnpf.com/….
DTN/Progressive Farmer maintains a library of America’s Best Young Farmers and Ranchers, including videos of the one mentioned in this story. To see them, go to: https://spotlights.dtnpf.com/….
To see the full stories of the 2023 winners, go to:
Best Young Farmers/Ranchers – 1, “Texan Farmer Along Rio Grande River Does Business With Mexico,” https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Best Young Farmers/Ranchers – 2, “Fifth Generation Nebraska Farmer Fond of Finding New Efficiencies,” https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Best Young Farmers/Ranchers – 3, “Young Arkansas Farmer Treasures His Land Tied to His Great-Great-Grandmother,” https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Best Young Farmers/Ranchers – 4, “First-Generation Illinois Farmers Show Partners Make It Work,” https://www.dtnpf.com/…
Best Young Farmers/Ranchers – 5, “Arkansas Young Farmers are Farming the Family Way,” https://www.dtnpf.com/…
If you are interested in participating in America’s Best Young Farmer and Ranchers or nominating someone, contact him at 205-613-6088.
Dan Miller can be reached at dan.miller@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @DMillerPF
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