Tomorrow's Top Producer

Top Producer Next Gen Award

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 12:15:00 GMT

The Top Producer Next Gen Award (formerly Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award) will be given to a grower under the age of 40, who demonstrates excellence in the business of farming, including:

Marketing
Farm finance
Family and employee relations
Technology
Environmental stewardship

Entrants are judged on entrepreneurial originality (50%), financial and business progress (30%) and industry or community leadership (20%).

Any farmer, rancher or partnership that gets at least half of their income from farming and farm-related ventures may apply.

The winner’s prizes include:

A trip for two including hotel accommodations and a flat travel reimbursement stipend to attend the 2027 Top Producer Summit (Feb.15-17, 2027 in Nashville, TN)
Additional prizes provided by award sponsor(s)

Deadline: Sept. 1, 2026

For questions, contact meckelkamp@farmjournal.com.

Click here to download the Next Gen Award Application

Read about the 2026 winner, Tim Nuss, Lodi, Calif.
Read about the 2025 winner, Dalton Dilldine, Half Moon, Ark.
Read about the 2024 winner, Hallie Shoffner, Newport, Ark.
Read about the 2023 winner, Trey Wasserburger, North Platte, Neb.
Read about the 2022 winner, Brendan and Elaine Martin, Mt. Solon, Va.
Read about the 2021 winner, Matt Splitter, Lyons, Kan.
Read about the 2020 winner, Chase Dewitz, Steele, N.D.
Read about the 2019 winner, Tony Schwarck of Riceville, Iowa
Read about the 2018 winner, Maggie Holub of Scribner, Neb.
Read about the 2017 winner, Cody Goodknight of Chattanooga, Okla.
Read about the 2016 winner, Chris Noble of Pavilion, N.Y.
Read about the 2015 winner, Matt Sims of State Line, Ind.
Read about the 2014 winner, Jeremy Weaver of Needham, Ind.
Read about the 2013 winner, Joanna Carraway of Murray, Ky.
Read about the 2012 winner, Michael Daniels of Salem, Wis.

From Seedstock to Meat Case, A Vision Becomes Reality for Nebraska Rancher

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 20:26:36 GMT

Each year, Top Producer recognizes a producer under the age of 35 who demonstrates excellence in the business of farming, specifically marketing, finance, technology and family and employee relations. Congratulations to Trey Wasserburger, the 2023 recipient of the Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award. He will be recognized at a ceremony held Feb. 24 during Top Producer Summit in Nashville.

Trey Wasserburger always wanted to be a cowboy, but that opportunity didn’t exist through family ties.

In 2016, Wasserburger met Bill Rishel, a legend in the Angus breed, thanks to their mutual banker, Greg Wilkie.

When the two met at the ranch near North Platte, Neb. Rishel quickly saw Wasserburger’s passion for the cattle business and within a matter of weeks made him his protégé. Wasserburger never owned registered stock prior to that but he and his wife, Dayna, jumped in with both feet.

By Jan. 1, 2017, Wasserburger owned a seedstock business, TD Angus . Two months later, he had his first bull sale featuring 112 bulls. This year, Wasserburger will offer about 400 bulls at its March 17 sale. To show accountability, commercial customers can sell or consign their feeder cattle to the first-of-its-kind TD Angus Calf Feed Test .

“We’ll give out $20,000 for calves we pull into our feedyard from customers based on rate of daily gain, highest yield, conversion feed efficiency and total prime percentage,” he says. “Customers can stay in at a 50% partner or retain total ownership all the way through and market as they wish.”

TD Angus owns 1,200 registered cows. To accelerate genetic improvements, they put 300 to 400 embryos in their own herds as well as customers’ herds. They also conduct DNA and genomic testing on all offspring.

“I want to DNA that calf at birth and have him registered with his DNA,” Wasserburger says. “If I like what happened genetically, I might do it again.”

TD Angus specializes in cattle procurement and heifer development and runs 4,500 yearlings on grass and develops 400 to 600 commercial bred heifers a year.

“We try to buy back those steer calves specifically. We also have a heifer development program, so we have an avenue for both sets of calves and then usually try to get them back here to our family feedlot,” he explains.

Sustainable Beef Was Born

The pandemic showed Wasserburger just how fragile the food supply and the cattle market are, and from that Sustainable Beef was born.

“For the first time ever, we actually have under one roof and under one team at Sustainable Beef, a seedstock producer who’s going to provide a high marbling, high tenderness product through our calves that will come back to our family feedlot, Sustainable Beef and then go into Walmart’s food supply.

This is a one-of-a-kind supply chain partnership with Walmart that stems from shared sustainability goals.

“What’s really cool is our carbon footprint is limited to within 15 miles of each other,” Wasserburger says. “These bulls, our feedlot and our packing plant and the Walmart distribution center are all within 15 miles of each other. That’s huge, and we’re proud of that.

The nearly $400 million plant is currently under construction and will be ready for business in 2024. Wasserburger says it’s the last step in their conception-to-consumer model. And it’s just one of the reasons this visionary leader is Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award winner.

Get to know the other 2023 Top Producer award winners:

Marcia Ruff, Executive Women in Agriculture Trailblazer Award

Silent Shade Planting Company, Top Producer of the Year

Engel Family Farms, Top Producer of the Year finalist

MoDak Dairy, Top Producer of the Year finalist

Horizon Award Honors Husband-and-Wife Team for Their Drive and Focus

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 16:59:42 GMT

Each year, Top Producer recognizes a producer under the age of 35 who demonstrates excellence in the business of farming, specifically marketing, finance, technology and family and employee relations. Congratulations to Martin Angus, the 2022 recipient of the Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award. Brendan and Elaine Martin were recognized at a ceremony held Feb. 14 during Top Producer Summit in Nashville.

Brendan Martin learned early on that cows equal cash flow. He started building his herd in high school with the goal of one day owning his own farm.

Growing up in the Shenandoah Valley near Mt. Solon, Va., Brendan began building equity and his farming dream through heifers, custom hay bailing and hard work. His reputation attracted the attention of a neighbor who was looking to slow down. The neighbor wanted a young, energetic farmer to purchase his cow herd and lease his 280-acre farm. Brendan stepped up to the plate.

Today, Brendan’s diversified and multi-faceted operation is a team effort with his wife, Elaine. In addition to their 280-acre home base, they lease around 600 acres of pasture and farmland. They raise corn, alfalfa, small grains and hay, and their cattle operation includes a registered Angus and commercial Angus herd, 210 fed cattle and 1,030 feeder calves. In the past couple of years, they have invested in their cattle facilities to increase cow comfort and feeding efficiency.

In 2019, the Martins added Blue Cedar Beef, a direct-to-consumer beef business. They ship beef all over the nation every week of the year. They also do custom mowing and litter spreading and recently added a trucking business. Their team includes two full-time and two part-time employees. Brendan also owns a large animal mobile veterinary practice, Valley Herd Health. Elaine specializes in record keeping, payroll and financial management for the farm, as well as keeping a close eye on the cattle herd.

As the Martins look toward the future, their goal is not to have the most cows or acres. They are motivated by their return on investment and creating generational impact in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

Take a trip to Martin Angus with this video from AgDay.

The Horizon Award is sponsored by Corteva and Pioneer. The winner receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Top Producer Summit; virtual mentoring sessions from Kristjan Hebert, the 2020 Top Producer of the Year; and a DJI Phantom 4 Drone, courtesy of Corteva.

The Online Top Producer Summit is set for Feb. 22-23 and will include live, on-demand and recorded sessions from the event in Nashville. Register now!

Young Farmers Build Dream Farm, One Piece At A Time

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 17:56:35 GMT

Look around the cattle facilities at Martin Angus and you see attention to detail, creative thinking and ambition. Every piece, from the automatic curtain system to the overhead fans that dry out bedding to the underground drainage system, increases cow comfort, feed efficiency and farm profitability.

Brendan and Elaine Martin are building their dream farm — one piece at a time.

The couple are multigenerational farmers. Brendan’s farming roots run deep in the Shenandoah Valley, while Elaine grew up on a central Missouri row crop and cattle operation. Now the pair have created their own first-generation farm near Mt. Solon, Va.

BUSINESS NO. 1: Registered and Commercial Cattle Herd

As an early age, farming was Brendan’s ultimate goal. His plan: skip college and start buying cows and land.

“I didn’t see the need to waste four years and the dollars on tuition to delay my dream,” he says, “but I realized, you can’t graduate high school and go buy a $1 million farm.”

In researching career paths, Martin shadowed a local large-animal veterinarian during his high school years. The experience fueled a fire within Brendan. He became the first person in his family to attend college, earning a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.

In 2017, Brendan opened Valley Herd Health , a mobile and full-service large-animal practice.

(Farm Journal)

BUSINESS NO. 2: Direct-to-Consumer Beef Business

Simultaneously, Brendan began building a framework for his farm through heifers, custom hay baling and hard work. His reputation attracted the attention of a neighbor who was looking to slow down.

The neighbor wanted a young energetic farmer to purchase his cowherd and lease his 280-acre farm. Brendan stepped up to the plate. What started as a lease morphed into an owner-financed purchase of the farm.

(Farm Journal)

“That was a win-win for us and the landowner,” Brendan says. “He had steady income for a set amount of time, and we were able to use our loan availability for equipment and cattle versus just the land.”

Martin Angus now includes their 280-acre home base and 600 acres of leased pasture and farmland. Their operation includes registered and commercial Angus cattle, as well as cattle donor services.

BUSINESS NO. 3: Large Animal Mobile Veterinary Practice

To add a new marketing opportunity for their cattle, the Martins created Blue Cedar Beef , a direct-to-consumer business, in 2019. The name is inspired by the cedar trees that dot their farm tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

(Farm Journal)

Elaine completed a course to learn the ins and outs of starting a small business. She selects the cattle and delivers them to a local USDA-inspected processor. After they process them, the beef is dry-aged for 21 days and packaged in 50 lb. boxes. She sorts the pieces by the cut and ships to customers.

“The East Coast is my main customer base,” she says. “Most of my customers have a little freezer at home, so they want 15 lb. of beef at a time to feed their family.”

Elaine uses a website and social media to market her products.

“People want a connection — to see you raised their beef,” she says. “It is amazing to me I can post on Instagram, people like the post and then buy something. I don’t buy groceries like that, but it’s been fun to connect with my customers.”

TWO-WAY STREET

The Martins want each of their businesses to complement, not hinder, each other. For example, Brendan’s expertise as a veterinarian has attracted customers for their cattle boarding and breeding program. In return, he is a student of his veterinarian customers.

“I learn every day by being at somebody else’s farm,” he says.

The Martins have borrowed and combined technology, infrastructure and ideas for their cattle facilities that increase productivity. In addition, they built an office and kitchen that adjoins their facility. This offers a professional and dedicated space for shipping the retail beef.

Brendan says he’s also learned a few profitable tips for marketing cattle.

“You need to market cattle, not just sell them,” he says. “If you haul cattle to the sale barn and just unload your trailer, they will send you a check. But if you didn’t check with them for a time to bring them, tell them what you have, etc., you’re just going to be a price taker.”

Beyond learning from customers and peers, Elaine and Brendan credit their internships for opening doors. The two met while working at Gardiner Angus Ranch in Kansas. The couple’s ambitions are remembered almost a decade later.

“Their shared interest in improving beef production from the beginning to the end of the supply chain is remarkable,” says Mark Gardiner, of Gardiner Angus Ranch. “I know of no other couple who graduated from college and almost immediately began to pursue their dreams.”

ORGANIZE, PRIORITIZE

The Martins are routinely asked: How do you do it all?

“Planning ahead helps,” Brendan says. “We try to never put ourselves in a jam. We do a lot of preventative maintenance. Elaine can do just about everything I can do on the farm, so we divide up a lot of the work.”

“A lot of vet and farm work is predictable,” Elaine adds. “So, we try to use those windows of opportunities for our farm work, so it doesn’t negatively impede the vet business.”

In all of their roles, the Martins stay focused on their priorities, finding little ways to make big strides.

“If you do an extra project every day, you make progress,” Brendan explains. “If all you do is feed your cows each day, you haven’t done anything extra, and you get behind.”

LASTING IMPACT

The Martins know dedication is essential in business success, especially as young farmers.

“We’re young and our businesses are young,” Elaine says. “So, we lack some boundaries, but we have fun when it’s just us farming, and Sundays are a good time because the phone is not ringing.”

“We love agriculture, so that’s our fun,” Brendan adds.

As the Martins look toward the future, their goal is not to have the most cows or acres. They are motivated by their return on investment and creating generational impact in the Shenandoah Valley.

The Martins have a clear goal for their three businesses. “We focused on finding ways to build them together to generate income in related but separate ways,” Elaine says.

(Farm Journal)

The Power of Diversification

Brendan and Elaine Martin own and operate three multifaceted businesses, which allow them to diversify income and maximize their connections.

Martin Angus: Registered Angus and commercial Angus herd, which includes 450 cows and 400 cattle on feed. They also offer donor cattle boarding and flushing. They raise corn, alfalfa, small grains and hay on owned and rented farmland.

Blue Cedar Beef: A direct-to-consumer business, offering steaks, roasts and ground beef. They ship beef across the country every week.

Valley Herd Health: A large animal mobile veterinary practice serving farmers and ranchers in the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding counties.

(Farm Journal)

How to Build Consumer Connections

In launching Blue Cedar Beef, a direct-to-consumer business, Elaine Martin knew an inviting website and social media strategy were essential. The website, BlueCedarBeef.com , is easy to navigate and offers a simple process for purchasing products.

“Your website is the billboard for your business,” she says.

With each post on Facebook and Instagram, Elaine aims to educate, inspire or encourage: “I try not to be too salesy. We focus on that we’re a family farm. It is humbling that our beef ends up on so many dinner tables.”

Young Farmer Q&A: Lauren Neale of Tennessee

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:20:26 GMT

In honor of its first-ever special edition dedicated to young farmers, Top Producer spoke with producers from across the U.S. about their business roles, the projects on which they’re focused and the opportunities they see ahead. Lauren Neale, 27, of McMinnville, Tenn., is focused on developing the marketing strategy for her family’s vertically integrated cattle business. Top Producer’s The Young Farmer Issue mails May 31 to readers.

Commodities: Sheep and cattle

Focused On: Developing the marketing strategy for our freezer beef, as well as basic brand awareness. We want people to feel comfortable with our family and know that we are producing safe and delicious beef that they can buy directly from us.

(Download our FREE e-book: 5 Profit Strategies For Young Farmers)

Exciting Project: My husband bought a processing plant, and it has been in operation for about two months now. It’s really neat to be a part of the entire beef process from artificial insemination and calving to grazing, harvest and beef on the plate.

Quotable: I didn’t grow up with an agriculture background so it’s been a learning process for me. I enjoy being able to look out of our window and see baby lambs trying to stand up for the first time. I realize how much care livestock requires, and I look forward to learning more about animal husbandry.

Take advantage of our Early Bird discount, which runs through June 9, and attend the 2017 Tomorrow’s Top Producer business conference for young farmers July 20-21 in Nashville.

Young Producers Pave Their Way in the Beef Industry

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:16:38 GMT

Young producers are a rare sight in pastures and farm fields across America. Breaking into the cattle business is difficult. It requires a number of assets including land to graze and grow feed, equipment and genetics. USDA’s Census of Agriculture estimates there are 2,109,363 farmers and ranchers, but fewer than 120,000 are under the age of 34. The average age of American’s involved in farming and ranching is 58.3 years old, and the trend has been on the rise since the 1980s.

Despite barriers to entry, many young cattle producers have beaten the odds. At the Range Beef Cow Symposium held in Loveland, Colo., three young producers shared their experiences getting started, overcoming unique challenges and maintaining cattle operations.

Chasing a Dream

As a freshman South Dakota State University football walk-on, Brandon Peterson took a knee with his teammates during two-a-days to listen to an inspiring speech from his coach. That speech sparked the Alcester, S.D., rancher’s big dream of owning 500 cows. The next spring he purchased five Angus heifers—the foundation for Peterson Angus.

When Peterson graduated in 1999, he had 10 heifers and an eye on returning to his family’s diversified livestock operation. With 150 ewes, 100 commercial cows and a small hog farrowing operation, there wasn’t enough income to support multiple families, so Peterson began a career as a cattle nutritionist.

“The cool thing is I had a passion for genetics, I was growing my herd and I got to see how nutrition played into genetics on a day-to-day basis,” Peterson says.

He met a mentor during that time who allowed him to sell four bulls on the end of the Thousand Oaks Angus sale in 2005. The next year, Peterson cosigned eight bulls to the sale. Unfortunately, it was the last sale because the Thousand Oaks herd was sold for dispersal.

Peterson then partnered with a local producer to co-host their own production sale in 2007. There were 36 bulls offered and 24 replacement heifers. The auction barn seated 400, but only 60 people attended.

“Needless to say, the first sale was a bit of a struggle,” Peterson says. Only seven bulls and 10 heifers were sold.

Peterson started to question whether he had made the right choice to be in the business, but reflected back to the goal he set at football practice. At 40 cows he wasn’t in much debt and prices from 2008 to 2009 offered the opportunity to expand.

“I understood my market,” Peterson says. He bought “nice, papered heifers” for just $300 more than commercial females.

When the cow herd reached 200 head in 2013, Peterson retired from his day job as a nutritionist and now works full-time on his seedstock operation.

Today, Peterson is well on his way to his dream. He owns 300 cows, and is planning to add the final 200 head in the future. Approximately 500 embryos were placed in recipient cows at cooperative herds he works with. This past year, two of Peterson’s bulls were among the top of the Angus breed for registrations.

He suggests young producers define their program by writing a business plan. “Keep the big picture in mind,” he adds.

The Road Less Traveled

Coming from a “family of hippies,” Zach Thode lived in a tent with no running water or electricity until he was 6 years old. His parents raised him in the foothills of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains where he was surrounded by ranches.

“Growing up, I saw these guys ranching around me and I loved what they were doing,” Thode says.

At 8-years-old he regularly hopped off the bus after school and began helping local ranchers to learn about agriculture. That passion led Thode to attend Colorado State University, graduating in 2005 with a degree in agricultural engineering.

He worked at several engineering jobs before settling in Livermore, Colo., where he runs 500 commercial cows and is an engineer for an irrigation company.

For Thode, ranching has been about utilizing opportunities and making them work.

“There is a possibility with every single decision that comes in our life and we have to figure out how to make that possibility work for us,” Thode says.

For example, he trades out hunting or fishing at his ranch for a day’s work, and buys used equipment that can be repaired. “As a young producer we have to leave pride at the door,” Thode says. It shouldn’t be about having the fastest horse or newest pickup, because those things don’t pay you back.

Thode also works as an auction representative with Big Iron and he’s found several opportunities to make purchases worth the money. “We have to make that dollar work for us more than once,” Thode says.

Being aware of cost benefits, Thode raises his own bulls with a small herd of AI’d purebred cows. The cost of a straw of semen is a lot better return on investment compared to buying a bull at auction, he says.

Thode leans on relationships he’s built with fellow producers and neighbors. “To do that you have to be honorable in everything you do,” Thode says. “Our reputation is all we have at the end of the day. We have to keep that where we want it.”

Following in Their Footsteps

Riding feedlot pens in the saddle with her mother, 5-year-old Cassie Lapaseotes caught the cattle feeding bug. Even during college, she came back on summer breaks to help at the family feedlot. One day, she dreamed of returning to manage the operation.

“My dad is very forward thinking. He is probably a step ahead of a lot of people—knowing he needs to change to bring us back in,” she says.

Several events fast-forwarded her arrival to the family business. When her grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer, succession planning occurred weekly for six months.

Then her mother died, leaving behind a separate ranch and feedlot enterprise. No plan was set, but her mom was in the process of writing down what she wanted. Lapaseotes and her two siblings decided her sister and brother-in-law would manage the ranch and feedlot her mother owned.

Succession planning “is a tough topic to deal with,” she says. “You have to have the conversation.”

Days before she graduated from Colorado State University, her father’s feedlot manager quit—creating an opening for her to step into.

Before taking the reins, she worked every job in the feedlot from scrubbing tanks to making feed calls. “I worked my way to the top,” she says, adding her father wouldn’t “send a duck to eagle school.”

Now, she manages Lapaseotes Feed Yard near Bridgeport, Neb., overseeing six employees: four in the feedlot and two with the cowherd.

“When I come to work every morning, my attitude and my demeanor reflects on everybody I work with,” she says. It can be a heavy weight on her shoulders, but a positive attitude is crucial to a successful business.

Young farmers can learn business skills from the experts at Tomorrow’s Top Producer conference, June 16-17, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Register at www.TomorrowsTopProducer.com .