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Deciding on a career can be a daunting task for many young people, but for Andy and Brian Stickel, there was hardly a second thought. Agriculture is engrained into their way of life and they are grateful for those who have paved the way before them. Their pay-it-forward mentality is what drives them to step up and take on responsibilities in the industry and in their community.

It has also earned them the honor of being named Beck’s Young Farm Leaders, a program that showcases young people in agriculture who are actively engaged in their communities and the industry.

“At Beck’s, we know the future of agriculture is the hands of young farmers like the Stickels,” said Bruce Kettler, Director of Public Relations at Beck’s Hybrids. “We are excited to recognize their efforts to step in to leadership roles because they understand the importance of being engaged and leading the industry.”

The brothers have been farming as long as they can remember, but made the official decision to return to the farm after college with Brian graduating from The Ohio State University in 2011 and Andy returning from Kansas State with a master’s degree in 2012. They now operate and manage the family farm alongside their parents growing a combination of soybeans, corn, wheat, tomatoes and alfalfa with a cow/calf operation, feeder cattle and custom baling keeping them busy in between.

Their business fills many niche market opportunities with non-GMO and food grade soybean varieties that reach international markets and allow them to appreciate the need for Ohio and the United States to do business on a global scale.  With a similar niche market focus, their cattle are marketed under the Ohio Signature Beef Brand as an Ohio Proud product. With all of their endeavors, they strive to implement practices that allow them to improve efficiency and be good stewards of the environment.

“This year we seeded rye by flying it on standing cornstalks and our acres are all no-till. The last few years we’ve started banding all of our fertilizer. It goes about two inches into the ground with 15-inch centers and we plant our beans in 15 inch rows between the bands,” said Brian. “We notice more consistency with yields and we gain efficiency by having the fertilizer more readily available and not tied up in the soil.”

They believe in the importance of education, not only for themselves keeping up with new technology and research in the agricultural industry, but also the importance of educating consumers and policy makers who might not understand all the intricacies of farming.

“You see a lot of companies wanting to remove GMOs, we need to help people become more educated on the topic and make decisions for themselves. We try to be transparent, there are many ways to do things and in the end we just want to produce a safe wholesome product for consumers,” said Andy.

Their family farm has welcomed the opportunity to be part of a county agriculture tour, bringing area CEOs, managers and elected officials on the farm to see their side of the industry and help answer questions that might be surrounding new policies and regulations being considered.

“We’re involved in the community and I serve on the Ohio Soybean Association Board,” said Andy. “We think it’s important to represent our farm, ourselves and our community in the right way and our organization serves as the voice to make sure things happening with policy in Columbus or D.C. are in the best interest of those on the farm.”

Brian serves on the Wood County Farm Bureau Board and their township zoning committee. He knows sometimes the decisions they make effect a lot of people and they have to look at what’s best for everyone involved.

Looking to the future, there is no slowing down, the brothers hope to grow the operation and continue to diligently look for opportunities to improve their efficiency and stewardship of the land.

“We do it because we love it. Watching things grow and producing a crop is something we can be proud of and we know we’re carrying on a tradition. We also hope we’re doing things right for the next generation to ensure there is a bright future for agriculture,” said Andy.

“We’re happy to honor Andy & Brian as Beck’s Young Farm Leaders,” said Tommie Price, Ohio Soybean Association (OSA) president and soybean farmer from Putnam County. “OSA advocates on behalf of Ohio soybean farmers and it’s great to see young leaders getting involved in that process. Engaged farmers like Andy and Brian will help keep our industry strong for years to come. OSA encourages other farmers to apply or nominate someone for the Beck’s Young Farm Leader program to continue to showcase Ohio’s young farmers.”