Victory in the field for sixth-generation corn growers

Keeping a family farm together for multiple generations takes teamwork and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Reid Stransky owns and operates Stransky Farms with his four sons across Minnesota and Wisconsin, focusing on growing corn and scaling the business as more family members return to the farm. The main headquarters is in Owatonna, Minnesota, where Reid and three of his sons are based.

“My great-great-grandfather established our farm near Owatonna in the 1890s. I’m actually the fifth generation to live on the farm, and our boys are the sixth,” Reid said.

Reid credits his parents with raising him to be competitive and to think outside the box, which is why Stransky Farms continues to grow and innovate.

“Sports develop a competitive nature in one’s spirit, and that carries over to farming,” Reid said. “It’s human nature that we’re always pushing the envelope to be more competitive, and I do everything I can to present these guys with the same opportunity that I was presented with to succeed.”

That same competitive spirit continues on the farm with Reid’s four sons, who grew up participating in athletics and livestock shows.

Team effort for success

Bringing in the next generation has meant farming more acres and expanding the operation into new areas. Recently, Stransky Farms purchased an elevator in Owatonna to store its corn, offering more flexibility for marketing.

“It’s obviously a father’s joy to have your children want to do what you and four generations before you did and keep building upon one another’s work. It also creates challenges,” Reid said. “The more family members involved, the bigger you need to get.”

All four of the sons are finding their unique niches within the operation.

“You need somebody who kind of has their specialty, and that’s what makes the whole thing work,” Reid said.

Joseph, 26, is back on the home farm in Owatonna and focuses on the mechanic side of the business with equipment maintenance. Zach, 24, runs the farm near Barron, Wisconsin, and custom applies fungicides, insecticides and herbicides; and sidedresses fertilizer.

Jerome, 21, spent a few years away from the farm for internships, to work on different farms, and go to college for dairy management. He spent one year working at a cooperative before coming back to the Owatonna farm full time in March. Jerome has focused on operating machinery and the family’s dairy farm.

“We grew up milking cows, and I was always the cow kid in the family,” Jerome said.

Darian, 19, is the youngest and is currently in his sophomore year at Iowa State University, where he is majoring in accounting.

“I plan to come back and do more of the business side of the operation, especially the accounting,” Darian said.

All of the boys say they are grateful to be the sixth generation in their family to farm.

“Galloping over a lot of acres is the only way we’re going to make this work with all four boys being involved,” Reid said. “I love having them involved, but we need to change with the times and keep this operation viable for as many people who are involved in it.”

High performance in the field

When selecting inputs for Stransky Farms, the family does a lot of research, much like selecting players for a team. Proven performance is always a critical selection parameter.

“I’ve always said I look at it as looking at an all-star team,” Reid said. “We look at the best players in seed genetics, and we plant what we feel in our area are the best varieties that are available to us.”

Three areas that Reid believes are important to selecting seed are:

• Customer service
• Performance
• Price

“Right now, Brevant seeds is winning in all three of those categories,” Reid said.

For the past three years, Stransky Farms has planted Brevant brand B08R32PCE corn on most of its acres.

“Brevant seeds is just the best thing out there right now,” Reid said. “So, to compare it to sports again, I’m going to say it’s the Michael Jordan of corn varieties at the moment.”

Stransky Farms reached its record corn yield in 2020, with the average near 250 bushels per acre. Reid and his sons are optimistic this year will chase that high-water mark thanks to the good growing conditions and management improvements. Practices like sidedressing nitrogen and applying fungicide and boron are just a few of the ways the Stransky family is pushing their cornfields to excel.

“We put a lot of eggs in the Brevant basket because we truly believe in it,” Reid said. “It’s not just been our best corn. It’s been the best corn for the local co-ops around here when they have their winter crop days.

“As long as Brevant seeds keeps winning that yield contest on our farm, that’s going to make it really easy for Brevant seeds to keep a lot of our acres.”

See how more farmers like the Stransky family are winning in their fields at Profiles in Winning.

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