150+ Years of Keeping the Farm in the Family

Longevity. That’s the word that describes the operation Steve Best grew up on and is a part of today. Located in Ohio, Best’s family operation qualifies as a century farm. In fact, they can trace back records to the year 1867 to prove how long the land has been in the family. When you hear Best talk about his involvement on the operation and the future of the beef industry, you can undoubtedly hear the passion and excitement in his voice.

When asked what it means to have the farm in the family for that so many years Best said, “It gives you a sense of pride but also puts a tremendous amount of pressure on you, because you don’t want to be the generation that loses it. It’s a good pressure though that works as a motivator to get you through the hard days.” Best mentioned that they have a succession plan that they are working on to make it easier for the next generation to transition onto the operation and make it something they want to come back to.

Best, his brother and nephew do much of the heavy lifting on the operation, but they also rely on other family members for labor support. No one is on the operation full-time as they all have full-time jobs as a means of providing financial security to each individual family. They understand that their operation simply can’t support multiple families, so they do what they must do. Because everyone has full-time jobs off the ranch, extra effort is needed on the communication front. Best shared that they do their best to call, text and talk to one another; but like any other operation they aren’t perfect. He chose to come back to the operation because it’s in his blood and knew that’s what he wanted to do even if it wasn’t his parents’ plan to have him return home.

A treasured photo of members from the Best family.

The Best operation consists of a small cow herd and direct-to-consumer meat business but is also a stocker operation. Best focuses mostly on the stocker part of the operation. There are many small producers in the area which allows him to put together different groups of calves that are the same color and size. Best’s favorite part of all that they do is marketing and communicating with consumers. He enjoys teaching people about beef and how it is raised.

When Best thinks about the future of the beef industry he is most excited about how the product keeps improving and said, “I guess you know the product that we have to offer just keeps getting better and better. There is more consistency in what we can offer the consumer and much more emphasis on quality than what it used to be. You know, for years people would buy a great steak at the store and then go back a week later and get something that you could hardly chew. I think we've pretty much eliminated that problem, for the most part, just by educating our industry on what we need. Even though we don't have a lot of consistency and breeds and that sort of things, I think we all understand where to give shots at and what the consumer is looking for in a product.”

Best believes the most important thing producers need to do to keep farms in the family is have fun and focus on the big picture. “You know it's really hard work and you just can’t get hung up on the little details. Look at the big picture and how things are going. I mean it's easy to get caught up in everything that's going wrong and get discouraged, but you just got to focus on what's down the road and have fun at it. Enjoy the time together as a family. Look at how many people don't get to do that. So, it's really a blessing to be able to share that with the family.”

Best chuckled and said he won’t make it to the 200-year celebration but is excited for the next generation that is becoming involved on the operation. His family’s story and his personal excitement about the life he gets to live is an inspiration to all.

Learn more about the Best operation by heading to their website. www.bestfamilyfarms.com