2020 Beltrami County Farm Family of the Year is Jeff and Rachel Koch from Puposky, Minn.
PUPOSKY, Minn. — The University of Minnesota Extension and Beltrami County is proud to announce the 2020 Beltrami County Farm Family of the Year is Jeff and Rachel Koch from Puposky, Minnesota.
The Koch’s bloodlines are deeply rooted in farming as Jeff grew up and worked his family’s dairy farm, established in 1965, in Puposky, MN. Today, Jeff continues to work the family farmlands, raise a 50-head, cow-calf beef herd, and run the crop operation. Jeff and his family plant on over 700 acres of farmland raising corn, soybeans, and alfalfa. In addition to his own farm work, Jeff does custom harvesting for other community members, and in his “spare time” owns and operates a farm machinery business, Pike Creek Repairs.
Rachel Koch is a full-time family Nurse Practitioner and helps out when her schedule permits. Jeff runs the operation along with their children Tori Koch (daughter) and Jacob “Jake” Koch (son) who grew up on the farmstead and continue to help where they can, even though they are grown.
Tori Koch took her skills and passion from the farm and recently graduated from the University of Minnesota Crookston with a degree in agriculture business and a minor in animal science and currently works for BASF and U.S. Crop Marketing in Raleigh, NC. Jake Koch is learning the trade in his spare time, away from his full-time job at Kraus-Anderson Construction, and is in the beginning stages of creating a herd of his own.
The Koch’s will join farm family honorees from across the state to be recognized in the 2020 ceremonies in August at the annual Minnesota Farmfest on the Gilfillan Estate near Redwood Falls. A local recognition event is also being planned during the Beltrami County Fair.
Last modified: 08/13/2020
