Roadmap to success
Ratka reflects on his career in FFA
BY TIFFANY KLAPHAKE STAFF WRITER
COLD SPRING — Tyler Ratka did not grow up on a farm, but that did not deter him from learning all he could about agriculture and taking on leadership positions within agricultural organizations.
Ratka, a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, is serving as the 2023-24 Minnesota FFA vice president. At the UMN, Ratka is majoring in animal science with an emphasis in dairy production.
“Both of my parents grew up on dairy farms and were active in FFA,” Ratka said. “They both work in the dairy industry with different agribusinesses. Even though I did not grow up on a dairy farm, I have always been a part of the industry.”
Ratka and his family grew up in Cold Spring. As soon as Ratka and each of his two sisters, Megan and Allison, were old enough to join 4-H, they started leasing and showing dairy cattle from a family friend. Then,
when Ratka was in sixth grade, the family moved into the country.
“My sisters and I own some dairy show heifers and have remained active showing, judging and with dairy quiz bowl,” Ratka said.
When Ratka was a freshman in high school, he followed in his sisters’ footsteps and joined the Rocori FFA Chapter. He immediately joined the Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management Career Development Event and competed for two years. During Ratka’s sophomore year, the team won a trip to compete at the National FFA Convention & Expo.
“That contest taught me a lot about evaluating dairy animals,” Ratka said. “Along with that contest, you had to learn about the National Dairy Herd Information Association records, which is also something I was interested in.”
For the following two years, Ratka participated in the Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity. Meanwhile, Ratka also participated in parliamentary procedure, served as chapter parliamentarian and
was chapter president his junior and senior year. He was also involved with chapter activities on various committees.
“I helped start up our chapter test plot that we use for educational purposes right next to the school,” Ratka said.
Ratka continued to climb the ladder of leadership. He served as the Region III treasurer his junior year and president his senior year.
“I really enjoyed being on that team,” Ratka said. “As region president, I was able to work with the state officers last year. I knew that was something I wanted to continue being involved in.”
Megan was also Region III president her senior year.
“She was a good leader and role model for me to look up to,” Ratka said. “She pushed me to get more involved.”
Ratka decided there was no better way to get involved than to apply for a state officer position.
“I saw being a state officer as a good way to give back and help inspire new members,” Ratka said. “The judging process was two full days of individual interviews, group scenarios, a writing portion and a speech.”
The candidate judging occurs during the days leading up to the Minnesota State FFA Convention held each
year in April at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus.
Ratka and the candidates
Ratka page 2B
PHOTO SUBMITTED Tyler Ratka shows off an award he received at the 2023 Minnesota State FFA Convention in St. Paul. Ratka is serving as the 2023-24 Minnesota FFA vice president.
Willmar husband, wife duo in
laborlove
Brunes’ values teach life is never too busy for work, family, FFA
BY BY SARA EISINGER STAFF WRITER
WILLMAR — Willmar Senior High School’s very own husband-wife FFA chapter’s advisory duo Lance and Kayla Brune seize the daily hustle and bustle of work, chores and family life.
The Brunes and their three children, Madelyn, Loren and June, live near Willmar.
The whole family is in school Monday through Friday. Afterward, Madelyn can be found swimming, Loren wrestling and June tumbling on a gymnastics mat.
It all depends on the day and season. Soon, soccer and baseball practices will be added to the family’s busy agenda.
Household chores are a family project, in which everyone plays a part. After all, hens must be fed and eggs collected. All three kids compete in 4-H come summer, showing swine at the Meeker County Fair. This means caring for, feeding and walking laps with the pigs with one family agreement.
“One always gets harvested,” Lance said. “They are not pets. They are food. The day after the fair can be a sad day. Last year, Loren helped load a pig and take it to the processor. It teaches life lessons.”
Each child is involved in 4-H projects.
“We live about 40 minutes from school,” Lance said. “The kids get up at 5:45 a.m. They go out to pick eggs in the morning and at night. They care for
Ben, our yellow lab. They make sure he has food and water. … We usually leave the house by 6:30 a.m. When we come home, the kids are expected to do chores then too. It gets pretty late, sometimes. We like to get them to bed at 7:30, but it gets to be (a) long week.”
The Brune family manages it with balance.
“We are teachers, so we have our summers and holiday breaks off with the kids,” Lance said. “When we leave school, we leave school.”
There is always fun to be had on the weekends when the family enjoys hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities.
Lance and Kayla each grew up on family farms with their fair share of responsibilities. The couple hopes to instill similar values in their own children, such as accountability, time management and a hard-work ethic.
Neil Pearson, Kayla’s father, is the retired Willmar Senior High School FFA advisor of approximately 30 years.
“My dad and I taught together for a couple of years,” Kayla said. “He wasn’t my ag teacher because I went to a different school, but he did a lot of different things with us. I have been around ag my whole life. When we were little, we were involved in FFA events.”
Kayla said her agricultural classes as well as showing animals motivated her to become an agricultural instructor.
Likewise, Lance, who grew up in Albert Lea, was also influenced by his high school agriculture class.
“I enjoyed going to class every day, and (my teacher) always had the best stories,” Lance said. “I knew as a junior in high school that I wanted to be in agriculture and that I wanted to study at the University of Minnesota. Being an ag teacher is literally the best job.”
As FFA advisers, the Brunes agreed that working for the Willmar Public Schools is where they want to be.
“We have a good team with a lot of moving parts,” Lance said. “We always have a lot of support from administration. At Willmar, we teach to our strengths and passions. The six teachers in FFA get along well. We always have lunch together and bounce ideas back and forth. It is a bunch of people with all levels of experience and different perspectives.”
Willmar offers agriculture courses in carpentry, floral design, companion animal care, global positioning systems, floriculture, landscaping, engine mechanics, power shop, vehicle maintenance, natural resources, veterinary, wildlife management and more.
“I don’t think there is any other school around the area with all of that,” Kayla said. “I teach plant electives, floral design.”
For the Brunes, an average school day means arriving at 7 a.m. with FFA students coming in and out of classrooms before the bell rings, typically working in teams to prepare for competitions.
It might seem that the Brunes are together around the clock, but that is not how things usually pan out.
“We see anywhere from 75 to 90 students a day,” Kayla said. “We have a graduating class of around 300. We are the largest school in our area.”
Lance agreed.
“As a husband-wife team, we don’t see each other that much,” he said.
Apart from planning meetings with the other agriculture teachers, each does their own thing during the day.
“I see all ages from freshmen to seniors,” Kayla said. “One of my favorite things that I started three years ago is student prom flowers. Last year, more than 70 kids made their own bouquets and corsages. It helps with costs. Coming up, the third and fourth term runs like a floral shop.”
Students will be expected to design and sell their floral arrangements to peers and faculty. Eventually, floral sales could even open to the public.
Lance said one-quarter of his schedule is plant science-related.
“Before I came, we mainly had shop classes,” Lance said. “We have grown the plant science side of things. I am a ‘Jack of all trades.’”
Lance handles drones, wildlife management, natural resources and much more.
After a busy day, the Brunes family gets back to evening chores, sports, 4-H projects and bedtime for the kids, a balance perfected by Brune family values.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Willmar Senior High School FFA advisers Lance and Kayla Brune pose with their children, June (from left), Loren and Madelyn, in 2023. The busy family enjoys time together outside of school and extracurriculars.
3126 Reaching for the top
Middendorf achieves highest degree in FFA
BY EMILY BRETH STAFF WRITER
SAUK CENTRE — Sarah Middendorf, who is working as a safe quality food practitioner at Long Prairie Packing, earned the American FFA Degree, which is the highest degree an FFA member can obtain.
The honor was announced at the 2023 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Middendorf was one of the
nearly 4,500 FFA members nationwide to receive this degree, being one of 96 from Minnesota.
“It was an award I thought was very prestigious, and I wanted to try and get it,” Middendorf said. “I got my State FFA Degree so I just had to work a little harder to get my American Degree. It feels like an honor to be able to achieve an American Degree. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”
The daughter of Steven and Julie, Middendorf has helped on her parents’ dairy farm since she was young alongside her four siblings: Leah, Ben, Spencer and Zach. Starting by helping her brothers feed calves, Middendorf eventually worked her way up to help milk the cows by the age
Sarah Middendorf stands with a heifer Jan. 24, 2023, in the North Dakota State University dairy barn in Fargo, North Dakota. Middendorf, who graduated with a degree in animal science, received her American FFA Degree in November 2023.
of 7. Continuing to gain more responsibilities on the farm, Middendorf developed an interest in the farming community which led to her joining FFA.
Middendorf joined the Sauk Centre FFA Chapter when she was in seventh grade and stuck with it throughout her middle and high school careers.
Middendorf page 7B
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