Case Studies Chief Executive Officer

When Kaylie Reicks talks about needing internet connections in the barns at Reicks View Farms, it’s not so the pigs she and her older brother, Brady Reicks, are raising can stream entertainment. The internet in the barns and a new communication system are essential modern touches enabling farm employees to better communicate and share data […]

Founded in 1983, Merryvale Vineyards’ proprietor René Schlatter has announced that the winery will be celebrating its 40th anniversary through 2023 with a series of events to highlight the past 40 years of Merryvale’s Napa Valley wines, while also providing a sneak-peak at future wine releases. Over the last four decades, Merryvale Vineyards has established […]

Aaron Ott is part of the tradition of family farming. His father raised pigs and cattle, and Ott and his family live on the 160-year-old farmstead he bought from his grandmother and then restored and refurbished. Ott raises some beef cattle and has two swine nursery farms—raising 9,600 pigs weighing 13-55 pounds at each one. […]

On an average-sized farm, a dairy cow can consume up to 120 pounds of feed per day, which allows it to produce up to 80 pounds of milk. Most farms in the Midwest have at least 50 cows, though Derek Krosschell says farms with 1,000 to as many as 5,000 cows are becoming more common […]

Time was when hops were just another agricultural commodity. Much like a kernel of wheat, once processed there wasn’t much difference among these little cone-like flowers regardless of where they were grown. “Well, since then, the whole craft beer movement has changed what it’s like to be a hop farmer,” Kevin Riel tells Terra Firma […]

For Ray Roch Jr., the third-generation owner of Roch’s Fresh Foods, waking up well before dawn is a family tradition. Now based in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, Roch’s Fresh Foods was founded in the early 1930s by Joseph Roch, Ray’s grandfather, who rose early each day to open his corner grocery market in the Pawtuxet […]

Ask Nate Offenberg the reason for his company’s success, and he’ll says it’s more than just the quality of the product Pacific Farms delivers. “For any family-owned business with a global footprint, strong relationships with partners around the world are just as important,” he tells Terra Firma. Pacific Farms, which has corporate offices in Reno, […]

John Colapinto is at a point in his life where his biggest concern could be his golf score. Indeed, the resident of south-central Pennsylvania enjoys chasing birdies as well as spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. But there’s another family in Milwaukee that Colapinto cares deeply about. That’s the Hughes family, founders and […]

It sounds like one of those periodic get-togethers of NFL bosses. Each has a Type A personality and is committed to his team’s success but still must compromise for a greater cause, such as the league’s fiscal health. For the 30 seafood companies that comprise the National Fisheries Institute’s Crab Council also are a competitive […]

Brent Schwoerer says it would take his growing operation in Springfield, Illinois, eight years to produce what Anheuser-Busch does in one batch. So be it. As far as he’s concerned, a greater honor would be his company’s designation as a Certified B Corp., a process that was well underway when Schwoerer spoke to Terra Firma […]