Alfalfa County’s Ryan and Hope Pjesky were named Oklahoma Farm Bureau YF&R Achievement Award winners Nov. 14 at the 63rd annual convention in Oklahoma City.
The YF&R Achievement Award honors the state’s top young farmer or farm family for their achievements in the farming business and their leadership in the agricultural community. A panel of judges selected the Goltry couple for the award.
They received an expense-paid trip to the 2005 American Farm Bureau convention in Charlotte, N.C., to represent Oklahoma in the national contest where they will compete for Dodge pickups and Arctic Cat four-wheelers. As the Oklahoma winner, the Pjeskys received a year’s use of a Dodge pickup and the use of a Kubota tractor along with other prizes.
Ryan, 35, and Hope, 33, have been involved in agriculture most of their lives. Both were reared on family farms, and opted to start their own operation.
They own and operate half of a 2,349-acre diversified wheat and cattle operation, which makes heavy use of the ability to graze stocker cattle on winter wheat pasture. A portion of their operation was originally homesteaded by Ryan’s great, great grandfather in the Land Run of 1893.
They have increased their net worth more than 12 fold since starting their operation in 1993.
In addition to the farming operation, they also maintain a registered Dorset club lamb flock and an Appaloosa show horse.
Ryan is a fourth generation farmer with a degree in animal science.
Hope comes from a family that possesses an 18th century land grant from the King of England. That farm remains in operation today.
Better record keeping, preserving natural resources, and improving profitability and productivity are everyday management practices on the Pjesky’s operation.
Their bookkeeping format puts all expenses and income into IRS categories for easy accessibility in establishing the financial position of the operation.
They regularly practice conservation and always look for ways to lower input costs, such as purchasing older equipment, which they fix up; and mismanaged cattle, which they precondition.
Forage went from small square bales to large round bales to lessen time and expense, and larger equipment was put in place in crop production.
“Farming is hard, stressful, but rewarding work. If farming was not rewarding, personally and financially, I would seek another career,” said Ryan.
He has served on the Alfalfa County Farm Bureau board since 1993, and has been president since 1998. Both Ryan and Hope have served on the county YF&R committee and state YF&R Committee, where they were co-chairman.
Each was a state Discussion Meet winner in 1993, and both have served on the state Farm Bureau Resolutions Committee. Both also belong to the National Association of Wheat Growers, the state Wheat Growers and state Cattlemen’s Association as well the National Young Farmer Educational Association.
“For us, the recognition of the whole county Farm Bureau team (six years in a row as the top county in the state) has been more fulfilling than any of the individual awards that we have received over the years,” they said.
