Overlooking some of the beautiful mountains in Grangeville, Idaho, Ken and Jill Breugeman farm on a 123-year-old operation that Ken’s great-great-grandfather started. The Idaho Farm Bureau introduces us to this week’s American Farm Family.
“Whether that’s a family folktale or what—but supposedly, he came over with basically nothing from Ireland, and within a period of five or six years, he was able to purchase the original part of the ranch,” Ken explains. “We’ll be fifth generation.”
Today, the Breugmans grow wheat, canola, and hay and raise cattle.
“Agriculture is important, you know?“ Ken continues. “There’s such a bad perception. I want the community to know that we’re here to raise cattle and crops in a healthy way. This ground’s been in our family for over 100 years, so we want to take care of it and be stewards of it. We’re not going to do things that will damage it and harm it, and you know, make it so we can’t pass it down to the next generation. We want the legacy to continue and not end with us. We’re just out here doing what we love every day -- that is always the bottom line to people.”
The Idaho Farm Bureau has over 10,000 member families involved in farming or ranching, just like Ken and Jill.
Southern producers head into 2026 with thin margins, tighter credit, and rising agronomic risks despite scattered yield improvements.
December 08, 2025 12:04 PM
·
Water access—not acreage alone—is driving where irrigation expands or contracts.
December 07, 2025 12:00 PM
·
The Lexington shutdown pushes national slaughter capacity utilization nearer long-run averages, underscoring how tight cattle supplies are reshaping packer operations.
December 06, 2025 06:00 AM
·
Raulston Acres Christmas Tree Farm in Rock Springs, Ga., has been in the same family for three generations.
December 05, 2025 04:59 PM
·
Texas livestock producers face a heightened biosecurity threat as New World screwworm detections in northern Mexico coincide with FDA approval of the first topical treatment.
December 05, 2025 11:27 AM
·
Rep. Michelle Fischbach shares her appreciation for rural communities and outlines how the Working Families Tax Cut is aimed to support farm families on RFD-TV’s Champions of Rural America.
December 04, 2025 01:31 PM
·
Rooster is a full-time farmhand, right-hand man on Shawn Raff’s cattle and dairy operation in Eatonton, Georgia.
December 04, 2025 11:48 AM
·
Milk output is rising, but steep drops in Class I–IV prices are tightening margins heading into 2026.
December 04, 2025 07:00 AM
·
Tight cattle supplies continue to drive lower beef output despite heavier weights.
December 04, 2025 05:00 AM
·
