The Casual Cattle Conversations Podcast: Keeping the Family Farm and Rural Community Alive with an Innovative Mindset
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Reference: Podcast Corner
Keeping the Family Farm and Rural Community Alive with an Innovative Mindset
March 30, 2026 | Written By Shaye Koester
Innovation doesn’t always look flashy in agriculture. Sometimes it’s simply a willingness to try something new if it makes the operation stronger for the next generation. For one Indiana cattle family, that mindset has been the key to keeping both the cattle operation and their rural community moving forward.
“My grandpa’s grandpa stepped off the boat the day Abraham Lincoln was killed,” says Andrew Bredeweg. “Our farm started as more of a self-sustaining farm with a little of everything until my dad turned it more into a business.”
Today, the Bredeweg family has their hands in the cow-calf sector, feeding cattle, farming and managing a seasonal sale barn. At the heart of all they do is ensuring the business remains generational while also supporting the rural community around them.
“Everybody in agriculture pretty much has goals to pass it on to the next generation. It’ll be multi-generational,” Bredeweg says.
The Bredewegs have been able to keep the operation in the family for generations because they’ve maintained a mindset of innovation. That willingness to adapt didn’t start with Andrew. It goes back several generations....
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