COLUMBUS, Ohio – Will Minshall, of Pickaway County, winner of Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Agricultural Professionals (YAP) 2025 Outstanding Young Farmer competition, is always on the move, supporting agriculture in three Ohio counties.

“I live in Hocking County, I grew up in Pickaway County, and I’m a farm bureau member in Pickaway County because that’s where our main farm is,” Minshall said. “I’m involved in Ross County because that’s where I went to 4-H, and I’m the treasurer for the Ross County Cattlemen’s Association – I jump around.”

The Outstanding Young Farmer Award competition is designed to help young farmers strengthen their business skills, develop marketing opportunities, and receive recognition for their accomplishments. Contestants are judged on the growth of their farm businesses and involvement in farm bureau and their community. Minshall was announced as the winner during the YAP Winter Leadership Experience.

Minshall’s peers suggested he apply for ‌the competition. “A couple of members on the Young Ag Professionals Committee mentioned that I should apply,” he said. “The application goes over everything about me, success stories in my farming career, and the growth of my farm. It also focuses on farm bureau involvement, so I applied.”

The YAP program provides leadership development and professional growth opportunities for farm bureau members aged 18-35. One of the biggest opportunities the program provides is the chance to ‌network with other young farmers in the state.

“You meet people from all over the state, and even people that are not that far away from you, but you just didn’t have an opportunity to know before,” Minshall said. “Everybody in the state has different problems, or some of the same problems. Being able to talk about what you’re doing and see what they’re doing – it makes you better or gives you a different idea or a different thing to try, or if it just gives you support knowing that you’re not alone and you’re going in the right direction or you’re doing what you can to get something done.”

As a full-time farmer, Minshall’s schedule allows him to be more involved in the community. “There’s times of the year that I don’t get out of the tractor seat, but then there’s other times of the year that I have more time than what most people would,” he said. “I think that’s a good use of free time, in my opinion, because it’s not wasted if you’re giving back to your community or the agricultural industry.”

A graduate of University of Northwestern Ohio with an associate’s degree in ag/diesel technology, Minshall currently farms in a partnership with his family.

“We have a partnership that consists of me, my dad, my mom, and my sister,” he said. “As far as day to day, it’s mainly me and my dad, and we have three employees that help us.”

Minshall’s farming roots run deep in South Central Ohio. “I’m in the 8th generation to farm the farm and live in the house, so, it’s kind of a kind of a big deal,” he said.  “In 2026, we’re going to celebrate 200 years – it will be a bicentennial farm – it’s been in the family for 200 years.”

Minshall’s exposure to cattle as a child and through early adulthood led him to become a 1st-generation cattle farmer. “My dad had cows when I was younger, and by the time I was maybe 13 or 14, he had got rid of them,” he said. “I always had a passion for cows, and I showed cattle at the fair when I was in 4-H.”

When he turned 18, Minshall’s father let him use one of the barns at his grandfather’s house to satisfy his passion. “After buying a couple of cows, it was kind of slow going through college,” Minshall said. “Then, right around 2020, I had the opportunity to rent some pasture, and I slowly grew to where I am now – I tripled the size of my herd in just a couple of years.”

Minshall’s herd consists of Angus, Simmental, or a cross of the two breeds. He raises about 25 cattle and finds several ways to market them.

“Because we’re in an area where there’s not much pasture, I knew that my herd size couldn’t be as big as what a lot of places could handle, so I knew I’d have to find some sort of niche market – or I’d have to increase the value of the calves I sell over regular stockers,” Minshall said.

Through the use of AI in his breeding program, Minshall has tapped into the show calf and registered breed market. “I sell ‌half a dozen show calves a year – that’s a good way to increase a little bit of value, then I’ll sell Angus breeding bulls or registered stock,” he said.

His largest market segment, and the primary purpose of the beef herd, is freezer beef. “Since 2020, demand has slowly increased,” Minshall said. “I think my first year I sold four or five whole beefs, and now this year I’m up to over 20 appointments. I’ve had to start buying calves because I’m outproducing what I have calved out every year.”

A member of the Pickaway County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees since 2023, Minshall serves as the committee chair for the organization’s membership campaign. He is also actively involved in 4-H as an adviser and has taken on the role of superintendent of the beef barn at the Ross County Fair.

Before getting involved in all his activities, Minshall wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

“I’m pretty new to the farm bureau thing,” he said. “I didn’t really know if I had time to do it.” Minshall’s father was a county farm bureau president. “So, I knew about farm bureau, but I didn’t really know much about what they did and how they proceeded with doing things,” he said.

After he was asked to be on the county board, Minshall still didn’t think he had time to do it but decided to do it anyway. “I’m glad I did because I now know why we need farm bureau and why the county boards are so important,” he said.

As the winner of the Outstanding Young Farmer competition, Minshall received a $3,000 cash prize, an expense-paid trip to the 2025 Ohio Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, and an expense-paid trip to the 2026 American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Anaheim, Calif., to represent Ohio in the national competition.

Mishall plans to put the cash prize back into his farm enterprise.

“You know how it is when it’s farming, there’s always bills to get paid,” he said. “I’ve got a fencing project I need to start working on, and if it doesn’t get put toward that first, I need to add on to my barn to accommodate the extra cattle I need to feed out. Either way, it’s going to get spent up pretty quickly.”