2020 Catholic Century Farm Awards

June 26, 2020

Due to COVID-19, the annual Rural Life Celebration has been postponed until 2021. The planning committee, along with our co-hosting farms, felt it is important to keep everyone as safe as possible during the continued uncertainty of this pandemic and post-pandemic time. It is also important to us at Catholic Charities to be able to share the beauty of our host farms and community with as many people as possible throughout the diocese; limitations in numbers of attendees would make this challenging and inequitable.

Although the Rural Life Celebration will not take place this year, Catholic Charities and Bishop Kettler will continue to honor the Catholic Century Farm Award recipients. A special liturgy with Bishop Kettler will take place with the Catholic Century Farm Award families on August 2, 2020, at the Oratory of St. Catherine in Farming, MN. There, twelve families will be given a special gift in recognition of their outstanding legacy in faith-based family farming within our diocese.

The Catholic Century Farm Awards are a way that Catholic Charities and the Bishop of St. Cloud honor those Catholic families who have farmed and nurtured the same land for 100 years or more. Different from the state or county-based century farm registries, the Catholic Century Farm Awards are an opportunity for our whole diocese to recognize the deep connection between our faith and farming traditions, and reflect on our many neighbors who are living out the Catholic social teaching of care for creation through their call to the vocation of farming. It allows us to share our gratitude for the nourishment they provide to our communities in more ways than one through faith in God and the work of their hands.

This year, twelve farm families from ten different communities in three counties will be receiving the award. The longest standing farm being recognized this year has been farming for five generations spanning across 159 years (farm established in 1861). The “youngest” farm honoree is celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2020.

This year’s Catholic Century Farm Award recipients are:


  • Berscheit Farms LLC , Grey Eagle, est. 1919
  • Jeff, Marlene, Jacob and Mitchell Bertram Farm , Paynesville, est. 1910
  • Brick Family Farm , Paynesville, est. 1861
  • Donnay Family Farm , Kimball, est. 1920
  • Family Farm of Leo and Mary Jo Hemmesch , Paynesville, est. 1901
  • Gary and Corrine Lieser Farm , Belgrade, est. 1917
  • Malley Family Farm , Albany, est. 1882
  • Richard and Cleone McCoy Farm , Eden Valley, est. 1883
  • Merdan Dairy , Avon, est. 1889
  • Rademacher Family Farm , Freeport, est. 1891
  • Schutz Family Farm , Richmond, est. 1877
  • Victor and Ann Uphoff Farm , Melrose, est. 1919

What 2020 Catholic Century Farm Award Recipients Say About Their Farms

Berscheit Farms LLC (Julie Berscheit, Grey Eagle, est. 1919): Farming is not a “job.” It is a passion and a way of life. It is a vocation. You will only succeed in this if you fully apply yourself. Success is not based on the income but on how you treat and take care of the land . . . planning for the future in times of uncertainty. It gives us many opportunities to teach our children the meaning of true faith because so much is out of our control. Farming, at its core, is Faith that our Father in Heaven will provide for us as we follow His ways.

Bertram (Jeff, Marlene, Jacob and Mitchell Bertram, Paynesville, est. 1919): Having actively farmed this land with four generations of Bertrams really instills the importance of carrying the tradition on for many generations to come.

Brick Family Farm (James Brick, Lake Henry, est. 1861): God-centered values, family, church, community, neighbors over neighbors’ land.

Donnay Family Farm (Kevin and Erin Donnay, Kimball, est. 1920): This farm has been a constant in the Donnay family for the past 100 years. It’s a place where those who want to reminisce and reflect about their ancestors come to visit. It’s been a wonderful place to raise Catholic families for the past 100 years.

Family Farm of Leo and Mary Jo Hemmesch (Leo and Mary Jo Hemmesch, Paynesville, est. 1901): Nice way to bring up a young family and work together. You are your own boss.

Gary and Corrine Lieser Farm (Gary and Corrine Lieser, Belgrade, est. 1917): Working together we have a great satisfaction in planting the seeds, watching them grow and harvesting the rewards. It was also a joy to watch a calf born and later enter our milking herd. We were proud to produce a product to feed many. Working with our four sons—faith—hard work and dedication help us become a century farm.

Malley Family Farm (Alphonse “Al” Jr. and Lynn Malley, Albany, est. 1882): no response

Richard and Cleone McCoy Farm (Richard McCoy, Eden Valley, est. 1883): I was raised on this farm and have many family memories growing up here. I hope to keep it running for a long time.

Merdan Dairy (Tricia Merdan, Avon, est. 1889): Our farm means to us that we get to spend time with our family teaching the kids how to work hard and take care of the land and animals, knowing that it has been passed down from their great-great-great-grandparents.

Rademacher Family Farm (Matthew Rademacher, Freeport, est. 1891): no response

Schutz Family Farm (Jerry and Deb Schutz, Richmond, est. 1877): It was a wonderful feeling to continue to pass the farm down to the next generation—which are our two boys, making them the fifth generation to farm this family land.

Victor and Ann Uphoff Farm (Victor and Ann Uphoff, Melrose, est. 1919): We are honored to own the dairy farm that Victor’s parents and grandparents farmed. The farm always had dairy cows. We enjoy working the land and watching the crops grow and praying a lot that God will provide us with adequate rainfall. We enjoy the harvest time to see our hard work pay off. We enjoyed raising our children on the farm. It’s an excellent place to teach life skills. We enjoy the Sauk River that runs through our land. It’s peaceful and an excellent place to sit and pray.

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