Steffen making transition from dairy to beef

HARTINGTON - John Steffen is not sure what his future in farming is going to be.

The rural Hartington man and his wife, Paula, have significantly downsized their Steffview Dairy herd during the past year and have diversified their farming operation, investing more in beef cattle.

“I’m not certain yet where I’m going, as odd as that might seem,” John said. “I’m to the age to where I should know what my future is going to hold, but I really don’t.”

The 54-year-old and his two brothers and two sisters were raised on the Steffen family dairy farm by their parents, Orville and Patricia.

John has been a dairy farmer since 1990, when he and Paula joined his parents as owners of the family operation.

“I’m not sure how much dairy farming - something I thoroughly enjoy - I just don’t know how much more of that I’m going to keep doing because it is so labor-intensive,” John said.

He started to ask himself about what the next chapter in his farming career would look like — and it looks like it involves beef cattle.

John and Paula are caring for and breeding a herd of more than 100 registered Black Angus cows on their farm located southeast of Hartington.

They started purchasing the beef cattle more than a year ago from a Montana man named Darold Tomsheck.

John was ........https://publisher.etype.services/Cedar-County-News/Special-Editions