b'NPGA Honors Brian Vculek With Their 2023 Grower Meritorious Service AwardIn1869,Briansgreatgreatgreat grandfather on his paternal side left Moravia,Czechoslovakiawithhis family to farm in eastern Nebraska. In1903,Briansgreatgrandfather bought 320 acres near Crete, North Dakota,andthefamilymoved north.Brians grandfather died early in life, leavinghisgrandmother,Gyda, witha14-year-olddaughteranda 12- year-old son, Bernie. Gyda nego-tiatedwithherbrother-in-lawand later farmed in partnership with her son. Not an easy task for a womanBrians family from left to right, son-in-law Jesse Braun, Jenna, Katie, Cole, andin1946.Gydasgritandmanage- Julie, Brians wife, and Brian.mentskillsareoneofthereasonsNorthDakota,about180milesBrian and his wife, Julie, have three Brian has an operation today. southwest of Grand Forks. The farmchildren. Cole (32) has always had a is a considerable distance from whatloveofoperatingequipmentand Brians parents both grew up in agri- hashistoricallybeenthepotato- raising crops. Over the years, he has culture, instilling the same passiongrowingregionofNorthDakota.taken on more of a leadership and intheirchildren.BrianandhisSoutheastNorthDakotadidnotmanagement role.brother took daily management ofgrowpotatoescommerciallyuntil the farm at an early age after theircenterpivotirrigationbecameaTheir daughter, Jenna (30), works as parentspurchasedandassumedreality in the 1970s, and even then,a Food Safety and Quality Manager managementofalocalelevator.onlylimitedacreswereproducedat Michael Foods near Des Moines, Brian thinks it makes a huge differ- until a drought struck North DakotaIowa. Her husband, Jesse, is a Staff ence in the dynamics of the familyin1988.Followingthedrought,Systems Engineer at John Deere.legacies when the younger genera- processors sought irrigation to pro-tion steps into the management rolevide a more stable supply. BecauseTheir youngest daughter, Katie (28), early.Thisallowsthemalearningof his familys investment in centergraduatedfromNDSUinAg curvetobuilduponwhattheirpivots, Brian was able to start raisingEconomicandfromDrakeLaw ancestorsstarted.So,Brianisapotatoes. Today, his primary crop isSchool.Shepracticedwithafirm fourth-generationfarmerslowlyprocessedandseedpotatoes.Theyspecializinginwaterlaw.Shehas stepping aside for the fifth.alsoraisecorn,ediblebeans,andsince returned to the farm full-time.occasionally soybeans.Brians wife, Julie, has been an inte-Thefamilyfarmisinsoutheastgral part of their success. She han-18 POTATO GROWER MARCH 2023'