t-r photo by robert maharry From left to right, Deleana, Tim and Curt Roseland of rural Gilman were recently honored with a 20--year farm partner award from Niman Ranch.

GILMAN — The Roseland family of rural Gilman was recently honored by Niman Ranch, a national leader in raising livestock in a humane fashion up to the highest animal welfare standards, with a 20-year farm partner award at the Niman Ranch Farmer Appreciation Dinner back in August.

Tim and Deleana Roseland represent the third generation to work the farm between Gilman, Ferguson and Le Grand, and their son Curt, a Class of 2015 East Marshall graduate and Army veteran, and daughter-in-law Avery are the fourth.

Tim said he started with Niman in 2005 after hog prices crashed in the late 1990s looking for better markets, and he totally changed his operations to ensure that his animals weren’t being raised in a confinement setting. Originally, he ran a farrow to finish operation with sows, and when the kids moved out, he started buying sows from Niman, feeding them and selling them back to Niman. All of the pigs are processed at a packing plant in Sioux Center.

“Niman, they’ve treated us really, really well. They pay us good for our hogs, and since I’ve been with Niman, I’ve always made money raising hogs,” Tim said.

The Roselands also grow corn on their farm, and Curt and Avery now live across the street from Deleana and Tim. And for Curt, 28, the partnership has provided an opportunity to get involved in farming at a younger age than he had originally thought possible.

“Niman was excited to try to help us help him, and they have a big push for next generation farmers. So they have lots of incentives and help to try to help them,” Deleana said.

That generational lineage will continue as Curt and Avery are currently expecting their first child, and they’re excited to keep the family tradition alive.

“They make it easy because the pricing is really consistent. It’s not always the highest price or anything like that, but it’s very consistent year after year. So it makes it easy for a young guy to get into it and borrow the money. Bankers like that part,” Curt said.

A video about the award can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooCOpmHiOGU.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.