TRI-STATE LIVESTOCK NEWS: Kelsey Geraets named 2023 Woman Farmer/Rancher of the Year

“My role on the farm right now is the day-to-day activities of taking care of cattle,” Geraets said. “Feeding them twice a day and anything in between which can be billing, treating cattle, making sure that they’re all healthy and happy and doing well. Outside of the feedlot portion, I do help as much as I can. Planting and harvesting, anything that fills the gaps there.” 

Not only does Geraets manage the feedlot, but she is also actively involved and serving in leadership positions with many agricultural organizations across the state. 

Geraets serves as an at large board member on the South Dakota Corn Growers Association and is a board member of the South Dakota Beef Industry Council for the research board. Garaets also serves as president of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Auxiliary. 

Between all her involvement and passion for agriculture, it’s no surprise that Geraets was recently chosen for the 2023 Woman Farmer/Rancher of the Year Award at Dakotafest in Mitchell, South Dakota on Aug. 17, 2023. 

Geraets was selected as the recipient out of four other finalists, honored for their commitment and dedication to the agriculture industry. 

“From the time she was a small child she learned the value of hard work, doing chores every day on the farm before school, seeing hard work throughout the year payoff as she helped with harvest,” Brian Gilbert, Ag Banking Manager at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, said. “She has the unique ability to connect with people in the agriculture industry as well, and those connections coupled with her family’s hard work and dedication have helped them be successful.” 

Gilbert has known Geraets and her family since she was very young and has enjoyed watching her involvement grow on the farm and in the agriculture industry.