MURRAY COUNTY, Minn. — The Hellewell family has been named the Murray County Farm Family of the Year in recognition of its commitment to agriculture, innovation and conservation.
Blair Hellewell grew up on a sheep farm in New Zealand and came to Minnesota in 1997 through the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Agricultural Student Trainee (MAST) program. He was placed at Coorain, a 1,400-acre grain farm near Balaton owned by Ron and Connie Schwartau. During that summer, he met Tami, and the couple later joined the Coorain operation full-time before gradually taking ownership of the farm.
Today, Blair and Tami operate a diversified crop and livestock farm, raising corn, soybeans and alfalfa while using conservation practices including strip-till and vertical tillage. Their sheep enterprise has expanded to 500 breeding ewes and includes value-added products such as wool pellet fertilizer made from wool unsuitable for textiles and wool pet beds. The family also shares its knowledge with others interested in sheep production and value-added agriculture.
Their daughters, Ashley, Jayda and Joelle, have all played active roles on the farm, helping with lambing, feeding, sorting, vaccinating and shearing sheep. All three have participated in 4-H and FFA, and Jayda plans to join the operation full-time after graduating with a degree in agriculture production and technology.
