COTTONWOOD COUNTY, Minn. — The Quade family has been named the 2026 Cottonwood County Farm Family of the Year in recognition of their dedication to agriculture and community service.
Ethan and Mikayla Quade met in college after growing up on separate family farms, Ethan on a row crop farm near Jeffers and Mikayla on a dairy farm near Kenyon. After marrying in 2017, they continued farming separately before combining their efforts as they started their family.
Today, the operation includes about 100 cow-calf pairs, 200 to 300 head of feedlot cattle and a variety of livestock including chickens, ducks, quail, goats, horses, donkeys, sheep, Berkshire pigs and honeybees. The family also raises about 1,400 acres of row crops with Ethan’s parents, Doug and Sue Quade.
Ethan Quade died in a farming accident in the summer of 2025. Mikayla now operates the farm with their children, Elsie, Dakota and Misty.
The family has a strong commitment to community service. Ethan served with the Jeffers Fire Department and First Responders, while Mikayla teaches Sunday school and volunteers through their church. Their daughter, Elsie, is also beginning her involvement in agriculture as a first-year 4-H Cloverbud.
