Blue is for memories

PLAINVIEW, Minn. — For Ethan Neumann, the Wabasha County 4-H and FFA blue ribbon auction is a place where he honors his late dad, Jared Neumann, with a purchase of a ribbon alongside his grandma, Roxann Neumann.

“It’s just something to do in memory of Dad, since he always liked to give back,” Neumann said.

The 17-year-old will be a senior in high school at Plainview-Elgin-Millville this fall. Neumann helps on the farm alongside his mom, Amanda Bedtke, and his stepdad, Adam Bedtke. The Bedtkes milk 50-70 cows on their organic dairy farm. They also farm 175 tillable acres plus 75 pasture acres. They grow rye, corn, hay and oats.

Neumann’s dad had had a pacemaker since he was an infant and passed away during a procedure to replace the battery at the age of 25 when Ethan was a just baby.

“It was entirely unexpected for things to go that way,” Amanda Bedtke said.

Neumann has been going 50/50 on a ribbon with his grandma since he was old enough to be eligible for 4-H.

“It’s a family tradition,” Neumann said. “Every year, Grandma and I get to hang out with each other for the day and walk around the fair.”

Beforehand, they get together to decide on a budget. The pair tries to buy a ribbon from someone their family has some connection to but does not worry about species.

Neumann’s dad had a custom bailing and wrapping business. As he bids on a ribbon, Ethan said he sometimes imagines what it would be like if he was bidding on behalf of that business instead.

“I think he’d be proud,” Neumann said. “(We’re) doing something in memory of him.”

His mom agreed.

“I think he’d be proud that it’s selfless,” Bedtke said. “When you make money in the auction, ... you have a little bit to put in your project, and then you put more into someone else’s future.”

The ribbon is one of the ways that Neumann honors his dad. Each year on his dad’s birthday, as well as the day he passed, Neumann, his grandparents and the rest of the family have a meal in honor of his dad. Growing up, his grandma would bring cinnamon rolls on both dates for his entire class in school. Neumann said his classmates grew to look forward to those days.

When Neumann was 8 years old, he and his mom joined Adam on his farm. Adam had known Jared, so Bedtke said he will share memories of Jared with Neumann.

Neumann has been helping on the farm since he was a child. He started with a smaller workload such as helping with calves. Now he does fieldwork, hauls most of the manure, helps with dehorning and vaccinations, and occasionally milks.

“(It’s) something that I enjoy, and I’ve always enjoyed,” Neumann said. “I always love being outside, but I’ve just been around farming my whole life, and it’s something that I’ve kind of gotten used to.”

Besides helping on the dairy, Neumann also owns 15 Simmental beef cows. Neumann was a recipient of a beef heifer through the Minnesota Beef Expo’s Minnesota Youth Beef Experience Program. The program was a yearlong process that required him to apply, do cattle evaluations and research what beef breed he wanted to work with. Once he had the animal, he connected with an assigned mentor to make breeding decisions and work with a nutritionist and veterinarian on a feeding plan and vaccine protocols.

Bedtke said Neumann has been learning animal husbandry skills, like how to deliver a calf and manage the beef herd. This year, Neumann helped one of his beef cows with a breached birth with the coaching of his parents. The calf had expired, so he helped the cow take on a dairy calf.

“He spent that time every day out there, making sure that it was nursing and grafting the calf onto the cow,” Bedtke said. “It’s been fun watching him learn those things.”

After his first delivery, Neumann was able to deliver a dairy calf when his parents were away from the farm.

“Your dad would be super proud of your ability to do those things,” Bedtke said.

Neumann said his dad was someone who did not put himself in the forefront.

“He was a more behind-the-scenes type of guy,” Neumann said. “I’m just following in his footsteps.”

Besides buying ribbons, Neumann is also active in 4-H and FFA showing beef at the Wabasha County Fair, the open class FFA show at the Olmsted County Fair and the Minnesota State Fair.

When it comes to the future, Neumann plans to carry on honoring his dad with ribbons.

“I’ll continue as long as I can, buying something down there every year,” Neumann said. “It’s just fun to give back because other people do it for you. They buy your ribbon. So, it feels good to do it for someone else too.”