Family affair

摘要

McDonalds combine strong business planning, integrated approach to win Best Managed Farms contest. At first glance, Francis and Pat McDonald's farm east of Grand Island, Neb., appears much like most operations in the heart of Nebraska's irrigated corn country. Center pivots and large grain handling centers are common landscape features. But there are differences. While live-stock is gone from most Hamilton County farms, cattle feeding is the major enterprise of this integrated, multifamily operation. Corn from the McDonalds' 1,500 acres of irrigated land goes into the 3,000-head-capacity feedlot. Feedlot manure goes back on the land as the farm's principal fertilizer source. "Our operation has been value-added from the start," Francis says. The operation actually is two corporate entities that support at least four families: Francis and Pat; two sons,John and Fran, and their respective families; one full-time employee and a part-time employee.