PERRYSBURG – An old fast food commercial asked the question, "Where’s the
beef?"Among the best answers in Wood County is on the Eckel Farm in Perrysburg Township.The Eckel
brothers, Nolan, Nathan and Nick, work together as they feed out Holstein calves. Each of the three take on
different roles in the operation.The farm operation acquires beef feeder calves at roughly four months old
and feeds them up to 300 to 350 pounds each."We feed them out for meat," Nolan said noting they
may have the animals at their facility for roughly 12 to 14 months.He said they pick up roughly 40 to 50 new
calves every two weeks to keep the cycle going.He says they own the cows they raise which are acquired
through the Buckeye Heifer Resources network across all of Ohio.They own the animals shortly after their
birth, purchasing the calves primarily from five different family operations. Those cow-calf operations will
feed them until they are old enough to transport to the Eckels.The business was an outgrowth of Nolan’s
Eastwood High School FFA project. He started using an old family barn and conducted a similar one-man
operation with roughly 35 head for his FFA project in 1998. That was his freshman year.Over the years, the
herd size increased, his brothers joined in until today when it is among the largest beef operations in Wood
County. They currently average around 750 head on the farm at any one time."This about the size where
we want to be," Nathan said of their current capacity, with no immediate plans to grow
larger."We’ve always had cattle," he added noting they always took beef projects to the Wood
County Fair as youth.Though primarily handled by the brothers, they sometimes hire someone to help when it
is time to bale hay.They may get a few heifers, but generally, they raise all steers, according to
Nathan.Once they get the steers up to goal weight they are sold to a big packing plant in Michigan which
processes around 2,000 head of cattle a day.Nolan said they take a full semi truck load about once a month.
They hold 38 to 40 head.The animals which don’t head north to Michigan go to Bucyrus to auction.Nathan
explained how they also grain farm around 500 to 600 acres. It is a recycling effort as the grain is used to
feed the animals and the manure from the steers is used to fertilize the land.Though they are not a
certified "organic" farm, the process of using the manure provides organic material as opposed to
chemical fertilizers.The cattle are fed a mixture of barley, shelled corn and corn gluten pellets.The
Sentinel-Tribune visited at feeding time when much of the herd was packed around the feeding areas. However,
Nolan says the open barns allow the cows plenty of fresh air and there is roughly 50 square feet of space
for each steer."They all have more than enough room to lay down," Nathan said.Although they have a
rotation plan with one barn used for the younger calves, and the herd rotated through the other barns as the
steers grow, sometimes they may just spend most of their time at the Eckel Farm in one or two of the
numerous barns.Each brother primarily takes on different roles within the operation. Nolan manages the
cattle, including acquiring the calves and the sale of the finished product. Nathan focuses on the grain
farming.Nick works off the field as a salesman with the Schuerman Pioneer Seed Agency in Pemberville. He
also assists with various aspects of the operation including helping with various aspects of the grain
operation.Nick said his busiest time with the seed operation is the winter, so that allows him more time to
work on the farm the rest of the year."I would say I split my time about 50-50," Nick said.
"It works really well. I am pretty flexible.""We are all flexible," Nolan added.Their
father, Jim Eckel got the boys started to help diversify the family grain farming operation."It was his
way to keep us all on the farm," Nathan said.Their father died in 2010. They are the fourth generation
of Eckels to farm the land.Nolan graduated from Owens Community College, while both his brothers earned
degrees from Ohio State University.