Bryce Mark has earned a Supreme Champion ribbon twice in his years of showing cattle at the Pierce County Fair. The Merri Heirs member just graduated from Plum City High School.

Not many kids can say they have their own herd of cows before they graduate high school. But when you know that farming is what you’ve always wanted to do, it’s not surprising.

Plum City High School Class of 2023 graduate and Merri Heirs 4-H member Bryce Mark grew up on a farm with parents Todd & Billy Jo Mark. He’s always loved working on the farm and doesn’t know what else he’d want to do.

“There’s always something to do. A little bit of everything. When I was younger, I would always run around and help with whatever I could. But didn’t get paid an hourly wage,” he laughed.

He has helped with the dairy cows, milking and feeding them. They’ve always raised their own crops on the 325 acres they run. 4-H has also been a huge part of his and his family’s lives.

“I’ve been in 4-H for forever, since I was 8,” Mark said. “The whole family always showed dairy cattle. I like the dairy end of it. It’s easier to be patient with animals rather than equipment.”

Mark recently purchased a herd of 30 cows from his former employer John Robey’s widow Monica. He became choked up and has to pause as he told the story.

When he was 14 he worked for Tom and Jim Nelson. When he got his driver’s license, he went to work for John Robey.

“Everybody does things differently and I wanted to see what works for different people and see what would work best for me,” Mark said. “John was just everything and he did everything he could to make it the best for the land and animals. Working for John, you were more than an employee.”

John Robey died Jan. 14, 2023 as a result of a farm accident at his home. The loss hit Mark hard. John taught him many things he’ll never forget. One memory in particular involved the way crops grow in the area of the Rock Elm Disturbance, a meteor impact crater.

“A few months after I started working, the hay was coming, and there was a night and day different from the Rock Elm Disturbance,” Mark said. “He showed me that. Every crop of hay, you can see it in the corn. When he pointed that out, you can see the difference. Stuff like that you wouldn’t necessarily notice, he would point it out. He would teach anybody anything he could.”
Mark said the alfalfa not in the disturbance ring would be perfect, while in the back half within the crater, it would have a lot more grass showing through. The corn wouldn’t be quite as tall and it wouldn’t yield as well.

When John died, Monica decided to sell their herd after a couple of months. Mark took care of them for her during that time, so she offered them to him to buy. He had no question in his mind it was the right thing to do. His dad had also gifted him an embryo registered calf that he bred from, so he was already on his way with six or seven from that.

“I always knew I wanted to farm and it’s not an easy career to get into,” Mark said. “I know this is what I want to do. I’ve always known that. I’d like to keep buying a few more animals and eventually, it would be nice for me to run the dairy and Dad would run the land.

Mark credits 4-H with teaching him skills he will use in his career.

“You really learn how to work with different people,” he said. “You learn how different every animals can be, in such a minor way.”

For example, his last year’s steer led perfectly at home, but wanted nothing to do with it at the fair. Animals act differently sometimes in different places, he said.

“A few years back when I was about 12 or 13, throughout the day of showing, my heifer came into heat,” Mark said. “Holy crap, that was a mess.”

Showing his dad’s cattle, he’s earned a Supreme twice in the Pierce County Fair Dairy Show. The supreme champion sees the grand champions of each division face off in a best of the best competition. The competitions are his favorite part of the fair.

“I like seeing how the cattle do from the farm against the rest of the cattle in the county,” Mark said. “Where are we at compared to the rest of the people in the county.”

This year he will also exhibit corn silage, haylage, all other grasses, steers and dairy.