08/28/06 M&M Feedlot

Many say its one of the finest facilities of its type in the United States. It's a dairy replacement operation in Parma. Welcome to the M&M Feedlot. KENT MANN "My name is Kent Mann. We are farmer ranchers. I'm second generation. I have a son that has returned back to the operation who would be third generation." Kent Mann and son Darin have a permit that allows them to have up to ten thousand heifers. KENT "When we first moved here in 1948 I was six. A lot of this ground was sagebrush. The wind blew and blew and blew and the sand and there wasn't enough humus in the ground to hold it down." Darin is the one who now oversees the daily operations. DARIN "Handling new cows that come in, getting cows bred, making sure they're fed, making sure the corrals are taken care of, get the cows ready to be shipped back to the dairymen and then also do the computer input to keep track of all of that information. I oversee the employees and take care of any issues they may have and also take care of the training." The Mann's were named Canyon County Farm Family of the Year, partly in recognition of their stewardship of the land. More to the story tomorrow. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott