Beet Farmin' Mitch

“Beet Farmin Mitch” is a sixth-generation farmer from eastern North Dakota who is giving people around the world a firsthand look at sugar beet production and daily life on an American family farm.  

Mitch, 26, started his popular YouTube channel, “Beet Farmin’ Mitch” in 2021. 

“I just wanted to give folks who are not familiar with farming an opportunity to see it up close and learn how their food is produced,” he said. “My goal is to help connect growers to consumers and do my best to correct misperceptions of farming.” 

Mitch farms with his father, uncle and two brothers. Their family farm began with Mitch’s great-great-great-grandfather, Frank. Frank was born in what was then known as Czechoslovakia and came to America in 1867. He initially settled in Iowa where he farmed for thirteen years. In 1880, he traveled to the Red River Valley by wagon train to homestead a quarter of land.

Today, 143 years later, the family grows wheat, pinto beans, soybeans, corn and sunflowers in addition to sugarbeets. Mitch covers all aspects of the farm in his videos, which also feature hauling sugarbeets to a factory, footage from planting and harvest, and equipment maintenance.

Mitch has known since childhood that he wanted to be a farmer. When he was old enough, his first job on the farm was driving the combine. 

“I started driving a pull-type combine when I was in sixth grade,” he said. 

After graduating from high school in 2016, Mitch attended NDSU. He graduated in 2020 with degrees in Agricultural Economics and Crop and Weed Sciences. 

“In college I commuted back and forth to help on the farm,” said Mitch. “I was advised to find a job and work off the farm for a few years because farming would always be there. However, I just knew it wasn’t the right thing and nothing came of it. There is no place I’d rather be than right here.”

While at NDSU, Mitch met his wife Jenny, whom he married in 2022. 

“We met in 2018 and started dating in the fall of 2020. We were part of the same college Christian group and both from small North Dakota towns, so I knew we shared the same values,” he said.

Jenny, as well as Mitch’s brothers, often make appearances in his YouTube videos. 

“My most heartfelt video is called ‘Beet Farmin’ Marriage.’ Jenny and I filmed it in the tractor shortly before we were married,” said Mitch. “We discussed our shared appreciation of farming and the importance of Christ in our lives and marriage. We uploaded it onto my channel on our wedding day and it is my most watched video.” 

Mitch started farming full time in the spring of 2020. One year later he made his first YouTube video, and he has made over 50 since then.

“I do my best to be my honest self on my channel. I film everything because anyone who farms knows things don’t always go smoothly,” he said. “Sometimes it is very humbling and difficult to film things like the breakdowns that result from my ‘operator errors.’ However, my goal is just to show all the imperfections and realities of farming. At the end of the day, what is important is growing and learning to become a better farmer and showing people that process.”

Mitch feels that sharing the story of sugar beet farming, with all its joys and challenges, is a personal calling.

“When it comes to the American sugarbeet industry, there are so many great things to tell. My favorite part of growing sugar beets is the unity and camaraderie that sugar beet harvest brings to the Red River Valley. From local businesses running extended hours to fellow townsfolk helping with harvest, it is something that resonates with most people in this area,” he said. “I’ve had people tell me about how decades ago, they would come to the Red River Valley and help with the harvest or work in the factories. It is a great testimony that I am only one story of the many in the sugar beet industry, and I know the best stories out there haven’t been filmed yet.”

However, Mitch’s biggest goal is to help others find their passions and share the faith that sustains him every day in farming and in life.

“Jenny had Colossians 1:17 inscribed on my wedding ring. It says, ‘He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.’ That is the reason the YouTube channel exists,” said Mitch. “Faith has given me a deeper purpose beyond stewarding a farm and producing food. Although growing food is core to living itself, life is more than food, and I have found the greatest peace in following Christ. It is challenging, but I have tasted and I have seen that it is truly the sweetest of all things.”

Email: beetfarminmitch@gmail.com

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@beetfarminmitch

Instagram: beetfarminmitch

Laura Rutherford

About the Author

Laura Rutherford graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2004 with a degree in Political Science. She is a shareholder in American Crystal Sugar Company and a member of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association (RRVSGA), the World Association of Beet and Cane Growers (WABCG), and the American Society of Sugarbeet Technologists. She is on the Board of Directors of the Sugar Industry Biotechnology Council and has published articles for the WABCG, the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association newsletter, and the British Sugarbeet Review magazine in Cambs, United Kingdom.

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