FEATURED FARMER: Hill Of A Good Time

he story of Benjamin and Tonya Hill is part romance, part fairy tail and with a pre-written ending that reads “and they lived happily ever after.” Benjamin is a third-generation rancher and farmer who grew up in the rice fields of South east Texas. He is the Farm Manager for Rio Fresh Farms in San Juan and owns T a custom harvesting business that specializes in grain harvesting and hauling.

Tonya has worked multiple jobs, from the finance department of construction companies to many years in the fresh produce business. She owns TM Hill Produce, LLC, a company she started in March 2020. She specializes in tropical imports from Mexico and South America. Together they own Brolaco Cattle Company, which trades in the breeding stock of Simbrah, Percentage Simbrah, and Brahman genetics. Brolaco is a combination of their three children’s names, Brody, Lorelai and Codie.

Brody is a Junior at Texas A&M University, majoring in engineering industrial distribution and supply. Lorelai is a junior at Sharyland Pioneer. Codie Marie is a fourth-grader at Brewster Elementary. “Ag is so important to our family because it is the literal backbone of our family unit,” Tonya said. “Our careers, our lifestyle, our work, our time, and our faith goes into making sure that we help feed the world with healthy, safe products. “Ag creates special people. It makes you tough, but also compassionate.”

As the Hills have grown both in numbers and in experience over they years, they realize that depending on one another is critical to “make our life work,” Tonya said. “Every summer, Brody leaves College Station and works the combine for Benjamin in his custom harvesting operation. He started cutting his teeth in the fresh produce business, learning the supply chain aspect of importing fruit, packing, and the distribution network.

“Lorelai is our barn manager. Her passion lies within the show cattle barn and nursing pens. She has a great passion for public relations and fiercely defends the industry. She wants to pursue a law degree with a specialty in agriculture and markets. “Codie Marie is passionate about her home garden and cooking the fresh veggies that Benjamin brings home. All of these passions, curiosities and future plans revolve around their participation in our Ag businesses. The glue that holds us together is our mutual love for Agriculture.

Just like a fairy tale that came to life, Benjamin and Tonya were high school sweethearts since Tonya was a freshman (and Benjamin was a junior) at Hull Daisett High School, a small school between Houston and Beaumont. The live in Linn and have been Rio Grande Valley residents for the past 16 years. They both attended Texas A&M University where Benjamin earned a degree in agricultural economics with an emphasis in farm and ranch management and Tonya studied finance. It doesn’t take too long to realize that the Hills live and breathe what they do. Like the Clay Walker hit “If I Could Make A Living,” the Hills are clearly “doing what they love and loving what they do.”

“(Ag) creates opportunities that require unending faith that the hard work will pay fair dividends. Agriculture is a very demanding industry that requires its participants to be entirely unselfish with their time,” Tonya said. “Early mornings and late nights are the norm. Vacations are spent at cattle shows or on the combine harvesting and hauling corn. Early mornings are filled with farm meetings and early evenings are filled with riding the cattle pens and mending fences.”

Not only have they taught – and continue to teach their children that work with their hands and hearts is the most honest work for anybody, they also want to instruct them on the importance of investing time and efforts into their products. Phrases such as “know what you say you know,”“kindness always wins,”“God is preparing you for something, just have patience,” and “true faith in a tine seed will yield a good crop,” are not just random words strung together but a series of statements instilled into the entire family and used as a cornerstone and they continue to build their ever-growing foundation of family and business.

“My favorite quote is, ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’” Tonya said. Like all life-long farmers, the Hills have seen major changes throughout the years in their industry. Some bad, but not all. Tonya sees good things as well.

“The family farms are disappearing faster than what we want to see. Specifically in South Texas, the next generations are not choosing or not able to continue the farms, so urban expansion becomes a more attractive route. Weather patterns are crazy ... cattle prices are being held hostage. ... young farmers have a hard time paying land prices,” Tonya said. “There are a lot of issues facing Ag today.

“But, the most positive changes that I have seen in the last five to 10 years is the united advocacy for our industry. Social media has given us a very loud voice. It has graced us with a platform to fight for our way of life. Ag Advocacy has given us the greatest sense of responsibility to continue to change our industry while also teaching the world that we are so much more than production.

“Increased advocacy has united the Ag WORLD in such a positive way that it has given me hope that the family farms will not disappear and that we will be able to develop fair trade practices and that the future generations will choose Ag.” Then everyone will be able to live happily ever after.