By Brennan Doherty
When incoming first-year Rylea Suddreth heads to Carolina this month, it might take her a while to say her goodbyes.
Suddreth shares her home at Maliblue Farms with 200-plus chickens, 100-plus cows, nine goats and three ponies — as well as six dogs and four cats.
On this family farm in Catawba, a little more than two hours west of Chapel Hill, Suddreth has sharpened her skills in cattle showing. Since her mom, Julie, and father, Barry, purchased Suddreth her first show calf — Maliblue, the farm’s namesake — five years ago, she’s won multiple championships at livestock competitions, including Supreme Grand Champion Heifer at the 2022 North Carolina State Fair.
“Once I tried it, I just really enjoyed it and fell in love with it,” she said.
While Suddreth, the first in her immediate family to attend college, is about to trade the barn for the dorm, she plans to use her studies at Carolina to strengthen her already budding business savvy, apply it to the farm and find new opportunities.
“Being able to help run the farm, I’ve realized it’s more of a business,” said Suddreth, who won a Shark Tank competition for high schoolers at a local community college. “As much as I do love farming, and I think I’ll always continue to be in it, I’d love to be able to do other stuff with business as well.”
Life on the farm
Suddreth hasn’t always lived on a farm, but as a child, she enjoyed visiting a Wilkes County farm owned by her family and being around animals.
When she was in middle school, her family moved to their current home, and a neighbor suggested that Suddreth get involved with the show team at nearby Bandys High School.
“My parents — they didn’t know if I was going to stick with it or not, but I did,” Suddreth said.
Sticking with it is a bit of an understatement. To hear Suddreth’s mom tell it, her daughter and husband, who has a commercial cattle operation, sometimes “go overboard.” The two drove to New York to buy Maliblue, Suddreth’s first calf, and purchased championship-winning bovines like Hattie from Michigan and Lila from Trennepohl Farms, Indiana.
Once these promising calves get to Maliblue Farms, the real work begins. A successful handler must provide the right nutrition, pay attention to the calf’s appearance and health, and build rapport so the animal is comfortable when it’s showtime.
Suddreth picked up much of this know-how from other area farmers and those in the show cattle network.
“Being able to learn from them, I feel like my showmanship skills have improved and helped me present the cow in the best way possible at a show,” Suddreth said. She took this knowledge and passed it on to others when she helped nearby Fred T. Foard High School establish its first show cattle team.
Goodbye for now
With move-in right around the corner, Suddreth is eager to be in a new environment and happy about rooming with her cousin. At Carolina, she’s looking forward to the academic challenge and new places and people.
While Suddreth’s sad to be leaving the farm, she’ll still make her way back regularly. Plus, she’ll still compete, already eyeing this year’s State Fair in October.
Suddreth feels showing cattle has prepared her well for life beyond the farm, imparting lessons on the importance of preparation, consistency and having a plan when things go wrong.
But is the farm — particularly her parents — ready for this new chapter without her?
“I think they’re probably sad I’m leaving,” Suddreth said with a smile. “It’s leaving more work for them.”
Source : unc.edu