2026 MURRAY COUNTY FARM FAMILY OF THE YEAR
Hellewells chosen as 2026 Murray County Farm Family of theYear
If you would’ve told Tami Hellewell 30 years ago that she would one day be living on a sheep farm in southwest Minnesota, she might have laughed at you. But life has a way of making plans without questions, and today, the Colorado native whose parents are from the Lake Wilson area is one part of the 2026 Murray County Farm Family of the Year.
“She was pretty adamant she wasn’t going to marry a farmer,” said Tami’s husband, Blair.
Tami would visit the area maybe once a year as a child, but had no intention of staying.
“It was either cold, or stinking hot; it smelled, it was flat compared to Colorado,” she said, flashing back to her views of the area as a kid. “And everyone was such hard workers; they never had time to kind of enjoy life — so I didn’t necessarily want to marry a farmer.”
But Tami’s attitude toward the region slowly changed. After graduating from Creighton University in Nebraska, she found herself working in construction in Murray County with her father. That’s when she met Blair.
“I was intrigued by him,” she said.
The two compromised as all good spouses do — Blair gave up the sheep farm in New Zealand; Tami left Colorado behind.
Neither have any regrets. They have not only both adapted to their new surroundings, they have thrived, raising three daughters and building a thriving business together called Hellewell Lamb and Wool Co., which was established in 1999.
“It’s been the best thing ever,” Tami said. “I kind of feel like it’s been a God blessing. I love everything about being here in Minnesota. Watching the changing of the landscape throughout the year, the lack of traffic — it’s just peaceful.”
Blair was raised on a sheep farm in New Zealand. His passion for livestock and farming brought him to Minnesota in 1997 through the 75-year-old University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Agricultural Student Trainee (MAST) program. He was placed at Coorain, a 1,400-acre grain farm near Balaton owned by Ron and Connie Schwartau. He met Tami that summer, and they eventually joined the Coorain operation full-time, with Ron and Connie inviting them to partner and gradually take ownership of the farm. Blair and Tami were married in 1999.
The Hellewells value their relationship with the Schwartaus beyond words. It’s not just a business partnership, either.
“They never had any kids of their own, so they’ve really adopted our kids,” Blair said.
Blair and Tami’s three daughters, Ashley, Jayda and Joelle, have been an essential part of their farm, helping with lambing, feeding, sorting, vaccinating and shearing. Ashley is married and is a neo-intensive care unit nurse in Sioux Falls. Each of the girls have been deeply involved in 4-H and FFA. Jayda has joined the operation full-time since graduating with a degree in agriculture production and technology.
Joelle is a junior at Murray County Central and admittedly is unsure of what she wants to do after high school. Jayda, meanwhile has fully ingratiated herself in the family operation now that she is free of her college responsibilities like classes, and basketball and softball practices.
“Now that I’ve graduated, I’m really excited to get more involved,” Jayda said. “I’ve got to help a lot with harvest and sheep over the years. I think it will be nice to be able to focus on this. I’ve always been really passionate about it, especially in high school.”
Today, the Hellewell farm is a diversified operation that includes crop and livestock production. Their 1,400-acre cropping operation includes corn, soybeans, and alfalfa, with a commitment to land stewardship and to using practices such as striptill and vertical till. They operate a sheep enterprise that had grown to 500 breeding ewes.
“We lamb in January, February; we raise the lambs, which are sold to Superior Farms,” Blair said.
Blair said there are many differences between farming here and in his homeland, including the climate, Temperatures in New Zealand are relatively more mild, compared the extremes of Minnesota weather. There is also more rain in New Zealand on average.
“One person described all the sheep in New Zealand as homeless, where here, we give them a home,” he said. “We supply lambs when nobody else can supply lambs on the market. We lamb indoors because we lamb in January, but we get paid a premium to justify the extra costs.”
One off-shoot business of the family operation is called Ewe’nique Fertilizer, which features nutrient-rich wool pellets they tout as holding at up 20 times its weight in water.
Selling wool on its own, Blair discovered long ago, wasn’t as profitable as he had hoped, considering all the work that goes into the sheering process. So the Hellewells went on the hunt to find a way to diversify and add value to their product.
“I just thought that there’s gotta be something better that we can do with it, and that led us to researching the wool pelleting side of it,” he said. “The University of Vermont had done research on wool pellets and the benefits of a slow release of nitrogen, water holding ability.”
Wool pellets, they learned, have significant benefits on the gardening side as an alternative to synthetic fertilizer.
“Because wool is really absorbent, when you water it, it’s got the ability to hold a lot more water, so you don’t have to water your plants more frequently,” Blair said.
Through their lambing operation, the Hellewells have developed valueadded products beyond the wool pellet fertilizer made from wool not suitable for textiles. Jayda also makes wool pet beds. After navigating their learning curve over the years, the Hellewells have enjoyed sharing their experiences and gained knowledge with those interested in sheep production and value-added agriculture.
• The University of Minnesota honors families and growers from across Minnesota, culminating in the 2026 Farm Family of the Year ceremony at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at the annual Minnesota Farmfest near Redwood Falls. The event will be held on the Gilfillan Estate in Wick Buildings Farmfest Center. Honored farm families cover a wide spectrum of farming, from traditional crops and livestock to community-based ventures and operations producing an array of fruit, vegetables and flowers. They were selected by local University of Minnesota Extension committees based on the honorees’ demonstrated commitment to enhancing and supporting agriculture.
