March 29, 2021
Matt and Joe Brugger always wanted to give back to their family farm and their hometown. While enrolled at Nebraska, the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program provided them a path to make that happen and support along the way. After graduating from the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the business they started in college, Upstream Farms, is changing modern ag. We talked to them about the challenges of building their own business from the ground up.
Talk about your background in ag and farming.
Matt: We are a fourth-generation family farm located in Albion, Nebraska. Our great grandfather came here in 1920 and built our farm from nothing. Our grandpa and his brother, our mom, dad and uncle, and now us, have all built on to that in some form or another!
Joe: Growing up working alongside our parents and older sisters, we learned the power of humility, work ethic, patience, kindness, and empathy. We didn’t know it at the time, but we weren’t wealthy. When our parents started farming in the late ’80s, it was one of the most difficult farm economies in our country’s history. But we had each other and that’s what helped our farm get through the tough times. We did what we needed to do to help out from a young age and I am grateful for that.
What was your experience with the Engler Entrepreneurship Program like?
Matt: The Engler Entrepreneurship Program for us was a gateway into the rest of our lives. It provided us a space to learn our purpose and then pursue that purpose through entrepreneurship, creativity, and storytelling! Engler helped with everything that comes along with starting a business. From emotional and financial support to allowing us to walk through the educational side of the program in a non-traditional way to even becoming a second family to us, Engler was there every step of the way. We both passed up scholarships to play football at smaller schools to pursue Engler and it was the best decision we could have made.
Had you been interested in starting your own business before coming to college?
Joe: We always knew we wanted to come back and add value to our family farm and rural community, but until Engler, we had no idea that a business would be the vehicle to enable us to do that.
What inspired you to start Upstream Farms?
Matt: We have always had a passion for food and agriculture, as well as music, art and creativity. We wanted to build a business that was the intersection of all of those things. We really wanted to work in tandem with our family farm to put new ideas on old dirt and turn commodities into consumable products. Our goal has always been to build relationships with consumers through education and entertainment via media marketing and so far, we feel like we’ve really started to accomplish that!
What are some challenges you’ve overcome in starting/building Upstream Farms?
Joe: While there are always day-to-day struggles that fluctuate with owning a business, the biggest obstacles we faced happened prior to starting Upstream. When we first learned about entrepreneurship, we were very focused on the opinion of our peers and community rather than focusing on our opinion of ourselves and what it was that we each wanted to do as individuals. Once we blocked out the noise, we both separately came to the conclusion that something along the lines of Upstream is what we wanted to pursue. When we decided to prioritize our purpose over the validation of our peers, we stopped starting nonsense businesses in the name of being “entrepreneurs” and dug into our shared passion and what is now Upstream!
What is it like to work with your brother?
Matt: It’s awesome! Some days can be a struggle and other days are great but we wouldn’t work together if we didn’t enjoy it. When you are as close as we are, you have to be careful not to be too overbearing and in each other’s space. We know that we could be as honest, open, or even rude to each other as we want, and at the end of the day, still be best friends. But we’ve learned just cause we CAN doesn’t mean we SHOULD. So being business partners has helped us set healthy boundaries as twin brothers. Another benefit is getting to work with your best friend every day! Having one another to bounce ideas off of and take risks with is really nice. Entrepreneurship can get lonely if you let it, so we are grateful to have each other as business partners.
Talk about your goal to provide a new narrative of what modern agriculture could and should be.
Joe: We believe that the divide between consumers and their food is becoming increasingly wider every day. The 1950s and ’60s had some of the largest population increases in history. With that came a need for increased production and the birth of a more industrialized agriculture and food system. While we believe this system has many efficiencies and benefits, a drawback is consumers are being further removed from the food they consume. Every aspect of food production is becoming so specialized that the consumer-producer relationship is almost nonexistent.
Matt: Another drawback is that with the increase in efficiency, there is less need for small-scale producers when large-scale producers can produce a great quantity at a cheaper price. To remain profitable, farmers must increase production. With an increase in production comes a surplus that decreases the price. A decrease in price comes with a need to increase production. This creates an endless cycle that isn’t beneficial for producers or consumers alike.
Joe: Our goal is to maintain the positive aspects of modern agriculture when it comes to efficiency, environmental sustainability, and production value, without losing the consumer-producer relationship. We believe that by connecting our customers back to the land, we can capture more value for the high-quality products we raise, and provide customers with an amazing farm-to-table experience. This is beneficial for both us and consumers alike! By doing this we can build a healthier food system, stronger communities, and a common ground in the middle of a divided country through our food.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Matt: On a practical level, it’s the variety for me. I love that there are days that I will feed our cows, distill whiskey, ship meat, schedule a marketing campaign, fix a fence, and pull weeds in our hops yard all in the same day. It seems crazy but the seasonality that comes with farming and our business creates variety that I absolutely love. I never get bored!
Joe: I think for me, it’s getting to live out what my dream is every day. I love this farm and I love our business and to get to do them every day makes the hard work worth it. Also, there is no better feeling than a customer telling you how much they enjoyed what you worked so hard to raise, craft, or create.
Is there one thing you learned in your time at Nebraska that you’ve taken with you and continue to use every day?
Matt: Outside of the box thinking is something that I take with me everywhere. When I came to the University, I was expecting to gain so much valuable knowledge about agriculture production and business. While I learned so much from my agricultural classes, some of the best insights I gained were from folks not involved in agriculture at all. The access to such a diverse group of people willing to help you, learn from you, and grow with you, enabled us to think outside the box when it came to our goals. That kind of thinking is something that I will take with me for the rest of my life.
Joe: Something that I learned during my time at Nebraska is that we have an endless amount of information at our fingertips. If you have access to a phone or computer, you have an incredible tool to access more knowledge and connection than ever before. UNL taught me how to learn and how to meet people who I can learn from and I utilize that every day!
Was there someone at Nebraska that had the biggest impact on you?
Without a doubt, the entire Engler staff was influential in getting us where we are today. We couldn’t have done anything without the help and guidance from Tom Field, Dave Lambe, Michelle Bassford, or Brennan Costello. We were on the drumline for the Marching Band while we attended UNL and the entire staff, Professor Falcone, Bush, and Barber as well as Jan Deaton and Rose Johnson all played a big role in our success as students and young professionals.
We also received mentorship from Kyle Gibson at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Dean Tiffany Heng-Moss which we are extremely grateful for as well!
What advice would you give to a student who wants to start their own business, even before graduating?
Be patient. College is too short to waste it on other people’s opinion of you. If you spend your entire time trying to convince people you know what you’re doing, you’ll miss out. People want to tell you what path you need to take because it will make them feel better about the path they are on. But the truth is the right path is the one that is right for you and only you know that. So keep your eyes open to opportunity, and your ears deaf to unnecessary criticism. Try everything you can, and when the time is right, you’ll know and you’ll start something you love.
