As a child, Timothy Dale Sutphin developed a passion for working with cattle.

“When I was 6, my dad gave me my first cow,” he recalls. “I’ve added more cows each year since then, and I’m now 51.”

He relies on a diverse mix of forages. He’s improving herd genetics by using artificial insemination and estrous synchronization. In addition, he realizes higher returns by retaining ownership of his calves during feedlot finishing.

His Hillwinds Farm in Dublin, Va., now encompasses 2,270 acres, 1,123 acres of rented land and 1,047 acres of owned land. He runs a commercial cow-calf operation with 850 bred cows and heifers. He also raises about 480 head of stocker cattle for backgrounding. In addition, he operates a bull test station where he feeds about 230 purebred bulls each year. He and his family also raise about 120 head of commercial ewes and they have a small herd of horses.

As a result of his success as a commercial cattle producer, Sutphin has been selected as the 2008 Virginia winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. Sutphin now joins nine other state winners from the Southeast as finalists for the award. The overall winner will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga.

Sutphin grew up on a 40-acre farm where he kept sheep for a 4-H project. When he graduated from high school, he owned seven or eight cows and 70 ewes.

“As a kid, I never saw much income from farming, and it is hard to make a living from farming, especially when you start out from scratch, but I’ve been able to do that,” he says.

After college, he took a job managing a farm, and started looking to buy land. He bought and sold several farms over the years. He bought his first one with a Farmers Home Administration guaranteed loan, and bought another with owner financing. In 1994, he helped pay for a farm by backgrounding stocker cattle. In 2000, he bought more land at an auction, and in 2004, he bought the farm where he worked 13 years as manager.

Sutphin and his wife, Cathy, have four children, Laura, 20; Alison, 17; Caroline, 12; and Heath, 11. The entire family helps on the farm, and the children specialize in caring for the sheep.

“The ewes have allowed our four children to contribute,” says Sutphin. “Our two oldest daughters provide most of the labor for the sheep enterprise with assistance from the two younger children. Profits from the sheep enterprise are paying tuition for our oldest daughter who will be a junior at Virginia Tech. We plan to continue this for our second daughter, Alison, a rising senior in high school.”

Sutphin says his best decision was to marry Cathy.

“She has been very supportive,” he says. “Cathy was raised in a family that was poorer than mine, and she came from an area where most kids didn’t go to college. But she went to college, and later returned to earn a Ph.D. She has had a long career as a 4-H and Extension agent, and is currently interim director of the entire 4-H program in Virginia. Cathy works hard and has done well in her career, but we have made sacrifices to get what we have now.”

In operating the custom bull test station, Sutphin feeds consigned bulls from October through March of the following year.

“This operation provided additional income which allowed me to hire a full-time employee,” he adds.

He likes the combination of Angus and Simmental breeds. Once his cattle reach the feedlot, they consistently provide top performance.