STANFORD — When 13-year-old Tuff Berg approached his banker in 2013 about buying hay equipment, he had a business plan ready. The banker still wanted a word with his dad.
“He thought I was joking,” Berg recalled. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, all right, let me talk to your dad.’”
LINK: TUFF BERG IS A HIGH SCHOOL ENTREPENEUR
But Berg already had several years of business experience. His first venture started with a minnow trap.
Now a junior at Stanford High School, Berg balances his hay business with basketball, rodeo, golf and officiating youth basketball. He also mows lawns for older residents in town.
“He’s never, never sitting still,” said his dad, Travis Berg.
At eight years old, Tuff spotted minnows in a creek and decided he wanted one as a pet. Catching one proved harder than expected, until his mom gave him a minnow trap for Easter.
“I was just catching more minnows than I had room to do with,” he said.
With encouragement from his parents, he found a market for the surplus. Through Tuff Minnows, he supplied bait to Scheels in Great Falls and local fishermen.
When drought reduced the minnows in the creek, Berg started looking for another way to earn money. His interest in agriculture led him to hay equipment and a new venture: Tuff Stacking.
He secured financing for a hay stacker at 13 and later added balers, building a business baling and stacking hay.
Working alongside his dad came naturally. Travis said Tuff has been around tractors since he was little, and the family has encouraged him to pursue his ideas.
“We don’t hold him back,” Travis said. “We let him do what he wants.”
That curiosity extends beyond the family property. Along with playing basketball, Tuff became a youth basketball official after seeing an opportunity for high school students to get involved.
“My brain kind of works different,” he said. “You just gotta keep, keep, keep it going.”
Rodeo gives him another outlet, along with opportunities to travel across Montana and meet people. He also competed on Stanford’s first high school golf team.
Closer to home, Berg sees lawn care as both a way to earn money and a service older neighbors need.
“He’s always, you know, the first one there to help out,” Travis said.
Tuff credits his parents for supporting his pursuits and hopes to keep building a future in agriculture. For other young people with an idea, his advice is straightforward.
“Go out and do it. You ain’t got nothing to lose,” he said. “You ain’t got to be great to start, but you got to start to be great.”
