Forward Janesville - TheReport - Third Quarter 2023

M acFarlane Pheasants was started in 1929 byMacFarlane’s uncle KenMacFarlane on Highway 51 on the southside of Janesville. The main farm stood on that land for decades, until this fall. Opportunity for change came knocking when MacFarlane was presented with one of the biggest decisions of his life: Should he sell the MacFarlane Pheasants original land to make room for redevelopment? Three Leaf Partners, an impact-driven real estate company based in Milwaukee, had approached him with an offer to buy his land for future development. Three Leaf’s offer wasn’t surprising, MacFarlane said, because Janesville’s southside has experienced an industrial renaissance in recent years thanks to catalysts like SHINEMedical Technologies and Dollar General, both with facilities down the road from the farm. Plus, the business is growing and thriving in ways that aren’t tied to the original land. With operations in fourWisconsin communities andMissouri, MacFarlane Pheasants is the largest producer of pheasants in North America due to its innovative practices. So, when the opportunity to sell presented itself, Bill MacFarlane thought, “why not?” When MacFarlane returned home to Janesville in 1979 from Houston, Texas, to take over the farm, he was welcomed back to the parcel of land with “a billion stars” in the sky and he wondered to himself “what am I embarking on?” The land is where Bill spent a lot of time with his father Don MacFarlane, from whom he inherited the family business. MacFarlane watched his father run the farm from a wheelchair after being diagnosed with polio. His father taught him as a child to add up time cards, answer phones and play chess. Don led by example as a community leader on the Rock County Board of Supervisors and with Habitat for Humanity. Despite his emotional connection to the land, MacFarlane decided the opportunity to consolidate operations with some technology upgrades and for the land to be used to benefit the community were Gratitude, Agriculture and Serendipity with Bill MacFarlane By Ashley Pettay Bill MacFarlane’s life has been glittered with moments of serendipity. Take the time, for instance, when a pool tournament turned into a business deal that led to him acquiring more land for MacFarlane Pheasants, a 94-year old family business Bill keeps alive, and thriving, with help from his 70 employees. “I have had serendipity happen in my life quite a bit and I try to pay attention to it,” MacFarlane said. 10 | FORWARD JANESVILLE Aerial view of the former MacFarlane Pheasants farm that was sold to Three Leaf Partners at the intersection of Highway 51 and Highway 11 Bill MacFarlane and his parents