Farming Families IA January 2022

Andy, Russell, Donna and Adam Schmidt. Story on page 24.

Garrett and Mindy Gross, AGE Media

EDITOR & IOWA MANAGER

Bob Fitch, AGE Media

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POTLOADS OF PIGS AND SERVING HOT FOOD: BEYER’S DO IT TOGETHER

By Bob Fitch

Whether it’s pigs or pork chops, Jeff and Melissa Beyer are in it together for life.

The Beyer’s live south of Boyden on the family farm started by Jeff’s great-grandfather. They have a traditional farrow-to-finish hog operation. “We’re one of the few that still do farrow-to-finish. You try to be as bio-secure as you can, but sometimes the bugs still get in somehow,” Jeff said.

“We try to do everything ourselves. We grind our own feed. It keeps us busy,” he said. In addition, they also grow corn and soybeans.

Jeff grew up working pigs with his parents, John and Karen Beyer.

“When I got out of high school, I rented a neighbor’s farm and finished some pigs there.” He also farmed in partnership with some neighbors for several years before he returned home to farm with his dad. His parents are retired now, but that doesn’t stop his dad from working at the farm nearly every day. “We just loaded a potload this morning and John was out there with us,” said Melissa.

She is also happy to help load pigs just as Jeff actively helps Melissa in her business, Beyer Catering, which prepares meals for one person up to 300 people. Before going into business, she worked feeding farmers in the café at the sale barn in Sheldon one day a week. Eventually, she was asked to run the café at Tri-State Livestock in Sioux Center, too.

Melissa and Jeff Beyer of Boyden in their catering kitchen.

“One day I had a lady ask me if I’d cater her son’s wedding. We did and business just spread by word of mouth. We’ve never advertised.” Eventually there was enough catering business, she gave up running the cafes at the sale barns.

What is Beyer Catering’s secret ingredient to success?

“Hot food is really the key. We love to hear from folks that the food is just as hot for the last person going through the line as the first person who went through,” Melissa said. “We take everything in electric roasters and get them plugged in as soon as we arrive there ahead of time. We’ll switch things over to candle warmers right before we serve.”

Jeff said, “Sometimes when we’ve catered at a farm where outlets might be limited outside, I’ll even bring a little generator along.”

Beyer Catering isn’t the place to call if you’re looking for a gourmet meal – instead, the company specializes in “home cooking” to please the meat and potatoes crowd. Melissa prepares a lot of meals for small business meetings at places like Demco, Agropur, the REC or area co-ops. “Once a month, I do a meal for residents at The Homestead retirement community in Hull,” she said. Jeff continued: “We’ve done quite a few events at the school for fundraisers or whatnot, and that will spur people to hire us for their family reunion or whatever.”

She makes everything from cupcakes, buns and ham balls to individual casseroles to full-on buffet meals for weddings and family reunions up to 300 people. “We always make plenty of food so people can come back for seconds. I don’t ever want to run out of food.”

For the big catering jobs, Jeff works side-by-side with Melissa. He has two or three smokers, plus a big grill which they use to grill chicken, burgers or pork chops on-site. He does a lot of reading and research on grilling and smoking meat. Melissa said, “Jeff smokes brisket and that’s one of the things we’re known for.”

Prior to the first time of serving brisket, he ran out of time to do some testing. “So my trial run was for 300 people at a wedding. Then we got to the wedding and found out the groom’s family was from Texas. I thought ‘uh, oh.’ But they liked it and I’ve stuck with my recipe and technique ever since.” Melissa added, “He makes all his own rubs, so it’s pretty cool. He gets to play around with all that.” People who have served the Beyer brisket at a wedding will often call later and want to purchase it in bulk for holidays or other family gatherings.

Jeff said the fact that he and Melissa are making the deliveries and doing the set-ups is important. “People don’t like it when a company sends a high school kid out to drop off their food who doesn’t really care about the business.” Melissa added, “Our customers like to see familiar faces and they’re always happy to see us, so that always makes us feel really good.”

Their daughter, Caitlyn, loves to help when she’s home from the University of Northern Iowa. Son Colton is a junior at

Caitlyn and Colton Beyer.

Boyden-Hull High School and will help on catering jobs “if he has to.” “Jeff’s mom and dad are also very willing to help,” Melissa said. Friends assist if the occasion requires a plated dinner, but otherwise it’s an all-in-the-family operation.

Melissa and Jeff met in west central Minnesota when he was visiting his cousin. She grew up on her family’s dairy farm at Pennock, Minn., a small town near Willmar. Jeff said, “I hardly ever get off the farm, so I don’t know how I ever got up there to meet her. She was snowmobiling with some of my cousin’s friends. That’s where we met.”

When Melissa started the catering business, they were living in his grandparent’s former home and the catering kitchen was in the basement. So, for six or seven years, they were hauling food, dishes and more up and down the stairs. In 2019, Jeff’s parents moved into Boyden and the couple built a new house on the home farm site. Melissa joked, “I’ve lost my muscle since I don’t have to do those stairs anymore.” Now the catering kitchen has its own entrance at ground level, plus has windows that look out over the farm yard.

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In addition to the onsite catering jobs, making casseroles and baking goodies for families, Beyer Catering has also been selling individual freezer meals for several years. She said, “I used to have a whole bunch of calls from people who asked ‘Will you make meals for my mom? She lives alone.’ Or they want to give a bunch of individual meals to their widowed father for Christmas.” Jeff added: “Or somebody is just coming home from the hospital and they know they won’t be able to cook for awhile.”

Melissa creates the individual portions from either specially-made casseroles or from leftovers from catering jobs. The meals are always available in a freezer in the Beyer’s garage and payment is by the honor system. Jeff said, “The freezer meals went over way bigger than we ever thought it would. It also makes sure the kids and I don’t have to eat leftovers for a couple of weeks.”

Melissa describes her husband as a workaholic. Jeff said, “That’s why when we go on vacation she likes to get as far away from here as possible.” Between Christmas and New Year’s, the family drove to Florida. “I love the beach and the sun,” Melissa said. “I just love being where it’s hot. I don’t like winter at all.” While she’d like to spend her days relaxing on the beach, Jeff likes to stay active, going to places like Busch Gardens and Sea World. “Several years ago, when we took the kids to Disney, we were up bright and early, and we were at the

Beyer Catering is known for its home-style meals.

Smoked brisket is Jeff Beyer’s specialty.

park all day long and got back at about 11 at night and then swam until 12:30,” Jeff said.

In addition to school and playing baseball, their son Colton keeps busy doing woodworking. “He helps on the farm when we need him, but he’s really got an interest in carpentry and woodworking. My great grandfather was a carpenter and some of those genes must have been passed down to Colton. He used to help me and he took a few shop classes and it just clicked for him.”

Daughter Caitlyn is majoring in secondary math education at UNI and does front line and plays cymbals in the UNI Marching Band. At Boyden-Hull, “She graduated at the top of her class. We’re pretty proud of her,” Melissa said. She was in band and choir in high school. “I usually won’t schedule a catering if our kids have something going on. Our kids come first. Otherwise, we hang out and play games. And I like to go camping with the kids.” Jeff said, “I come for the s’mores. I like to camp close enough I can go home.”

The vast majority of their catering jobs are also close to home, usually no more than 45 minutes away. “We meet a lot of good people. Most of the time when you’re catering, it’s part of a fun time like a wedding or a family reunion,” Jeff said.

“I wouldn’t do any big catering jobs without him," Melissa said. “And I wouldn’t raise pigs without her,” Jeff said.

“We make it work. It’s nice that we can do it together. And it’s nice the kids like to join in, too,” she concluded.

A sample of Colton Beyer’s woodworking expertise.

Front: Jeff’s parents, John and Karen Beyer. Back: Jeff’s sister Leah; Colton, Caitlyn, Melissa and Jeff Beyer.

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HIGHWAY 75 WAS THE “KING OF TRAILS”

Americans are often described as a nation on the move … nomadic Native American tribes, colonists from Europe and westward-traveling pioneers. This desire to wander became overwhelming with the advent of the automobile in the early 1900s.

But the availability and condition of roads was poor. In the year 1900, Iowa had 104,000 miles of road open to travel – all rural mileage was dirt. Some cities had brick roads or laid wooden planks to make smoother streets, but rural roads were little more than rutted dirt paths. Eagle Street (now named First Avenue Southwest) in Le Mars was paved in July 1904. It was the first concrete street paved in Iowa and the second in the nation. The half-block section was an experiment sponsored by M.A. Moore and C.H. Kehrberg. Iowa’s maximum speed limit was 25 mph in 1911.

Nationally, leaders from companies such as Goodyear Tire and Packard Motor Cars saw that their businesses would grow more quickly if the nation improved its roadways.

Carl Fisher, founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, envisioned a transcontinental highway. The concept was not to build a brand new roadway, but rather to create the straightest route between the east and west coast on the best roads which already existed. The Lincoln Highway was the first of these routes, going from New York City to San Francisco. Over time, the route was updated when newer, straighter or smoother legs were found or developed. In Iowa, the Lincoln

Highway stretched along what is now U.S. Highway 30 from the state’s eastern border at Clinton west through Cedar Rapids and Ames, turning southwest at Denison and ending at Council Bluffs.

Automobile, highway and transportation associations worked at the local and regional level to improve their roads in hopes of being a part of the Lincoln Highway and later paths such as the National Old Trails Road (Baltimore to Los Angeles) or the northsouth Jefferson Highway (Winnipeg to New Orleans). The highways were routed to bring tourist traffic through the towns along the trails. Oftentimes, trail routes were determined by which cities had paid dues to the trail's association. Drivers recognized the routes by the placement of distinctive two- or three-color signposts along the way.

Colorful markers such as this one for the King of Trails helped keep travelers on track on the various named highways in the U.S. for about 15 years beginning in the 1910s.

Less well-known today than the Lincoln, Jefferson or Old Trail routes was the King of Trails Highway which traversed 2,000 miles from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Galveston, Texas. The King of Trails cross-country route ran through northwest Iowa, basically along what is

now U.S. Highway 75. Established in 1917, the King of Trails route was marked by upwards of 14,000 painted poles to guide travelers, each marked with a black “K-T” on a yellow band.

Coming south from Winnipeg, the King of Trails divided at Ortonville, Minn. The western branch went through South Dakota. The eastern branch continued down through Minnesota and into Iowa near Rock Rapids and continuing to Sioux Center, Le Mars, Merrill and Hinton. The east and west branches converged at Sioux City, and then went to Council Bluffs and into Nebraska.

In the same 1916-17 time period, it was common practice for Iowa communities wanting to improve roads leading into market centers to sponsor “gravel bees.” A superintendent was selected for the day; and citizens either came to work or donated funds to pay others to work the horse and mule teams and the road grading equipment.

In the 1920s, state and federal governments started to take more control over American roadways. In 1919, the Iowa General Assembly passed legislation to improve and hardsurface about 6,300 miles of primary roads in the state. The primary road system was to connect every city and town with at least 1,000 inhabitants. The bill gave Iowa's 99 counties the responsibility for maintaining the roads.

The new primary roads were assigned route numbers. Independent local or regional highway associations ceased

In the early 1900s, many roads were little more than rutted dirt paths. Independent local and regional highway improvement associations helped upgrade roads in the 1910s and 1920s, bridging the gap until the state and federal governments became engaged in highway building in the mid1920s. Photo from the Lincoln Highway Association.

Iowa’s first gas tax went into effect in 1925. Photo from Iowa Department of Transportation.

their role of caring and promoting their named routes by the late 1920s. In 1926, the “U.S. Highway 75” name was applied to what had been labeled Primary Roads No. 12 and 22 by the Iowa State Highway Commission in 1920.

Highway 75 in Iowa – the old King of Trails route – was paved going south to north. By 1929, it was paved from Council Bluffs to Missouri Valley. The next year, the route was paved to Sioux City. Along the northern section of U.S. 75, engineers sought to straighten the highway before paving could begin. By the end of the 1930s, the highway was straightened and paved between Sioux Center and Rock Rapids.

Sources:

• “Discovering historic Iowa transportation milestones.” Published by the Iowa Department of Transportation, 1999.

• Iowa Lincoln Highway Association. bit.ly/FFlincolnhighway

• Wikipedia. bit.ly/FFoldtrails, bit.ly/FFhwy75, bit.ly/FFhwy75ia

• Jefferson Highway Association. bit.ly/FFjeff

• International Historic Highway 75 King of Trails Coalition, Inc. bit.ly/FFhwy75MN

• Bike Allen County. bit.ly/FFkingKS

• Library of Congress. bit.ly/FFlibraryking

• National Public Radio. bit.ly/FFnprKing

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

From your friends at AGE Media and The Farming Families magazine

PHOTO BY JON KLEMME

MOGLER FAMILY STAYS TRUE TO VALUES EVEN DURING SUSTAINED GROWTH

By Bob Fitch

A culture focused on life-long learning, family, community and faith keeps the Mogler farm and agribusiness enterprise near Lester growing and prosperous.

Brothers Rodney, Brian and Dwight lead the third generation of the Mogler family in Lyon County. Three of their children – cousins Ross, Chet and Janae – are on the management team from the fourth generation. Additional members of the third and fourth generations who are involved in either part-time or full-time roles include: Lois, Jess, Kent, Rosalee, and Dwight’s son-in-laws, Vance Metzger and Alex Ita. Other family members from the fourth and fifth generations are occasional or seasonal employees.

Family patriarch Howard, 90, grew up learning to farm alongside his father, Henry, who was among the first family of Mogler’s born in Lyon County. In 1956, after serving in the military, Howard and his wife, Lillian, started farming on their own. They raised a family of five boys and two girls. They have 31 grandchildren and are getting close to having 30 great-grandchildren.

LYON COUNTY FAMILY

The management team at Pig Hill Co.: Chet Mogler; Janae and Vance Metzger; and Brian, Dwight, Ross, Kent and Rodney Mogler.

About a year ago, the couple moved off the farm to a retirement community in Rock Valley. But Howard still makes an almost-daily commute to the farm for pet projects such as spending time in 2021 building a little fishing pond for his great grandchildren.

“Dad’s passion was feeding cattle,” said Dwight. “That was his pathway to grow the operation in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. He was known as a cattle feeder and, even today, what he enjoys most is cattle.” Howard had one of the area’s early cattle confinement facilities – a full-slatted, deep pit facility built in 1972 which is still in use today. (An interesting family side note … Howard’s brother Phil was in ag sales. “Whatever Dad built over time, from silos to cattle feedyards to hog confinements, it seemed that Phil was getting into that line of sales just before Dad needed it,” Brian said. Phil Mogler passed away in summer 2021 at the age of 99.)

To make room in the operation for his children, Howard decided to diversify from a crop and cattle farm to raising hogs. In 1976, he and his sons, Rodney and Brian, started Pig Hill Co. Moglers were early adopters of “modern pork production,” building their first indoor gestation, shower-in facilities in the mid-1970s. Rodney's role evolved over the years from sow farm manager to oversight of all agronomy and construction. Brian also eventually moved out of sow production into managing the farm’s elevator and cattle operations. Dwight and his late brother, Perry, led the sow herd expansion in the 1990s. “I know we went against the grain to build sow barns here in a pig-dense area. We knew there would be disease pressure and we’ve had our challenges,” said Dwight. “But there was a strong gravitational pull for as many of us as possible to stay here as part of this community.”

Brian said the family’s sow herd expansions in the 1970s and 1990s provided opportunities for family members in generation three, just as the herd expansion of 2015-16 is providing

Lillian and Howard Mogler.

The Mogler family in 1996 when Harold and Lillian celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Front: Perry, Lillian, Howard and Wendy. Back: Kent, Rodney, Beth, Brian and Dwight.

opportunities now for generation four and eventually for generation five.

Off the farm, Howard was active for many years in cattle organizations at both the state and national levels. Brian said his dad never missed a meeting of the National Cattlemen’s Association. His children and grandchildren are emulating his model of involvement. Rodney is on the local Rural Electric Cooperative board and Dwight is on the Iowa Pork Producers Association board.

Locally, Mogler family members are part of entities such as the volunteer fire department and EMT squad, school advisory committee, supporting the start of a community daycare, and serving a meal at Lester’s Winter Fest. Brian leads the family’s local community involvement and said it’s important for family members to be diligent about doing their part for West Lyon Schools, the village of Lester, and other area towns.

Extra time is also spent in service of others through women family members putting together health kits and the men supporting the Hope Haven wheelchair ministry. Along with worship services at the Apostolic Christian Church in Lester, family members enjoy reading and traveling.

Howard Mogler also modeled an attitude of learning as a lifetime occupation. “Dad wasn’t college-educated, but he graduated from high school and the school of hard knocks,” said Dwight. “He was always well-read and educated through the Extension service. He was always seeking out information. He started that culture here.” Janae added: “Grandpa would always say ‘Surround yourself with people smarter than yourself.’”

Brian added, “Dad relied heavily on the land grant university system – Iowa State University in the beginning and then South Dakota State.” Brian and his older brother Rodney graduated from Northwest Iowa Technical College. Brothers Kent, Dwight and Perry all graduated from Iowa State University. Before they joined the family operations, Ross and Chet sought their education from Iowa Lakes Technical College and Janae graduated from South Dakota State University.

The Mogler management team is continuing its commitment to life-long learning by taking part in “The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers” (TEPAP). This program brings together farmers and ranchers who want to operate more professionally – from managing opportunities of growth and expansion, to issues of transition and succession planning. Topics include finances, strategic management, macroeconomics, leadership, accountability, sales, negotiation, human relations and family communications.

Janae said they also participate in a group where a peer review process includes participants traveling every six months to a farm or ranch to help those operations do a full and detailed business analysis. One of those reviews is of your own operation. “We had a lot of recommendations come at us from those meetings, notably to focus more on business structure and human relations,” said Janae, who is a company leader in human resources and training.

Rodney and Lois Mogler.

Ross and Abby Mogler with their children, Khye, Kamden, Kia and Kora.

Towards these identifiable goals, Mogler’s have engaged in a system called “EOS,” an acronym for the Entrepreneurial Operating System. The EOS tools synchronize how people in an organization meet, solve problems, plan, prioritize, follow processes, communicate, measure, structure, clarify roles, lead, and manage. EOS is designed to help leadership teams share a common vision; instill discipline and accountability; and promote team cohesiveness.

“Going way back, Grandpa was always crossing his t’s and dotting his i’s when it came to numbers. He spent about the same amount of money to put scales on his feed truck as he did buying the whole feed truck in the first place,” said Chet, who supervises the daily operations of sow and grow-finish production. “The importance of knowing the facts and being able to measure has been passed down. There have been times in our business when we faced very stressful or emotional situations and decisions. But when we looked at it from a math perspective, it was a no-brainer.”

Pig Hill Co. faces labor shortages like most other companies these days. But their business analyses have shown that filling slots with underperforming “warm bodies” is not the right route. According to Janae, “When you’re short help, it’s really easy to lower your standards, but when you lower your standards, you’ll have faster turnover and bigger problems. So it’s much better to be short a position or two and maintain the

The Brian and Bev Mogler family. Left rear: Chet and Cassie Mogler. Right rear: Rose Anderson. Center: Brian and Bev Mogler. Children next to Brian and below: Taylor and Trenton Anderson; Brecken, Lilly, Hope, Lloyd, Hope, Daphne and Poppy Mogler.

culture versus making a fast hire of somebody who may not fit your culture. The people who work here would rather work an extra half-hour or hour a day than have a lackluster teammate.”

Dwight said formalizing processes and roles is becoming more important because the fourth generation blood lines will be thinner – cousins together in management roles versus brothers Rodney, Brian and Dwight who grew up together in the same house with the same parents. “To operate a professional business, we’ve recognized the need to have more definition to our roles. Conflict happens on family farms and in family businesses and you need to be prepared to deal with those times,” Dwight said. Because “a lot of mouths” in many Lyon County families are counting on the Mogler operation, Janae said it’s vital that the management team, and supervisory teams in various part of the business, have candid conversations, make sound business decisions and hold people at all levels accountable. Chet added, “Not making the hard decisions is a cancer on the business.”

But change and improvement to processes will not undermine the family’s fundamental heritage, beliefs and values. According to Chet, “We definitely would be remiss if we didn’t state our ultimate benchmark is keeping the shared love of Christ among us as a family.” Brian agreed, “We’re fortunate we all agree that the first priority is our faith in God. Our management meetings start with prayer. Something as simple as that helps us keep our focus on what’s first.”

Part of their business professionalization process requires the Mogler leadership team to encourage improved communications between all levels of the company and, likewise, between family and non-family team members. However, Janae said, one topic that’s not up for discussion is that faith in God is a fundamental tenet of who the company’s founders and owners are. “If you’re going to work here, you’re not going to tell us that’s not important. If you’re going to actively work against our belief system, this is not a place for you.”

The Dwight and Donna Mogler family. Vance, Janae and Ian Metzger; Quinn Mogler; Dwight and Donna Mogler; Chloe and Drew Mogler; Alex, Kendra and RaeLynn Ita; and Evan Mogler.

Back in the 1980s, Howard Mogler catches up on the latest information to build his family’s farm operation.

Working on the business is just as important as working in the business at Pig Hill Co. and Mogler Farms.

DO THE BEST WITH WHAT YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN

by Bob Fitch

Farmers depend on two of the most undependable factors in life – the weather and the markets, said Russell Schmidt. “But you do the best with what you’ve been given.”

Russ and Donna Schmidt farm on the west edge of Craig with their twin sons, Adam and Andy, who represent the fifth generation on this farm founded in 1909. In addition to growing corn and soybeans, they also finish cattle.

While the weather and the markets are often unpredictable and uncontrollable, Adam said, “Control your controllables and don’t stress about the things you can’t control.” And, Andy added, “Let the good Lord take care of the rest.”

Russ and Adam are full-time on the farm. Andy works full-time at American Bank in Le Mars where he’s a vice president in agricultural financing. “When I came to American, I told them I wanted to stay involved in my family farm – and they said ‘That’s exactly what we want you to do.’ It’s a really good fit” Andy said. “The majority of my customers are farmers, so

The Schmidt family. Front: Ayla, Kutler, Emerson, Kari, Skylar, Donna, Rylann, Aynslee, Amy. Back: Andy, Micah, Amy, Isaac, Jon, Russell, Adam, Kynlee.

Photo by Christopher's Photography of Le Mars.

if we’re busy here on the farm, that usually means my customers are busy, too. It complements being out here pretty well.” He also adds value to the operation by helping Donna with some of the bookwork and the financial side of the business.

Adam has a side business as a DeKalb/Asgrow seed salesman. “I’d been working for a retail fertilizer place when I started my seed dealership from scratch in 2008,” he said. “It’s grown more than I anticipated. A lot of times, you get down from the combine and it’s time to be selling seed. It can be a tough balance with hauling manure and the tillage that needs to be done here. But we find ways to get it done. It’s been great, I enjoy it.”

According to Andy, “When we graduated from high school, Dad told us to go to college to see if farming is something we really wanted to do. I got into banking and Adam got into agronomy. It made sense for Adam to come out here and it’s made sense for me to do what I’m doing as well.” Andy went to Bellevue University in the Omaha area where he studied marketing and finance. Adam attended Iowa State University where he majored in ag studies and had a minor in agronomy.

As a teenager, Russ did not intend to become a farmer. His father died from a heart attack at age 49 when Russ was only 15 and his siblings were 19, 12 and 1. “We stayed living here, but my mom sold all the machinery and rented the land out to a neighbor. I went to college at Westmar. While I was going there, I was helping out my mom’s renter. Then I got interested in farming and I got a few sows and started raising some hogs, which gave us a good start. I traded labor with our renter so I could use his machinery to start farming some of my mom’s land.”

After graduating from Westmar, Russ and Donna got married and his mom moved to Le Mars. “We moved to the farm and we just grew pretty well from there.” Donna has been very active helping out wherever she is needed, from scraping cattle yards to making lunch for three to five guys every day.

Schmidt’s continued as a farrow-to-finish hog operation until the late 1990s, when they transitioned into bringing in iso-wean pigs to finish. They still have a pig nursery and finisher, but rent out those buildings.

“Out cattle feedlot is the majority of our farming now along with the crops,” Russ said. They purchase Western yearlings from South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota and then finish them. They use the Performance Beef System to track their cattle and keep track of the costs to feed cattle.

While all three of them work in both the livestock and the crop phases of the business, Adam typically manages the crop side and Russ manages the cattle side. “Cattle is dad’s passion, it’s what he’s always loved,” Adam said. “I like being in corn fields and growing crops. I like working with my seed customers and putting plans together for them.”

Russ added that Brent Utesch has been working at Schmidt Century Farm for 23 years. “He’s been an important part of growing this operation.” Andy added, “Everybody’s got

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their strengths in the operation. Brent is an integral cog. His strengths mesh very well in our operation.” And Adam said, “I’ve always felt that you surround yourself with good people and good things will come to you. That’s what we’ve always tried to do.”

The Schmidt family is not adverse to growing, but it’s not necessarily vital to their peace of mind. “There are operations out there that are aggressive and always ready to grow-growgrow-grow. We’ve always had the philosophy of, yes, we’d like to grow more corn to be able to have a full year’s feed for the cattle, but we’re also happy with what we’ve got,” said Andy. Russ wasn’t optimistic about getting much of crop at all in 2021 when there was such a prolonged dry period. “I was just hoping we’d get silage. I’m not usually a pessimist, but it didn’t look good. Then we got some timely rains and we had a very good crop.” Russ admitted they could have sold the corn for $5.50 or $5.75 per bushel, but joked, “We’re going to feed it to the cattle and see if we can get four bucks back.”

A little more light-heartedness has become more important in their lives in recent years. “When you live where you work, you’re always looking out the window thinking ‘I could be doing this or that.’ But it’s just nice to get away. I love cattle, but sometimes you’ve got to have a little break,” said Russ.

Russell and Donna Schmidt of Craig.

“It seemed like we were working seven days a week. There is a lot of work around here. Then about six years ago, there was an opportunity to buy a place at Okoboji. And we thought we wanted our grandkids to remember us not just for working, but having fun also. The place up there has been a lot of fun. We have what we call ‘grand-camp’ every summer. We take all nine grandkids up there for a short week, just Donna and me. We have a blast. It’s been really good for me,” he said.

“Mom and Dad have learned to relax a little bit and not work all the time. While the kids enjoy coming out here working side-by-side with them, they also enjoy the fun side of Grandpa and Grandma,” said Andy.

Putting their priorities in the right order was brought home several years ago when grandson Isaac was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Isaac is the son of Jon and Amy Schmidt, Russ and Donna’s oldest son, who has a cow-calf herd and is the chief technical officer and a veterinarian at Trans Ova in Sioux Center. Amy is a substitute teacher at MOCFloyd Valley. Their other two children are Micah and Skylar.

Donna said, “Isaac was treated at Sanford Children’s Hospital. It’s an amazing place you never want to have to take your children or grandchildren. Boy, do they do an unbelievable job.” Isaac took chemo for 3½ years and beat leukemia. Russ said, “He’s a normal, healthy 11-year-old kid now. We’ve got a lot to be thankful for. That sort of things changes your life, your outlook, your priorities.”

Amy and Adam with their daughters, Kynlee, Aynslee and Rylann. Family photos by Christopher's Photography of Le Mars.

Amy and Jon with their children, Isaac, Skylar and Micah.

Kari and Andy with their children, Ayla, Kutler and Emerson.

The rest of the Schmidt family includes Adam’s wife, Amy, and their children, Kynlee, Rylann and Aynslee; and Andy’s wife, Kari, and their children, Emerson, Ayla, Kutler. Amy works in the Le Mars Community School guidance and activities office. Kari is a sixth grade teacher at Le Mars Community Middle School.

Donna said she’s proud of their daughters-in-law, their careers, and the home life they’ve created with their sons. She misses taking care of little ones (since the grandkids now range in age from 9-15), but she enjoys helping to run them to various activities. With the three different sets of grandchildren in three different schools, she and Russ spend a lot of time attending youth sporting and musical events. Donna said, “We love every minute of it. Basically my life revolves around the grandkids …” “… and me,” added Russell.

Donna and Russ said they are proud that their children and grandchildren are all active in their churches. “We’re all in different churches. But when Russ and I are in our church on Sunday morning, they’re all in their churches, too. It means we did something right. What we did sunk in, even if we wondered for a while during those teenage years,” she said.

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FROM THE KITCHEN

BEST-EVER CHICKEN FRIED STEAK

From Delish.com

INGREDIENTS FOR THE STEAK

• 4 (6-oz.) top round steaks

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 c. cornstarch

• 1 tsp. onion powder

• Kosher salt

• Vegetable oil, for frying

• 1 c. whole milk or buttermilk

• 1 c. all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp. garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

• Freshly ground black pepper

INGREDIENTS FOR THE GRAVY

• 4 tbsp. butter

• 2 1/2 c. whole milk

• Freshly ground black pepper

INGREDIENTS FOR SERVING

• 1/4 c. freshly chopped parsley

• Cooked mashed potatoes

DIRECTIONS:

• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

• Kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp. paprika

• Cooked green beans

1. Place steak between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until 1/4" thick.

2. Set up dredging station: In one shallow bowl, whisk together milk and egg. In another shallow bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and spices, then season with salt and pepper.

3. Dredge each piece of steak in milk then in flour mixture. Repeat until all steak is coated in breading. Place in fridge while you make gravy.

4. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and cook until golden and bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in milk and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. Cook steak: In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1/2" to 1" oil until hot but not smoking. Fry each piece of steak until golden, about 4 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towellined plate, and season with salt and pepper while hot.

6. Garnish with parsley and serve hot with gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

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