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PUBLISHERS Garrett and Mindy Gross, AGE Media (605) 690-4071 EDITOR Bob Fitch, AGE Media (712) 551-4123
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ADVERTISING SALES Garrett Gross, AGE Media (515) 231-9367 garrett@agemedia.pub © The Farming Families, Age Media & Promotion The Farming Families is distributed free exclusively to the farmers, ranchers and producers in rural southeastern South Dakota. All rights reserved. Content in this magazine should not be copied in any way without the written permission of the publisher. The Farming Families assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Content in articles, editorial and advertisements are not necessarily endorsed by The Farming Families and Age Media & Promotion.
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MINNEHAHA COUNTY FAMILY
Laura and Marco Patzer with their children, Griffin, Clara and Carson. Photo by Tami Carda Photography.
CHERRY ROCK FARMS
FAMILY IS DOWN-TO-EARTH AND DOWN-TO-BUSINESS By Bob Fitch
In more ways than one, the Patzer family takes being “down-toearth” seriously.
Jeff and Sydney Horton with their sons, Clay and Micah. 6
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Marco and Laura Patzer own and operate Cherry Rock Farms, located south of Brandon. Visiting the seasonal vegetable market is a Sioux Falls area tradition for many families dating back nearly 100 years. Marco’s great grandfather, John Picasso, was an Italian immigrant who established Cherry Rock Gardens in 1925 along the
Big Sioux River at the 18th Street crossing in Sioux Falls. “Down-to-earth” for Marco and Laura starts with their devotion to providing the best life possible for their three children: Carson, 12, Griffin, 9, and Clara, 8. Eight years ago, the couple was living in Ohio with their two sons.
They both had successful careers: Laura was a civilian program manager for the U.S. Air Force and Marco had his own hardwood flooring installation company. When they found out they were pregnant with their daughter, they began to evaluate what they wanted for their family’s future. About that time, Laura and Marco were having a general conversation with his father, David Picasso, the long-time owner-operator of Cherry Rock Gardens. David told them: “I’m getting old, I’m getting tired. Either I sell it to you guys or someone else.” According to Laura, “That was our sign.” Marco said, “I couldn’t stand the thought of him selling. Plus, we were getting tired of the rat race and wanted to be able to spend more time with our kids. We understood the value of raising kids in a farm situation rather than David Picasso gives grandchildren, Griffin and Clara, a lesson in the greenhouse. Photo by Laura Patzer. in the city. I personally think it’s a better way to grow up if you have that chance. We thought it would be good for our family. We decided to take the leap and come out here to take over the farm.” They moved from Ohio when Clara was just 10 weeks old; Griffin was 1½; and Carson was 3½. “So it was a crazy time,” Laura said. “I previously lived in Chicago, Nashville, and then in Ohio. This whole setting was new for me.” Her friends from Chicago are still struck by photos on social media where she might be holding a chicken. But friends here can’t imagine her any other way. “I never thought I wanted this life, but now I can’t imagine not having it,” she said. Marco told her, “You’ve taken to this new life and new role pretty fantastically because it was such a 180 from what your life was before.” Up until last fall, the kids were homeschooled, which also enhanced their connections to the farm. “In the summer time, our kids help with picking vegetables every day. They love working in the market,” Laura said. “Clara likes to help customers take their purchases out to the car. It’s been exciting to watch them grow. And Marco is such a big support to them with the attitude of ‘If you can dream it, I’ll help you get there.’ He has been really great about creating opportunities for the kids if they start expressing an interest in a certain area.” Marco said the farm and entrepreneurial environment shows their children how just about anything is possible with a combination of opportunity and hard work.
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SOIL HEALTH A TOP PRIORITY The second half of their “down-to-earth” approach is a deliberate focus on soil health. “Once you have healthy soil, everything else falls into place. It’s not always something that’s been done on this farm, but we’re trying to move strongly in that direction. It’s kind of like turning a ship – it’s doesn’t happen overnight,” Marco said. In today’s world, their land and soil management approach is called “regenerative agriculture.” While the “intensive agriculture” which started in the 1800s and accelerated after World War II resulted in an abundance of low-cost food for many parts of the world, there’s evidence it came at a cost to natural resources. The local foods movement has been a driving force encouraging vegetable growers such as Cherry Rock and other small, direct-to-market producers to be leaders in regenerative agriculture. Frequent practices in this conservation and rehabilitation approach include: • Diverse crop rotation • Multi-species cover crops • No-till and low-till farming • Soil management • Rotational grazing Griffin Patzer feeds plugs into the planter at Cherry Rock Farms with his grandfather, David Picasso, and sister, Clara, in the tractor. Photo by Laura Patzer.
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SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH & TAXES
Carla teaches Grandpa the finer points of driving a tractor. Photo by Laura Patzer.
Marco said, “If you can set up your farming practices to focus on healthy soil, everything else takes care of itself. It’s not easy to do – it’s the hard way to farm because it’s more labor intensive. You’ve got to hoe the weeds out instead of spraying them. Instead of just spreading fertilizer, you’ve got to rely more on raising animals and planting cover crops and those types of things. “Healthier soil means healthier plants; and more nutrientdense vegetables means healthier people,” he said. Laura added, “We also started with our own kids in mind. Since they are in the field working with us, it’s very important that there be no herbicides and no pesticides if they grab a pepper or tomato and eat it on the spot.” DAD IS WILLING TO TRY NEW THINGS Although the couple is changing the production practices used at Cherry Rock for decades, Laura said her father-inlaw has embraced the approach. Marco said, “He’s the kind of guy who’s always interested in a new and better way. He's always willing to try new things.” While officially retired, David was working in the field the day of this interview. “I don’t think he’ll ever retire,” Laura said. And while he was winding down operations to meet his own work capacity prior to 2014, Marco said his dad was really helpful in the business transition and teaching them the nuts and bolt of ramping production back up. “Quite honestly, it would have been impossible without his help. He’s been a good teacher.”
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beets and more. For several weeks in the “shoulder seasons” (right before the retail shop opens in July and after retail closes in October), they utilize the CSA model (community supported agriculture) wherein shareholders receive a box of fresh produce weekly.
Marco and Laura Patzer at work in the greenhouse. Photo by Tami Carda Photography.
David’s parents – second generation Robert and Esther (better known as Toots) Picasso – were the drivers of the growth of the old Cherry Rock Gardens in its heyday in Sioux Falls. “My grandma was a big part of that,” Marco said. “Grandpa did all the day-to-day farming, but she was the brains of the operation.” Eventually, they outgrew the Sioux Falls space and bought the farm near Brandon. They moved most of the growing to the farm and started trucking the vegetables into town beginning in 1968. Retail sales stayed in Sioux
Falls until 1985 when Robert and Toots retired and sold the property to the city which had desperately wanted the land for many years. Marco’s grandparents moved to the farm and his dad took over production and operations. FAMILY TRADITIONS AND BUSINESS EXPANSION Laura and Marco and their children have carried on the family tradition of focusing first on vegetable production – tomatoes, sweet corn, onion, peppers, melons, carrots,
They’ve expanded the scope of the business by welcoming food products such as beef, lamb, eggs, honey, lettuce, mushrooms and microgreens from other local growers. They’re also partnering with locally-owned, small-scale food processors who provide salsa, salad mixes, jams and jellies, gourmet popcorn, coffee and kombucha. Cherry Rock Farms is also doubling its pumpkin production from 4.5 acres to almost 10 acres in 2022. Part of the game plan in selling products from other producers and processors is to be a daily farmers market local consumers can take advantage of during the July to October time frame. According to Laura, “Customers love to be able to come to one location and get everything in one stop. Our market is open six days a week, so they don’t have to be in a huge rush to make it to farmers market hours or go just to a farmers market on Saturday mornings.”
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The family is also treading lightly into livestock production with the long-term goal of achieving the benefits of rotational grazing. Oldest son Carson will be in charge of the flock of laying hens. Cherry Rock Farms regularly hosts farm tours and school field trips. “We really see the value of kids in a farm setting, even if it’s only for a couple of hours,” Laura said. They work with the state Department of Tourism on agro-tourism efforts and have been regular speakers to a wide variety of organizations about their methods, marketing and even messages about their faith. TIME FOR THE CHURCH, SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY The family is excited for the onset of the 2022 production and market season. But they also relish the season’s conclusion in October
when they can give more time to church, their children’s activities, and community and school events. One project that crosses almost all lines is a collaboration with Brandon Valley schools which purchases vegetables from Cherry Rock for use in the school cafeterias. Marco and Laura each have a distinct role at the farm. Laura has an accounting degree, so she does bookkeeping, payroll, marketing and other backend tasks. Marco takes the lead on the production and farming side. But there’s a lot of crossover and lot of time helping out the other partner. “We really spend almost every minute of our lives together,” Laura said. “We raise our kids together, we run our business together, we farm together. It’s a special relationship that we’ve been able to grow into and lean into. Thank goodness it works for us.”
The Patzer family works together to clean up the greenhouse this spring. Photo by Tami Carda Photography.
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KEEPING LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE
An aerial view of Turkey Ridge in August 1977.
‘A GOOD THING STARTED’ AT TURKEY RIDGE IN SPRING 1927 One cold fall day in 1926, Fred Sorensen and his brother-in-law, Clifford Jorgensen, took a walk alongside South Dakota Highway 18 near Turkey Ridge Creek. In a pasture owned by Fred’s fatherin-law, Lars Jorgensen, Cliff and Fred stepped out the lines for the foundation of what would become the Turkey Ridge Store.
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The basement was dug by hand and cement was hand-mixed. Most of the carpentry work was done by Fred and another brother-in-law, Lewis Jorgensen. The first Nash Finch Co. salesman waited an entire afternoon to see Fred and his wife, Daisy, because, he said, “That young fellow has got a good thing started and I want to be able to say I sold him his first order of groceries.” The store opened in spring 1927. The first years of business were difficult with the onset of drought and the Great Depression. Many times Fred hardly knew where the money was coming from for his next order of stock. There was no electricity until Fred put in a 32-volt windcharger. Every winter ice was cut from Swan Lake and stored in an ice house behind the store, where pop and beer was cooled. Eventually, a kerosene refrigerator was purchased.
“The boys” gather for a cold drink and fellowship on a Sunday morning.
Originally, Fred, Daisy and their older daughter, Mary Elizabeth, lived in an apartment at the back of the store. They moved into an apartment in the upper level in 1929. Their younger daughter, Carol, was born in 1934 – the only child ever born in the store building. The enterprise had a wide variety of services. In addition to the groceries, the original store sold dry goods such as underwear, work clothes, boots, shoes, oil cloth, and even linoleum They also purchased cream and eggs for several years. In addition, the Turkey Ridge Store was a gas station and eventually Fred purchased a bulk truck for fuel delivery to farms. Fred and Daisy sold the business in 1946 to their employee, Albert Dangel, a World War II veteran. Fred started an appliance business across the street, but retired after a heart attack in 1955. He lived in Turkey Ridge until his death in 1975. Albert Dangel and his wife, Geraldine, operated the Turkey Ridge Store from 1946 through the end of 1952. Among the fondest memories from those years was the Sunday morning fellowship. The Dangels would barely get the doors open upon returning from church when the crowd rolled in for their bottle of pop or other refreshments. With more and bigger farm machinery in use after the war, Albert bought a new bulk fuel truck in Yankton for “the outrageous sum” of $1,550 plus $700 for the tank. He also added a garage onto the operation. It was cold and snowy on New Year’s Day 1953 when the new owners, Howard and Phyllis Georgeson and their children,
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moved into the Turkey Ridge Store. Neighbors who came to help played a game of croquet in the snow when the work was done! Howard and Phyllis installed new shelves and counter inside the store, making it a self-service “supermarket.” A November 1957 story in the Argus Leader listed the businesses located in Turkey Ridge: Two gas stations; service garage; bottle gas and appliance store; and insurance agency.
When new owners Allen and Mildred Christensen held their grand opening in 1958, the first four owners of the Turkey Ridge Store all happened by at the same time. Pictured are Allen Christensen, Howard Georgesen, Albert Dangel and Fred Sorensen.
The Georgeson’s sold the store to Allen and Mildred Christensen in the fall of 1958, but separated the bulk truck business from the store. Howard and Phyllis moved to Hurley, but continued to operate Turkey Ridge Oil Co. During the Christensen years running the store, the business consisted of groceries, hardware, Zip Feed, gas pumps and many other miscellaneous items. In 1967, newlyweds Avis and Jim Georgeson began their many years at the store. Shortly after moving in, they acquired the bottle gas business formerly operated by Jens Christensen. Over the years, they became more involved in selling and repairing tires, plus added a grinder-mixer for use by their customers. The couple became dealers of Sioux Steel bins and added a new Hi-Boy for spraying crops.
One of the first bulk fuel trucks at Turkey Ridge.
Jim also took flying lessons, purchased a plane, and began spraying area farm fields. The plane’s hanger was on the east side of Viborg and folks took to calling it “The Danish Air Force.” Jim and Avis remodeled and expanded the apartment above the store in 1975 and purchased the house across the road when Fred Sorensen passed away. The Georgeson’s sold the Turkey Ridge Store via auction in November 1985. The buyers were Bruce and Becky Ebbesen.
The Turkey Ridge Store in 1950.
The blacksmith shop in Turkey Ridge was built by Jens Christensen and later operated by LaVerne Lehman (pictured above). Among the many businesses located at Turkey Ridge were a service garage, bottle gas and appliance store, insurance agency and gas stations. 14
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Bruce said, “We ran Turkey Ridge Store over here for 26 years. Back then it was a small country store – Zip Feed is what paid the bills. Everybody had livestock and needed feed, and we sold tires and I did a lot of ag spraying. When the big hog operations came around, that pretty much shut off the feed business. The older guys moved to town and there was no more livestock at a lot of places. It just died over night, you might say.” The store closed in 2012 after 85 years of serving the farm community. About a dozen years earlier, Bruce and Becky and a business partner purchased Turkey Ridge Oil, which they continue to operate today with their son, Jesse. This article is adapted from an original story written by Carol Sorensen Jorgensen and Robin Jorgensen Hanta which was published in booklet form in 1977 on the 50th anniversary of the Turkey Ridge Store. Thanks to Heritage Hall Museum & Archives in Freeman for retaining copies of important local histories.
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SUNSET. PHOTO BY DANIEL HOEY
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TURNER COUNTY FAMILY
NORDMANN NEVER FORGETS A FACE
By Bob Fitch
Wherever his family travels in the five-state area, Todd Nordmann runs into somebody who knows him. Todd may not remember the name, but he never forgets a face – at least he never forgets the face of the livestock. “Between ring man, livestock judging, sheep sales and everything else, people know me. At the State Fair, I’ll walk no more than 10 feet and we’ll run into someone who knows me. We’ll stand and visit for a while. When he walks away, my kids will laugh at me and say: ‘You have no idea who that was, do you?’ And I’ll say, ‘No, but I know he’s got really good black-faced lambs that I sold for him. I have a photogenic memory that way. But it’s a weird photogenic.” Todd and his wife, Coral, raise swine breeding stock and sheep on the family farm south of Chancellor. With business partner Steve DeGroot of Orange City, he runs the sheep alley at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock. In addition, he judges a couple dozen livestock shows every year and is on call to be one of the ring men for auctions at Ottenwalter Show Pigs, a California company which is one of the largest show pig suppliers in the country.
Coral, Todd, Denver and Sami Nordmann. Photos courtesy of the Nordmann family. 18
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Most of his stories seem to circle around to his passion – livestock judging and livestock shows, especially stories about his children, Denver and Sami, and their success in the ring.
Sami Nordmann showing “Boog,” the overall reserve grand champion at the South Dakota State Fair Open Show and reserve grand champion in the State Fair show. Boog has raised a national champion and a number of county fair champions. Sami and Denver show off their championship banners.
“When our son, Denver, was born; and then a year-and-amonth later our daughter Sami was born, I said ‘They will win the FFA livestock judging at the FFA state convention.’ And 17 years later, they did.” Sami (or “Brains” as Todd calls her) is a showman who can “stick it” when the chips are down. One year at the State Fair, she got beat with a great lamb the family thought was going to win it all. Todd said, “At the very next class, one of the biggest sheep producers in the country had two lambs in the same class and they asked Brains to show the other one. That lamb should have never won the class, but Sami basically outshowed everybody and beat the other good sheep. That was one of my proudest moments.” Towards the end of their children’s FFA show careers, the kids didn’t want Todd to train the livestock anymore because he has too much of a temper. “Denver is a livestock whisperer; he is so good with handling animals,” Todd said. “Denver can get anything to move or walk or roll over.” Denver captured the state’s FFA Star Award in swine proficiency one year. SOME PEOPLE GO TO THE LAKE … Coral said when the kids were younger, the family was at a show nearly every weekend of the summer. “Going to livestock shows was our vacation. We never took vacations otherwise,” she said. A trip to see the Denver Broncos for their honeymoon and another football trip to the Mile High City with the whole family a couple of years ago is the extent of their non-livestock-related travel. Todd said, “Some people go to the lake, some people go to a cabin, some people have a boat – we went showing pigs and
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sheep. All the years of showing taught the kids you have to be committed and dedicated, just like any sport. It was a lot of work. Towards the end there, when we were really big into showing and hitting it hard, by the time you rinse everything, walk them, suntan them, all the little things you needed to do, it would take us four hours in the morning and three hours at night just to do chores. With the pigs and the sheep, it was a pretty heavy part-time job just doing that. I kind of miss it a little bit. Yet, it’s good to be done.” Mission accomplished! A goal Todd Nordmann set for his kids when they were babies came true when Denver and Sami were part of the champion FFA Livestock Evaluation Team in 2017.
Denver is a graduate of Lake Area Technical College and works with his dad at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock. Sami is majoring in ag leadership at South Dakota State University. She and Todd haven’t quite let go of competing – they’re preparing to show a Duroc gilt, a Duroc boar and a Hampshire gilt at World Pork Expo in June. Their small swine herd has had big results. They’ve had several national champions with pigs they’ve either shown or sold or raised. “Just last year, we got the reserve champion overall at the National Barrow Show and he was the high seller. It was a Duroc boar who went to a boar stud. We’ve had four boars now go to boar studs. That’s pretty good for a little herd of six sows.” The company name is Nordmann’s Chromed Up Show Pigs. Todd started judging livestock when he was a seventh grader. “I tagged along to a livestock judging contest with the Lennox FFA. They had seven teams but I wasn’t old enough yet. But my old ag teacher Tim Hooten put me on the last team because they were one person short. Long story short, I won the whole contest.” Todd assured the FFA adviser it wasn’t a fluke. Mr. Hooten took him under his wing and he later ended up winning the state 4-H and state FFA livestock judging contests in the same year.
Todd Nordmann in the ring at an Ottenwalter Show Pigs auction. Ottenwalter’s is one of the largest show pig suppliers in the country and is based in California.
2 MILLION SHEEP SOLD After graduating from Mitchell Technical College, Todd was working as a herdsmen for a local show pig producer when Darry Pearson from the Sioux Falls Stockyards called to see if he’d be interested in working in a new sheep alley at the yards. “I said I’d give it a shot. Thirty-four years later, I’m still doing it.” In the early days, he’d get in his pickup and drive the gravel roads until he saw sheep. He’d stop at the farm, give them a business card, and encourage them to refer other producers to him. He worked at the Sioux Falls Stockyards until it closed in 2010. When Sioux Falls Regional first opened, they tried selling sheep, but total sales the first year were about 7,500 head. In a five-minute meeting, Regional’s owners asked Todd and Steve DeGroot to come in and run the sheep alley. They sold 8,000 head the first month – more than Regional had sold in a year. Over his career, he figures he’s sold more than 2 million sheep.
Dianne and Harley Nordmann “are still watching out for” their son, Todd, and his family. 20
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Sales have grown consistently and now Sioux Falls Regional Livestock is one of the top three sheep sales spots in the U.S. “Our markets are watched by the world. You don’t think about
that in little southeast South Dakota, but we are big. We’re getting sheep from eight hours away any direction – north, south, east, west. You treat people well and you’re honest and you get the most for them you can. It’s a booming business,” Todd said. Sales of sheep and goats are driven by ethnic markets on the east coast. “I always say after 34 years I’ve never worked a day in my life because I love what I’m doing. Now I get to work with my son, so you can’t get any better than that.” When he increased his involvement in cattle sales at Regional a couple of years ago, he gave up driving tractor during the busy seasons for his neighbors, something he had enjoyed doing for more than 30 years. FAMILY VALUES Todd’s parents, Harley and Dianne Nordmann, own some farm ground and are partners with Todd, Coral and Denver in their sheep production.
“Most times, Dad’s a silent partner – he just says ‘You know what you’re doing, just do it.’ At the same time, if Dad put a dollar in a jar every time he drove up this driveway to help, we’d have that driveway paved with gold. Also, if anybody comes onto the yard, we know because Mom sends a text. Even after all these years, they’re watching out for us.” Growing up, his parents took them to church every Sunday and again on Wednesday. He and Coral have tried to instill those same values with their children. Their faith and prayer have helped them through the inevitable hard times in a livestock operation. The other important family values are to be fans of the University of North Carolina basketball team and the NFL’s Denver Broncos. “Besides church, the only other time we stop working is on Saturdays if the Tarheels are playing or on Sunday when the Broncos are on. There’s nothing else going on for those three hours,” he said.
Coral grew up on a farm west of Corsica. In January, she started working in the auditor’s office at the Turner County Courthouse. For the previous 16 years she worked in the business office at Good Samaritan in Lennox. Coral works off the farm to keep good health insurance since her husband has been pretty beat up over the years. He’s had a wire through his eye, his scapula broken in three spots, a rotator cuff injury and more. As outgoing as Todd is, she’s very quiet. Yet she was the one who asked him to marry her. Was he stringing her along? She said, “Yeah, I was going to have to wait forever. He said we’d get married when he was debt-free. Well, that was never going to happen.”
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LINCOLN COUNTY FAMILY
Daniel Rislov’s mom, Jeanne, is a great supporter of his up-and-coming business.
MUSHROOM AND MICROGREEN GROWER LIVES BY MOTTO OF ‘NEVER GIVE UP’ By Bob Fitch
Becoming a producer of mushrooms and microgreens was never a destination on Daniel Rislov’s map to life. But there are many different roads to a career in agriculture.
Like many kids, his work life started by mowing Grandma’s lawn. His first official job was washing dishes at F&M Cafe in his hometown of Madison, S.D. “Since then, I've worked at many other restaurants, construction companies, sales companies, production facilities and medical laboratories,” Daniel said. “Unknowingly, I was gaining practical knowledge at nearly every job which all helped me in my career as a grower and business owner. The only exception was the time I spent as a lifeguard in Madison, Sioux Falls, Spearfish and Brookings. I was good at basking in the sun, but unfortunately those skills haven’t been useful.” In 2010, he graduated from South Dakota State University, where his studies largely focused on biology and medical
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THE MANY FACES OF MUSHROOMS
Pictured are a few of the mushroom varieties grown by Daniel Rislov.
Oyster Daniel Rislov’s mushrooms are grown in a cooler using a planting media made of hardwood sawdust and soy hulls or wheat bran, depending upon the variety. The cold air and humidity in the cooler causes the mushroom mycelium to fruit.
laboratory science. He became a medical technologist in various Sioux Falls facilities working PRN (the acronym PRN comes from the Latin phrase “pro re neta," which translates to "as the need arises.") Working PRN gave him flexibility to grow his farm business. Daniel’s company – Dakota Mushrooms & Microgreens – has been supplying restaurants, farmers markets and retail stores in the area since 2015. “Our mushrooms and microgreens are grown with safe, all natural ingredients. Everything is grown indoors for consistent results, and I strive to harvest the same day the product is sold,” he said.
Shiitake
“Farming mushrooms and microgreens is not all smiles and laughs. Failure has played a significant role in the learning process, and 'never give up' is a motto I learned to embrace.” He credits his brothers for helping him survive the early days. “My brother, Richard, designed our logo and has been a great resource for marketing and promotional information. He was also my roommate when the business started, along with his beautiful daughter, Alyssa. They tolerated the clutter and weird smells for almost two years,” he said. “My brother, David, made expanding commercially possible. He used his electrical engineering skills to automate my equipment, which allowed me to increase production without losing too much sleep. His help has been priceless on many projects.” He said his mom, Jeanne, has been his biggest fan and supporter along the way.
Lionsmane
In addition, his father, Richard, and father’s girlfriend, Jackie, run Daniel’s farmers market stand in Sioux City. Dakota Mushrooms & Microgreens is located on the south edge of Sioux Falls, east of the Tea exit on I-29. He operates in warehouse space owned by Skogen Inc., a builder of custom homes. “They have been great to work with. I designed my space exactly how I needed it and they accommodated.” Daniel sells product through several channels. “The people from our area have been great, including chefs, business
Maitake May 2022 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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Mushroom crumbs are a food seasoning developed by Daniel Rislov. He’s also created a mushroom jerky that tastes much like beef jerky.
owners, farmers market customers, and everyone in between. Our local food scene is legit and filled with passion. We live in a great place and I am thankful to be a part of it.” He delivers fresh product every Friday to Sioux Falls Co-op, Pomegranate Market and Hy-Vee stores in Sioux Falls and Sioux City. Dakota Mushroom & Microgreens participates in the communitysupported agriculture (CSA) program at Cherry Rock Farms and the online farmers market of Glory Garden. From May through October, the company can be found at the Falls Park Farmers Market in Sioux Falls and the Sioux City Farmers Market. In the Lake Okoboji, Iowa, area, products are sold at Farmers Market in the Park from June to September and through Prairie Home Delivery. Residential delivery is also available in Sioux Falls, Tea and Harrisburg. “I stumbled into mushrooms and microgreens on my quest for 24
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Daniel Rislov got interested in mushrooms and microgreens as a way to improve his own health – and discovered an ag business in the process. The microgreens pictured here are loaded with nutrients, such as vitamins, C, E, and K, lutein, and beta-carotene.
better health,” he said. Mushrooms are a low-calorie food which include health-boosting vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein and antioxidants, which may mitigate the risk of developing serious health conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Mushrooms are also a source of selenium, copper, thiamin, magnesium and phosphorous. Mushrooms are rich sources of potassium, a nutrient known for reducing the negative impact that sodium can have on your body. Potassium also lessens the tension in blood vessels, potentially helping to lower blood pressure. The antiinflammatory effect of mushrooms has been shown to improve the efficiency of the immune system. Daniel’s mushroom product line includes: • King Trumpet: Often considered the best tasting and highest quality mushroom.
• Lion's Mane: Superb gourmet mushroom also considered a medicinal mushroom. • Shiitake: Rich, earthy flavor; meaty texture. • Maitake: Rich, savory flavor. • Oyster: Versatile mushroom which goes well in many dishes. • Chestnut/Cinnamon Cap: Mild, earthy, nutty taste. Dakota Mushroom & Microgreens also sells mushroom grow bags for advanced growers; and syringes filled with live mushroom mycelium. The cultures are from his own supply to ensure a healthy, high yielding strain. Daniel has also developed a mushroom jerky which has the same taste and texture of beef jerky. He also sells “mushroom crumbs,” an all-purpose seasoning he makes from cooked, seasoned and freeze-dried mushrooms. His microgreens product line
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includes cabbage, cilantro, kohlrabi, leek, pea, sorrell and sunflower. Microgreens can be used as a nutritional supplement, a visual enhancement, and a flavor and texture enhancement (some adding sweetness and others spiciness to foods). Studies have shown that microgreens are loaded with nutrients, such as vitamins, C, E, and K, lutein, and beta-carotene. Microgreens are not a substitute for mature vegetables, but do fill in gaps in a person’s dietary needs. Microgreens, also known as micro herbs or vegetable confetti, started to appear on chefs’ menus in the 1980s in California. Among upscale grocers, they are now considered a specialty genre of greens, good for garnishing salads, soups, sandwiches, and plates. Microgreens range in size from one to three inches, including the stem and leaves. Most microgreens only take about a week to grow. The stem is cut just above the soil line during harvesting. Microgreens have fully developed cotyledon leaves and usually, one pair of very small, partially developed true leaves. Preventing and managing fungus or mold growth are among the challenges of growing microgreens. Daniel uses a standard potting mix and a safe, certified organic fertilizer (although the greens themselves are not yet certified organic). “I’m always experimenting with new varieties of both mushrooms and microgreens,” Daniel said. Sources • www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-mushrooms • www.healthline.com/nutrition/microgreens • www.urbancultivator.net/microgreen • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microgreen
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HUTCHINSON COUNTY FAMILY
RENOWNED AIRBRUSH ARTIST FINDS A HOME IN MENNO By Bob Fitch
Over the last decade, Mickey Harris has become well-known in this area for his airbrush paintings on tractor pull tractors and for his stunning artwork honoring military personnel and celebrating America. How did this nationally-recognized artist and a pioneer in freehand airbrush painting find himself at home in Menno, South Dakota? Mickey’s colorful life has been a long and winding road. His father was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force and so he grew up living all over the county, including Texas, Kansas, Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington state. “I never lived anywhere more than two years at a time until I was 16 or 17. I thought that’s the way life was supposed to be,” he said. One of those stops along the way was Wichita, Kan. “My second grade teacher wrote a note home to my mom, saying ‘I’ve been teaching second grade for 40 years and I’ve never seen a kid with this much natural artistic talent.’” His mom put him in a neighborhood art class after school. “It was mostly women 26
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and me. I learned watercolors and oils and all that stuff during third and fourth grade after school.” In the fifth grade, he sold his first painting. “I think it was for something like five bucks at a garage sale. I was getting a quarter a week allowance, so five bucks was huge. I bought a G.I. Joe model airplane and I thought this was the way to go, man.” PAINTING T-SHIRTS ON THE BEACH Flash forward to 1977. A friend sent 20-year-old Mickey to meet the owner of a t-shirt shop on the beach in Florida. “I told him I wasn’t an airbrush artist, but that I was an artist. He put me in the back of his shop and I practiced for three days. Everybody there was painting little beach scenes, sticking up a sun, some palm trees, lines for seagulls, and putting people’s names on them. Heck, I never paid any attention to that stuff. Instead, trying to figure out how the airbrush works, I painted a picture of a knight on a chariot with skis and polar bears pulling him through the snow.” The owner returned on the third day, looked at Mickey’s work and was shocked at the originality. He put Mickey in the front window the next day and told
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Two panels painted by Mickey Harris on “The Weapon,” Mark Ulmer’s championship tractor from the Outlaw tractor pulling circuit.
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Mickey Harris at work in his studio on the hood of a Ford Bronco for the Wounded Warrior Family Support Group. The hood includes a rendition of the original Purple Heart patch (upper right) and the traditional Purple Heart medal with George Washington’s profile. It also includes the outline of a Fallen Soldier Table, which honors American military personnel who have perished in battle, been taken prisoner and never returned, or other soldiers who have gone missing and not come home. The Purple Heart on the hood took Mickey about two days to paint after meticulous preparation.
I would think it was clouding up – and I’d turn around to look and there’d be 50-60 people standing there with gaping mouths looking at what I was doing.” Painting in front of people was intimidating. “But I jumped into the fire. I learned I could make money on my artwork, which I never knew if I’d have the opportunity to do. It’s been 45, 46 years since then and I’m still doing it,” Mickey said. From about 2001 to 2010, he was “making great money” teaching airbrush painting seminars all over the country. “Everybody wanted to be an airbrush artist and custom painter because of television shows. I had no shortage of students.” Shannon and Brent from Classic Collision & Frame in Menno attended one of his classes being held in Nebraska. The next year when they saw he was coming back, they got in touch with Mickey and asked him if he’d come to Menno to do a special paint job. “I think it was 28
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a ’67 Firebird. We agreed on a price and after I finished the seminar in Nebraska, I drove up here to Menno.” He said the crew at Classic Collision knows what they’re doing when it comes to auto restoration – Mickey requires the highest quality cars, motorcycles, trucks and tractors to work on because his paint jobs can cost tens of thousands of dollars. ESCAPING THE EPIDEMIC After several years of doing occasional work for Classic , it just so happened he and his wife were looking for a new place to live. At the time, their home was in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. They loved it there, but crime was rising dramatically because of the opioid craze. “We could never leave our house alone. People would break in and take everything we had,” he said. “In Tennessee, the pot growers and the moonshiners have a code of
ethics, but the opioid addicts will kill you for another pill or another shot. It was such an epidemic.” Mickey and his wife, Laura, have lived in Menno for 10 years and they appreciate how Midwestern people share their conservative values. “I like it here. It’s pretty quiet and you don’t have to worry as much about crime. The cool thing about these small towns is everybody looks out for everybody. If you have a big storm come through, the next day everybody’s out helping everybody else. Nobody calls FEMA or wonders who is going to take care of them. People here take care of themselves.” However, he did admit: “My wife’s not real happy with the weather. She calls it God-forsaken, especially this wind.” Mickey is currently in the midst of painting a Ford Bronco for the Wounded Warrior Family Support Group out of Omaha. The vehicle is designed to be a tribute to the 13 Marines who lost their lives during
SEASONS ON THE FARM Mickey Harris recently completed a 3-part mural behind the service counter at Freeman International. Part one is spring (at right). Part two includes summer and fall (center). Part three shows a winter scene (lower left). The paintings took him about two weeks to complete.
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the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. Some of his most lucrative work comes from military tribute projects – and it’s also where he makes the greatest donation of his time and talent. He considers it the duty of every American to care for wounded veterans. SHRINE TO THE EQUINE
“Badlands” by Mickey Harris.
“Never Surrender” by Mickey Harris.
He also has a special place in his heart for painting country scenes. “My wife is into horses. We’re too old to ride them now, but she’s still a horse nut. Our house is like a shrine to the equine. I have a lot of horse paintings from which I’ve sold prints, but I keep the originals for her.” As a child artist, he started out painting a lot of rural scenes and scenery. “I enjoy the nostalgic cowboy paintings. They’re relaxation for me. It’s not as serious as what I have to do on this metal.” His work has brought him in contact with many celebrities – Willie Nelson, Ted Nugent, Sugar Ray Leonard, Rodney Dangerfield, Lou Rawls, Redd
Foxx, Sammy Davis Jr. and many more. But he’s not interested in dwelling on those stories, nor is he interested in owning expensive automobiles or motorcycles like the ones he paints. Mickey has only purchased two new cars in his life and currently drives a 1998 Chevy Suburban. “I don’t care about fancy stuff. I just want to have comfort more than anything else.” He doesn’t travel for work as much as he used to (but is willing to do so for a big enough paycheck). “Mostly, I like to be home, sleep in my own bed and pet my dogs.” Like a farmer who passes away while driving his tractor, Mickey plans to paint until the day he dies. “They’ll probably find me out here dead with an airbrush in my hand. I couldn’t think of a better way to go. I’m 65 and I’m still painting. People ask me ‘Are you thinking of retiring?’ If I retired, what would I do? Take up painting? I get to do what I love and I’m very, very thankful – and I try to never to take that for granted.”
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