The Farming Families SD January 2023

January 2023 | www.AgeMedia.pub

Faith / Family / Friends / Farming

Hutchinson | Lincoln | Minnehaha | Turner

LINCOLN COUNTY

Meet the

WESTRA FAMILY James and Katie Westra with their daughters Bellamy and Allie.

Story begins on page 22.

TURNER COUNTY HOFER FAMILY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

HUTCHINSON COUNTY CHANGING OF THE GUARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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© 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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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | January 2023

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TURNER COUNTY FAMILY

The Hofer family: Noah, Shawn, Heather, Norma, Vernon, Isaac, Zach and their dog, Toby.

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By Bob Fitch

Faith and hard work are the cornerstones of life at the Shawn and Heather Hofer farm near Marion.

“Faith in God is very important to us and we try to pass that on to our kids. Because you're at the mercy of so many things out of your control, I think faith and farming go hand-inhand. It would be hard to not have faith,” said Shawn. The couple has three sons, Noah, 19, Zach, 17, and Isaac, 15.

Their sons also grew up learning to put their nose to the grindstone. “I always knew Noah was going to go off somewhere else for college. I told

6

him and his brothers, ‘No matter where you go or what you do, I want you to know how to work hard.’ It seems like so many kids their age just don't really know how to work very hard. Hopefully, they’ll take that lesson and their faith with them.”

Noah is a freshman at Arizona State University, studying business and entrepreneurship. Zach and Isaac are students at Parker High School.

Heather added, “We also want them to have the courage to try different things and not be afraid to fail, learning along the way. Noah tried something completely different by going to college in Mesa; and Zach experiments on the farm, continually building on the skills his Dad and Grandpa teach him.”

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | January 2023

Even though they were raised with the same values and by the same parents, the brothers each approach life a little differently.

Noah said, “For me, I’ve always valued trying new things and seeing how things can be done differently.

That kind of bleeds into a lot of weird stuff I’ve done lately. Moving out of state was a big one. Zach is pretty much the exact opposite.

He’s the workaholic in the family.

He’s a traditionalist. Hard work, pays the bills. Then Ike is somewhere in the middle … we don't quite know yet. We all took the lessons from our parents in different ways.” Noah said his future career options are wide open at this point.

On the other hand, high school

Norma and Vernon Hofer. Photo by Miranda Langle Photography.

junior Zach plans to attend a local technical college to study agriculture, and then return to the farm. Heather said, “Zach’s not much of a talker or a traveler, but he is quick to help out a friend or relative, resourceful, innovative and passionate about the farm. He loves to be outside working with his hands.”

Isaac has an entrepreneurial streak. He started an egg business and has about 50 hens. “We used to raise sheep.

When those were gone, we wanted to do something else. I have a cousin who raises a lot of chickens, so we got the idea from him. It just became my thing. I sell eggs to friends at church plus some other people around the area. The first time we bought a bunch of chicks, a mink got them all. After that, we learned our lesson, built a better coop, and it went better.

I've been slowly growing since then.”

Isaac may also be the dreamer in the group. Currently his plan is to become a game warden. He loves to hunt and fish, but he has a wide variety of interests. Other careers which have intrigued him are a chef, aeronautical engineer, aerospace engineer and welder at NASA. His dad told him, “I have a feeling you’re not done changing your mind yet.”

A LONG WAYS TO GO YET Isaac’s interest in a lot of different areas may reflect the influence of his grandfather, Vernon J. Hofer, who is still going strong at age 90. According to Heather, “Vernie has dabbled in a lot of different things over the years and still hasn't given up.

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January 2023 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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He just keeps going. He’s still got stuff to get done.”

Vernon agreed: “I’ve got long ways to go yet.”

Shawn said he and his dad have a good relationship: “I break it and he fixes it.” Noah said he has the same relationship with his brother Zach. Grandpa and Zach spend a lot of time together in the shop and truly enjoy one another’s company. Vernon noted that Zach is the “bean bag champion” in their corn hole contests.

Vernon and his wife, Norma, both grew up on local farms and purchased their own farm in 1955. He also sold DeKalb seed, was an electrician and sold parts for Silo-Matic. Besides continuing to work on the farm, he was still bowling until 2020 when Covid hit, claiming two of his teammates. He also pitched horseshoes; and he and Norma square danced for many years.

Like her grandson Zach, Norma is understated and just said her role was “to cook.” However, she was also the mother to four children and taught school for many years, first in Parker and then in Marion.

Vernon remembers their first house on the farm was pretty primitive. “It had one oil-burning stove, kind of in the center of the house. When the wind was blowing, you could see the curtains moving. We had no bathroom either. I guess you could say ‘Those were the days.’” They’ve lived in Freeman for 17 years.

Isaac, Zach and Noah Hofer. Photo by Miranda Langle Photography.

“Oats were our main crop and then some barley and corn. We had cattle and pigs and chickens and geese."

Laughing at the memory, Vernon said, "we were probably the only people who milked Hereford cows.”

They didn’t have pigs for very long, but had a cow-calf set-up for many years and would buy additional calves and feed them out to market. They collected eggs from several hundred chickens for many years.

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STRIP-TILLING In the family’s farming operation today, Shawn searches for new technologies to increase efficiencies and yields. “I’m involved in Randy Dowdy’s ‘Total Acre’ program with approximately 800 other farmers from across the country. We share data and yields with each other so we all can help each other.” No information can be shared outside the group.

“I consider my farm to be a giant test plot. Every field has at least one test in it to help us vet hybrids, products and practices,” he said. “My fertilizer is applied through prescriptions as a result of intensive grid sampling.

For the past 20 years, I’ve utilized strip-till on 100 percent of my acres.

People ask if I get a better yields with strip-till. I tell them the yields are just as good as anybody else.

For me, it's also about the soil health and fertilizer efficiency.”

Strip-till is a conservation system in which the soil drying and warming benefits of conventional tillage are combined with the soil-protecting advantages of no-till. The only part of the soil disturbed is the portion that contains the seed row. Fertilizer is also incorporated directly into the strip without further disruption of the soil.

FULL CIRCLE SEED BUSINESS On the horizon for the Hofer farm is further testing for efficiency and yield, this time in the area of seed.

Shawn is considering becoming a seed dealer for Beck’s Hybrids.

“It’s coming full circle,” said Shawn, referring to the days when his grandfather, Jacob L. Hofer and dad, Vernon J., also sold seed. “I’ve always loved testing different hybrids and a seed dealership could be a nice fit with our operation.” Beck’s Hybrids are relatively new here and

the challenge of introducing the company to the area is exciting to Shawn. While the opportunity may be new, the seed dealership feels perfectly natural; it is progressive with a nod to the family’s past.

TIME FOR FAMILY Shawn is the youngest sibling in his family and the only one to farm.

“I worked in a bank for a couple of years and then slowly started working into the farm with Dad.” He and Heather kept the cattle for a few years when they were first married.

But, he said, “With Heather being a CPA, she's really busy in the winter.

So I got rid of the cows to help take care of the kids while she was putting in extra hours at work.”

Heather’s parents farm near Onida, S.D. She and Shawn met at South Dakota State University, then she transferred to the University of South Dakota to finish her

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Zach, Isaac, Heather, Shawn and Noah Hofer. Photo by Miranda Langle Photography.

accounting degrees. Heather is a certified public accountant and partner in Woltman Group, PLLC. She worked at the accounting firm’s Sioux Falls headquarters for about seven years. When the drive was too much with three little boys at home, Woltman Group opened a branch office in Marion where she’s been for 13 years, slowly growing the branch operations from one to seven team members.

Heather is in the current class of South Dakota Agricultural & Rural Leadership (SDARL). SDARL is an 18-month training program wherein

the best thing about raising your participants emerge prepared to family on the farm is when the kids lead their communities and the were little – Dad and I would be state, as well as make significant working in the shop, the kids could contributions to agriculture be running out in the yard, or help nationally and globally. The us in the shop or run back in the program includes 12 seminars, house. It all kind of meshes together. a week in Washington, D.C., and The family and the farm are one two weeks overseas. Her class will unit. I think it’s exciting when Dad's visit Germany, Belgium and the Whether yoand u’reone se in the combine of the kids Netherlands. “I do a lot of farm e k in g living comm a skilled, ass ist ity and on the grainun cart tax work, so it's been a good a way for yanother ble thingiss is o u rs e lf o a r se fo n r se a w love e’re nuwith f wasemi. is drivingothe to meet people and network rmthI aget mber oneone ndacomfort. . tremendous amount of satisfaction other farmers and farm business Let T when all three of my boys are leaders,” she said. outside working on a project The multi-generational Hofer farm is together. It's all a family thing.” more than just a business. “Probably

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KEEPING LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE

The Palisades near Garretson. Photo by Christian Begeman.

SILVER BOOM ON SPLIT ROCK CREEK GOES BUST IN RECORD TIME The “Merrimac Lode” was the first of 300 mining claims near Garretson registered in 1886.

Unfortunately, the discovery of silver was better described by successive claims registered under the names of “Wild Goose Lode” and “Forlorn Hope Lode.”

12

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | January 2023

Silver was discovered that year along the northwest bank of Split Rock Creek at the village of Palisade* at what is now Palisades State Park in eastern Minnehaha County. The village was started in the early 1870s when a flour grist mill was constructed along Split Rock Creek by Charles W. Patten, who came to Dakota from Missouri.

Nine miners filed file mining claims with the Register of Deeds on March 16, 1886. The largest mine shaft, 6x6 feet wide and 26 feet deep, was cut in the Merrimac Lode claim by six men hired

by Mr. Patten.

While there never seemed to be any front page headlines about the silver strike, there were a number of articles buried elsewhere in the Argus Leader written by a gentleman named C.E. Cole, who offered himself up as an experienced miner from the American southwest. Mr. Cole’s descriptions would have a person believe there was abundant riches there for the taking. He wrote: “There is millions in it ... I made four assays from dirt and rock at various points along the lead and was agreeably surprised with the result ... I am convinced that silver exists in paying quantities upon the ground ... I am willing and ready at any time to show the ground and ledge and prove the above statement.”

In another report, he continued to extol the Palisade find.

“The excitement began and hundreds rushed to the new find, and claim after claim was staked off ... I believe the time is not far distant when the waters that now flow idly by will drive the machinery of quartz mills and other industries ... capital will necessarily follow and open up the vast amount of hidden treasure that now lies concealed in the bosom of Mother Earth, waiting only for the pick and shovel to develop and bring to the surface her treasure of wealth.”

Perhaps Mr. Cole was hired by someone for his excellence in boosterism? Hard to say, but an online search of newspapers in the era finds him promoting his patented clothes line stretcher, his patented hay stackers, a device for announcing stations on the railroad, amazing sweet potato yams, and a starter package of coffee beans guaranteed to grow in the north or south. A man named “C.E. Cole” also appears in Chicago newspapers in the 1890s tied to a murder and another shooting incident.

Commentary in 1888 by the Argus Leader showed the newspaper’s depth of trust in the man. An unsigned letter in a Missouri newspaper disparaged the winters in Dakota Territory. An Argus Leader commentator responded that he knew C.E. Cole was now living in that part of Missouri, so the disparaging report “is undoubtedly one of his productions. If so, it was known to be false at the time written.”

Despite the efforts of Mr. Cole, the silver rush quickly dissipated when assay results proved there was not enough silver in the ore to pay to have it processed. An affidavit in 1913 by eyewitness James Whealy said he “knew of mining claims located upon the land in 1886” but that all “were shortly thereafter abandoned and no work was ever done on them after 1886.”

The town of Palisade still seemed to have a future when it became a stop on the Willmar & Sioux Falls Railroad in 1888. But, in 1889, after the Sioux City and Northern Railroad came through a few miles away, Palisade businessmen pulled up their stakes when influential investor A.S. Garretson offered them free lots in his new town along the new railway.

That apparently doomed the grist mill business, too. In

Excerpts from C.E. Cole’s report on the supposedly rich silver strike at Palisades. Sioux Falls Argus Leader, May 14, 1886.

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1889, Palisade town founder and the first person to file a mining claim, C.W. Patten, offered his mill for sale.

*In the 1880s, the singular name “Palisade” was typically used most often to refer to the village. But Palisade and Palisades were also used interchangeably in newspapers.

SOURCES • South Dakota Historical Marker by the Minnehaha County Historical Society.

• Argus Leader, 1886, 1889, 1896, 1951, 1999.

• Turner County Herald, 1894.

• Black Hills Union, 1895.

• Newspapers.com • www.outdoorsy.com/guide/ palisades-state-park-sd Jesse James Jump over Split Rock Creek near Garretson. Photo by Christian Begeman.

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1-800-251-3111 January 2023 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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WINTER ON THE FARM. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN BEGEMAN.

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January 2023 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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HUTCHINSON COUNTY FAMILIES

MEHLHAF’S WILL CONTINUE THE WINTERSTEEN FOCUS ON SMALL LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS

By Bob Fitch

There’s a changing of the guard at Menno Livestock Auction.

A focus on small livestock producers will continue under new owners Matt and Marie Mehlhaf who have purchased the Menno institution from long-time owners Ken and Lynn Wintersteen.

Livestock auctions in Menno have been a tradition for more than a century; and for the past 27 years, Ken and Lynn have been the ringleaders. “When we bought this place, Tripp was going strong; Wagner was going strong; Avon was really going strong; and Yankton had two sale barns. A good friend of mine at the time called me and he said, ‘You're nuts.

You'll never last. They're going to run you out of business.’ I said, ‘You let me be the judge of that.’”

Lynn said the friend also told Kenny: “You’ll never make it.

You’re too honest.”

But being square with people and working hard was at the core of their success, he said. “I spent countless nights on this couch, which is what you do to run a business. We were here six days a week, on the phone buying livestock.”

Lynn and Ken Wintersteen have turned over the keys at Menno Livestock Auction to Matt and Marie Mehlhaff.

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The most enjoyable aspect of his sale barn career has been working with his wife. “How many people can say they do that? Get up in the

morning every day of the week and work together. We kind of basically raised our family here. Also, hopefully, it was an opportunity to serve God through what we did.

And we’ve enjoyed all the friends we've met every place, all over the Midwest.” In addition to the sale barn, Ken and Lynn farm and raise cattle north of Olivet with their son, Evan and his wife, Ivory.

He also credited his employees for being a big part of why the sale barn has thrived. “Just top-notch people, all the way down to the little kid that sweeps the arena for $10 every week. Some of the guys worked with us for over 25 years.”

The advent and growth of online bidding helped Menno Livestock.

Lynn said, “Cattle USA has been huge. I mean, just being able to broadcast our sale to people who wouldn't normally be here to bid.”

The newest member of the Wintersteen family, Cora Noelle, was born Dec. 16, just in time to be able to attend Grandpa and Grandma’s last sale as owners of Menno Livestock Auction. Pictured are Ken and Lynn’s daughter, Ellie; son and daughter-in-law, Evan and Ivory, with newborn Cora; and Lynn and Ken.

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Menno Livestock Auction.

Ken agreed: “The internet allows the market to be more than 10 miles around Menno, which is how the thing basically started out. The customer base, like everything else of course, changes; but I'm sure it will continue to be geared more toward the smaller operators.”

TIME FOR THE NEXT GENERATION TO KICK UP THEIR HEELS Ken was recently diagnosed with cancer, which was a big factor in selling the sale barn. “We’ve taught Matt a lot of the ropes, but people call and wonder if I’ll be here. And I say, sure, unless my health totally gives out. Right now, it doesn't look like it will because there's so many doctors who need money.

They’re good at finding stuff wrong with a person.”

Cancer or not, “There's definitely a need to move on and let the

20

younger generation take over and kick up their heels,” he said.

Matt has worked at Menno Livestock Auction for nine years.

When Ken decided to sell, Matt and Marie did some soul-searching. “We talked until four in the morning, and decided it would be a good business for us,” Matt said.

more animal species than any other barn in the state.

NOT A 9 TO 5 LIFE

Local ownership is important in his estimation. “Ken's local, we're local.

A big strength for a little barn is that nobody travels to run it. You're in the community and people know you. And there's the old adage where a lot of times friends don't do business with you, but clients will become friends. I think it's a good friendly atmosphere here.”

Matt is reluctant to speculate on what changes might be in the future. “You know, a young couple can get moon eyes and think they can conquer the world. We'll see what it looks like as time goes on.

Ken's been at this 26-27 years; and we just want to honor that legacy and continue. We’re not looking to rock the boat or anything like that.

Ken and Lynn have been friends of mine my whole life. I grew up with them. I want to continue something that they've made important in the community.”

Marie added, “I think Ken and Lynn have done a really good job mentoring producers and investing in small producers and beginning producers.” They also plan to continue being a market for selling

The Mehlhaf’s plan to emulate the husband-and-wife team approach the Wintersteen’s have taken, with both spouses fully engaged in the business and playing to their individual strengths. Marie is new

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | January 2023

to sale barns, but grew up the daughter of Minnesota cattle feeders and she’s a hands-on partner with Matt in their sheep and goat rotational grazing operation. They also have a small herd of British White cattle. Marie has been working side-by-side with Lynn since early last fall learning the business of buying and selling livestock.

According to Matt, “Everybody likes cattle. They're the pride of the Dakotas. But there’s a lot of opportunities for everything else, too.” There’s a good, fast return on investment in the sheep business and he also likes the prospects for small pork producers. “Ken's worked very hard in the last 25 years to make his hog business something special. He's always got orders for butchers. He’s got a great niche market for good, outdoor-raised pigs.” Looking at published statistics, Mehlhaf’s figure almost half of the pigs and hogs sold through sale barns in South Dakota are moving through Menno Livestock.

The couple knows they’re taking a big leap of faith. “You have to be willing to forego that comfortable nine to five and realize your business needs to become your life,” he said. “That's the way it is with any small town, family-run business. In a farming community, you don't do it to become wealthy and rich. You do it because you enjoy it; that you can’t see yourself doing anything else.”

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LINCOLN COUNTY FAMILY

‘ENJOY WHAT YOU WORK SO HARD FOR’

By Bob Fitch

700 fence posts from your house to mine, Down the dirt road on the Brooklyn Mile.

I helped your Daddy doin’ chores ‘n farm work, Kissing you was one of the perks.

James and Katie Westra say their life is like a country song. That’s a spoton description when even this writer can easily craft a verse about them.

“I grew up on the Brooklyn Mile Oil and James grew up on Highway 17. So we were not very far apart from each other, like 700 fence posts,” Katie says. “We probably met through 4-H. We dated through high school and then got married after college.” James went to Centerville High School and Katie went to Beresford High School; and then both attended South Dakota State University. Like the verse above says, James did indeed work for her dad during high school, throwing bales and doing other farm work.

Allie and Bellamy helping their dad move bales into the loft of the barn.

Photos by Katie Westra.

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Their appreciation for farm life and small towns is reinforced by people they’ve met who have moved here from the West Coast. Katie works part-time as the deputy finance officer for the city of Centerville.

“It seems like all the people moving into Centerville have been from

James and Katie Westra with their daughters Allie and Bellamy. The Westra’s were named the 2022 Lincoln County 4-H Family of the Year.

Washington state and California. And the first thing they tell you is: ‘We're here to be you. We're not here to change you.’ They are all so happy to be here.

Well, maybe not always with this weather.”

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James has seen the same thing. “We have a guy at work who moved his family here from California a couple of years ago. He really does fit right in with us.” James works full-time in Beresford as the manager of Prinsco, a manufacturer of drainage tile.

He calls himself a “second-shift” farmer.

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He farms with his dad, Jeri, and his uncle, Joel. Jeri was a hog buyer for Morrell’s for about 40 years and Joel is owner of Westra Auction of Centerville. James says, “We each have our own operation, but the three of us farm together to accomplish our goals.”

Two years ago, James and Katie moved from an old farm house west of I-29 to a newer home east of the freeway and north of Beresford. Ironically, their new home is on the property where Katie’s great-great grandparents lived when they first immigrated from Sweden 110 years ago. It also adjoins 80 acres of original family farm ground the couple purchased earlier. “We had a couple of things fall through. Then this house just dropped out of the sky and straight into our laps. Being an

Contact Bob Fitch at (712) 551-4123 or Bob@agemedia.pub January 2023 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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old family place and on the same section where we owned land, it was just a miracle. It was God's plan, for sure,” she says.

CARRYING ON A LEGACY Katie values the multi-generational aspect of her family’s farming history. “The girls are the sixth generation of my family to farm here in this half mile. I feel really passionate about carrying on a legacy and taking care of what we have.” Her great-great grandfather died just 15 years after starting to farm in Lincoln County, but her great-great grandmother and her sons, who were only 12 or 13 years old, were able to carry on and hold on to the farm.

James adds, “We want the girls to understand how much effort our families made, whether that’s Katie’s family from the early 1900s or my family where my grandpa came here in the 1950s. There were a lot of opportunities to fail or succeed. And it's important that they understand what our people went through to get where we are.”

“The girls” are their daughters, Allie, 15, and Bellamy, 12 (almost 13!). Both girls are hands-on with livestock and are no strangers to tossing hay bales. Katie says: “My life got easy when my girls could lift a bale. Then I could kind of retire.

They do a pretty good job making my life easier.” “Yeah, we do,” Allie chimes in. “Now all Mom has to do is take pictures.”

According to James, their daughters are learning to operate equipment and have helped Grandpa Westra pack the silage pile. “The girls are capable of doing some things other kids their age can’t do. They know how to run some equipment and Belle knows how to fix a tire and sharpen knives. And Belle just had her first lesson on the skid loader.”

And, Bellamy emphasizes, “I did pretty good.”

Bellamy and Allie walking their Southdown sheep.

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When they were younger, the girls had no tablets, no internet and no smartphones. TV was limited to PBS shows. Katie says, “They’ll tell you they definitely suffered for it.

Didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Allie and Bellamy reply in unison. Allie rolls her eyes, “It was horrible. Imagine being 12-13 years old and still watching Arthur.” Katie jokes that summertime included the girls down at the creek for the better part of the day poking a stick in the mud. “Or fishing, even though there were no fish there,” Allie says.

SHOWING SHEEP The girls have a 25-ewe flock of Southdown sheep. They show lambs in 4-H and Allie tracks them for her supervised ag education project. The family had to downsize their sheep numbers because of less available barn space when they changed acreages two years ago.

Allie says showing sheep “gives us something to do that isn’t giant cows.” Her mom agrees. “The sheep have been good because they're manageable for the girls and the last several years they can do it almost completely on their own.

They don't need our help for chores or breaking them. They can shear

them and know they’ve got to walk them and train them. It keeps them busy. I’m always impressed when kids turn into teenagers and they're still working with their lambs every night or washing their cattle and stuff. They certainly could be out doing other things.”

Bellamy said it’s fun to take the sheep to Lincoln County 4-H Achievement Days, the State Fair, and sometimes to Spotlight. During the 2020 Covid year when 4-H competition was uncertain, they showed homegrown lambs instead of purchasing any. Since then, doing well in the homegrown competition at the county level has been a goal.

“The girls have done great, winning reserve champion or overall champion the last couple of years.

That's pretty sweet,” their proud mom says.

The family was honored as the 2022 Lincoln County 4-H Family of the Year. The nomination form described them as role models.

Katie is a leader of the Helping Hands 4-H Club and was praised for her upbeat personality as president of the Leader’s Association. Both James and Katie are on the Sheep Committee. In addition to showing sheep, Allie and Bellamy are leaders in their club, exhibit at Achievement

Days, and take part in Youth in Action events.

Allie and Bellamy are also active in volleyball both at Beresford schools and at summer camps. Allie is the reporter for the Beresford FFA chapter and she enjoys public speaking events. She helps with chapter activities like putting up hay; growing plants in the school greenhouse and caring for them at Fiesta Foods; and growing and selling sweet corn and pumpkins.

Like their daughters, Katie and James grew up with livestock. Katie had sheep, cattle and horses on the farm of her parents, Tom and Terri Kennedy. James’ parents, Jeri and Jo, focused on hogs and cattle.

“Dad always had cows to calve out, but he’d also buy calves to feed out, too. Every once in a while, he’d get a wild hair and buy some lambs and feed those out. So it was definitely a diversified farming operation.”

FORGING FAITH AND FINDING FUN The family’s most important value is their faith. They attend Delaware Reformed Church, a country congregation with regular attendance from Beresford, Centerville, Hurley, Viborg and

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January 2023 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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Lennox. James helps to teach Sunday School for about 15 high schoolers and Katie helps with the youth group. “We try to move them towards a mature understanding of faith,” James says. “When I get answers like ‘God is love,’ you have to say, ‘Okay, what does that actually mean? That doesn't count anymore.

We're not just going to go with that.’ So we try to get them to think a little bit deeper about what faith actually means.”

His other labor of love is trying to get an orchard of apples and cherries started. “I say it's a hobby, but I seriously want it to go. I think it'd be cool to have a 20- to 30-tree orchard out there. It would be nice to have enough apples so family, friends and the neighbors could pick for baking and canning.”

Otherwise, Katie says, “Our fun is sitting out in the shed with the door open in the summer.

We really do like being at home. People are talking about being stir crazy when the weather is bad, but I could be snowed in for a month and would not care. I’d be very happy. We enjoy improving our home and doing projects around the yard, garden and buildings.”

While many people plan an activity for every minute of the day, she says, “It's quite nice to feel content and just not need a bunch of running around … instead just sit and enjoy what you work so hard for.”

Bellamy and Allie at Lincoln County 4-H Achievement Days.

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SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

STRONG BONDS BETWEEN CUSTOMERS AND MIDWEST LIVESTOCK SERVICE

By Bob Fitch

The region’s livestock producers and the Howard and Wanita Koedam family of Larchwood have formed strong bonds over the last 40-plus years.

“We’ve done this a lot of years and we’ve got some of the same customers we started with. A lot of them, we dealt with their dads and now we’re dealing with their sons,” Howard said. He and Wanita purchased and began operating Midwest Livestock Service (MLS) in the fall of 1979, just a few months after the feed and veterinary supplies business opened.

“You develop a relationship with the customers,” said Wanita. “Granted, it’s business, but it also gets to be personal. You're helping them build a better business on the farm and they're helping us just as much to build our business. So it's a give and take thing.”

Howard, Wanita, Daren, Brian Koedam of Midwest Livestock Service.

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“Shoot, their concerns become our concerns,” Howard said. “There’s been times we’ve been in trouble,

The Midwest Livestock Service crew.

financially or health-wise, and they’ve shown they care about our concerns, too.” Wanita continued, “Howard’s had quite a few health issues in the last 10 years. And I can't tell you how many customers, before they talk about anything else, they ask ‘How's Howard doing?’

It gets to be a friend relationship as well as a business relationship.

And we do the same with them. If we know they've got trouble, we try to be there for them to as much as we can.”

When hard times hit livestock producers, Midwest Livestock Service is in the same hot water as their customers. “When we have accounts receivable trouble, I always tell the banker, ‘They want to pay, they just don't have the money.’ The banker and the accountant tell us ‘You’ve got to get those accounts receivable down.’ But it’s hard because we've all been down the same road together before,” Howard said.

The primary products sold by Midwest Livestock Service are vaccines, antibiotics, and nutritional supplements for many livestock species.

Feed ration consultation is provided at no additional charge when purchasing the product from MLS. In the beginning, swine producers made up the largest share of their sales, but today it’s cattle feeders.

The company’s service area stretches from Iowa north into Minnesota and South Dakota; and south into Nebraska and Kansas. While many people are not comfortable with being in the field as a salesperson, Wanita said their sons, Brian and Daren, are naturals at it just like their dad. Their entrepreneurial spirit has helped MLS continue to grow and set the brothers on a path towards company ownership.

“Over all the years, service has been the driving force in our business,” Wanita said. While the Koedam’s appreciate the value of good outside and inside sales people, it takes good people in all parts of the business to provide the best customer service. “The delivery people/truck drivers in our business are huge. And so is our office help – because they’ve got to make sure the orders get placed and everybody gets on the list for delivery. And Kelly and I have to make sure the books get done and the bills get out. It takes the whole system. I can't say that any one section of our business is more important than the other. It's a cooperative effort.”

TAKE US WITH YOU. FARMING FAMILIES IS ALSO AVAILABLE DIGITALLY. Scan QR code with your cell phone.

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Next, tap the link for the magazine you want to receive via text and send the text to subscribe.

July 2022 | www.AgeMedia.pub

Faith / Family / Friends / Farming

Meet the

of Lincoln County

VAKSDAL FAMILY Ryan and Taylor Vaksdal with their children, Ethan, Hobey, Braelyn and Nick.

Story begins on page 18.

Scan QR code with your cell phone, tap the link for the magazine you want to receive, and send the text to subscribe.

Wanita concluded, “One of the most rewarding things in our life has been watching our kids grow up and having them all be good, productive people. Our business has been rewarding, but our kids are still at the top of the list.”

January 2023 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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Our publications are based on families and their stories. Our goal is to build community and connections within the Ag circles of Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner and Hutchinson Counties and surrounding areas. If you have a fun story or would like to suggest a family to feature, reach out to us at Bob@agemedia.pub.

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of Sioux County

OUR PHILOSOPHY There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year, he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn.

If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

So is with our lives... Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

-Author Unknown

Call it power of collectivity.

Call it a principle of success.

Call it a law of life.

The fact is, none of us truly wins, until we all win!

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

Proverbs 11:24-25

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of Minnehaha County

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