The Farming Families SD March 2023

March 2023 | www.AgeMedia.pub

Faith / Family / Friends / Farming

Hutchinson | Lincoln | Minnehaha | Turner

Meet the

BRADLEY FAMILY Amber and Mark Bradley with their children, Abigail, Jordan, Sarah and Hannah.

Story on page 18.

JOHNSON FAMILY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

DAIRY INDUSTRY GROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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

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Trust Your Local

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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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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

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

5

LINCOLN COUNTY FAMILY

FARMING AND AG BUSINESS BEATS THE HECK OUT OF SITTING BEHIND A DESK ALL DAY

By Bob Fitch

There’s a lot more to farming than driving a tractor.

“When I speak to FFA or other groups, one thing I always tell the kids: ‘If you just want to drive tractor or drive truck, go work for somebody else – because there's way more that goes into this that you're not going to enjoy,’” said Scott Johnson.

He goes on to tell students: “A farmer has to spend time at the FSA office. You’ve got to do paperwork, pay bills and figure out logistics.

When you can actually get in a piece of equipment and just run it, enjoy that – because it doesn't happen as often as you want it to, that's for sure.”

Scott and his family live on an acreage near Canton. He co-owns Ag Service Partners on the southern end of

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Megan and Scott Johnson with their children, Calvin and Kinlee.

Lincoln County, just a few miles north of the farm of his parents, Doug and Cheryl Johnson.

Scott’s wife, Megan, is a native of Hudson. She’s a nurse at Sanford Women’s Clinic in Sioux Falls. “When we got married, we lived in Alcester, but we wanted her to be closer to work, so we moved to Harrisburg. After we had our daughter and we started looking at the school census reports, we saw there were 500 kids in kindergarten in

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

Harrisburg. We thought, ‘That's a little much.’” So they purchased an acreage near Canton, keeping driving time pretty minimal for both of them.

The couple has two children: Kinlee, 9, and Calvin, 6. Kinlee is in fourth grade and plays volleyball, basketball, and soccer. Calvin is in kindergarten, will play soccer in the spring and he wrestled this winter.

Just like Scott grew up loving the farm

while riding the fender of his grandpa’s tractor, Calvin loves the farm, too. “He’d come down with me every day if I let him. It was a big adjustment when he went to kindergarten last fall and he couldn’t come harvest with me every day. I used to take him out of daycare quite a bit.”

AG BUSINESS STANDS IN AS HIS CATTLE HERD Ag Service Partners sells three lines of products: Pioneer Seed, ag chemicals and fertilizers, and crop insurance. To augment income from the corn, soybean and alfalfa farm, Scott figures selling seed, chemicals and crop insurance stands in as his cattle herd. “It’s worked out pretty good so far.”

After graduating from Alcester Hudson High School, Scott went to South Dakota State University with the intent of becoming a math, health or physical education teacher and a coach. “I really got into teaching because I wanted to coach, but I found out I can still coach without spending all day with a bunch of junior high kids. I didn't get a teaching job right out of college, so I went into the banking world.” He gets his coaching fix by volunteering as an assistant boys basketball coach for the Canton C-Hawks and helping with his children’s teams.

Scott did a few different jobs with Wells Fargo, including being a credit card

Scott Johnson with his father, Doug. They farm near Alcester.

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

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collections agent. “That was great,” he said with a note of sarcasm. Then he went to work for State Bank of Alcester, first in the bookkeeping department and then as an ag loan officer.

During his six-plus years in banking, “I learned a lot about what to do and a lot about what not to do in a farming operation. It was always tough because a lot of the bank customers were people you knew and you really get deep into their lives. You learn good and bad things about some of them that you didn't really want to know. All in all, it was a good experience, but it wasn't going to be a lifetime for me. Even then, the farm was always calling. I came out after hours in the spring to do what I could and used my vacation time to help at harvest.”

After a couple years of selling Pioneer Seed, Scott formed a partnership with Tim Delay of Hudson and Alex Merrick of Alcester. Tim retired two years ago, but Scott and Alex continue as partners. They have a modern storage, distribution and seed treatment facility on 476th Avenue just off Highway 46 east of Beresford. He said the partnership allowed them to build great facilities without hemorrhaging money to get it done. The you’re seekin Whether crop insurance business was living comm a carryover g a skilled, a ssist nitybuilt ablehisthbanking for yaogood from anduhe’s urself or for ings is adays se n se a we’re book love of warmth a numb ofebusiness. ro n

d comfort.

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Scott with his son and combining buddy, Calvin.

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

Let T

CLOSE TO THE FAMILY FARM Scott also likes the proximity of his business to the family farm. “I can jump off the planter in the spring, run up three miles to get something for a customer, and then run right back; and it's not a big deal. It gets pretty busy and definitely requires some long hours in the spring, that's for sure. But that’s fine, I don't mind doing that. It beats the heck out of sitting behind a desk every day like I was at the bank.”

Scott’s father and his uncle, Warren, were 50/50 partners on the farm started by Scott’s grandparents, Merrill and Dorothy Johnson, in the 1950s. Doug and Warren have separated most of their land and equipment holdings at this point, except for some rented land and several pieces of equipment they own together. His cousins, Grant and Nathan, work alongside their dad and have livestock. Grant also works for Ag Service Partners. Regardless of who owns what land, it's a group effort by all the Johnsons to get the field work done in the spring and fall.

“My grandpa started the farm, but Dad and Uncle Warren definitely built it into something pretty profitable.” His father and uncle are both still actively farming. How everything will shake out with his dad, uncle, cousins and himself isn’t clear yet. “The reason I'm here is because of the things that my grandpa, dad and uncle did. I'm very conscious of the opportunities they’ve allowed me to have because a lot of people who want to farm don't get this opportunity. We'll see what the future holds.

Hopefully we can help each other along as best we can and make it work. Generational transition is always a tough conversation.”

Megan is Kinlee’s #1 fan, whether it’s volleyball, basketball or soccer.

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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE For most of the past 20 years, farming has been profitable, Scott said. “Guys have built a lot of nice facilities. If you can give a young person that better lifestyle, it makes farming more attractive. But with land prices and high input costs and things like that, you don’t know how things will play out in the future.”

At the meetings he attends, experts say consolidation is going to continue.

Projections are 20 percent of the farmers are going to control 80 percent of the ground. “We're still unique in our little corner of the state where we have a lot of 1,000- or 1,500-acre guys. You get up to Huron and places like that, they’re farming 10,000 or 20,000 acres, and it's no big deal. Talking to seed dealers from there, they’ll sell the same amount of seed we do – but we’ll have 80 customers and they’ll have 12.”

Alex Merrick is Scott’s business partner in Ag Service Partners.

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Calvin at the wheel last fall.

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

Whether it’s farming or seed sales, “You make the decisions, you’ve got to live

with them. I overpaid for fertilizer last year, now I have to live with that decision. That’s money that's not in my account now. You’ve got to lie in the bed you made, that's for sure.”

In the world of corn and soybeans,

those decision points come around just once a year. “My brother-in-law sells credit card payment systems.

I tell him he gets to go out and sell every day. I get one chance a year to sell this stuff. Everything depends

on that one sale every year. If I don't get it, I'm out. That income is gone for the entire year. It's kind of an eye opener for some people.”

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

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GROWTH IN DAIRY PRODUCTION

TURNER, LINCOLN, MINNEHAHA COUNTIES KEY PLAYERS IN THE REVIVAL OF SOUTH DAKOTA’S DAIRY INDUSTRY Adapted from a story in Growing Places magazine*

Turner, Lincoln and Minnehaha Counties are at the heart of a Midwest dairy revival in what’s known as the “I-29 Dairy Corridor.”

The corridor includes east central North Dakota, western Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, eastern Nebraska and western Iowa. Milk production in South Dakota has been growing at a near double-digit pace.

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

While production methods are more advanced today and larger producers have to meet more stringent environmental standards, the idea of adding value to local crops through livestock production is a tried-and-true formula for rural economic development. Dairy owners are counting on their neighboring farmers to help produce the silage and other feedstuffs the cows need. Growing dairies are also counting on local contractors for construction, electrical and plumbing services. Manure from the dairy is fertilizing local fields, typically at lower cost than commercial fertilizer.

Just about any rural economic development professional would salivate over the rate of growth local counties have experienced in the last 10 years. In the Farming Families magazine coverage area, Hutchinson County has held steady, growing from 2,707

MILK COW INVENTORY State of South Dakota, 2012 vs 2022

180,000

80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0

2012

2022

MILK COW INVENTORY Farming Families coverage area, 2012 vs. 2022

20,000 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000

2022 MILK COW INVENTORY

120,000 100,000

140,000

­

160,000

10,000 8,000 6,000

­ ­

4,000 2,000 0 2012

Hutchinson

2022

Turner

Lincoln

Minnehaha

Source: USDA National Ag Statistics Service

cows to 2,900. However, according to the USDA Agricultural Statistics Service: Minnehaha County had 7,300 milk cows in 2012 – which grew to 17,300 in 2022.

Lincoln County had 400 milk cows in 2012 – which grew to 13,300 in 2022.

Perhaps most stunning is the rate of growth in Turner County. There are 86 times more cows today than a decade ago. In 2012, there were a mere 96 dairy cows left in Turner County, but 2022 numbers peg the total at 8,300.

South Dakota led the nation in the increase of milk production year over year in 2021, per USDA data. The state continues to grow in milk production at a near double-digit pace even though much of the recently added processing capacity is now filled.

BOTTOMING OUT AND RATCHETING UP Going back 20 years ago to the early 2000s, South Dakota’s dairy cow numbers hit an all-time low at just under 80,000 milking cows. This trend meant dairy in the state was in real peril. A future thinking group of stakeholders came together

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

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with a vision to turn the dairy industry around. They didn’t want to just survive, but wanted to create a path to thrive. The “South Dakota Dairy Drive” group consisted of dairy farmers, state officials, processors, dairy supply companies, financial institutions, the dairy checkoff, industry associations, and South Dakota State University experts and leaders. Their foresight and efforts helped expand processing capacity which in turn created a need for an additional 85,000 cows.

These leaders set lofty goals, but the cows came more quickly than many thought possible. Today, the number of cows in South Dakota is close to 200,000 – an increase of 150 percent in just 20 years.

SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE GROWTH Processing and an available market are generally the limiting factor when it comes to growth in dairy. Added processing capacity sparked the growth in the last 20 years. The good news for producers and the state’s economy is that Milbank-based Valley Queen Cheese announced last spring it is planning to expand again. That will create a need for production from approximately 30,000 more cows. While growth may level off somewhat in the near term, the long-term picture remains very positive for dairy in South Dakota.

Readily-available forage and feeds and an overall business-friendly environment also contribute to the state being a great place to dairy with a reasonable cost of production.

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CHALLENGES FROM WEATHER, LABOR AND THE SUPPLY CHAIN Since dairy farming and processing are a 24/7, 365-day commitment, challenges are a constant. The most pressing issues in 2022 were weather, labor, inflation and supply chain factors in shipping and transportation.

A GREAT STORY TO TELL Consumers today have questions and expectations about where their food comes from, whether production practices are environmentally sustainable, and if farm animals are being well cared for. There is a great story to tell about dairy in South Dakota.

Local dairies in Turner, Lincoln and Minnehaha Counties and throughout the eastern part of the state are incorporating incredibly

innovative technology that is good for the environment and good for the animals, plus enhances the production and availability of one of life’s most nutritious foods, be it delivered via cheese, milk, yogurt, or new innovative dairy creations.

continue to implement new technologies and adopt economically-viable practices in feed production, cow care, energy efficiency and manure management. The industry will continue to make progress toward reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and significant improvements in water quality and quantity and farmer livelihood, from field to farmgate.

The U.S. dairy industry has also embarked on a journey to become carbon neutral, optimize water usage and improve water quality by 2050. The Net Zero Initiative Tom Peterson is executive director is an of South Dakota Dairy Producers industryand works in farmer relations for wide effort the Midwest Dairy Association. In that will this article, Tom shares the story of help U.S. the industry’s phenomenal growth, dairy farms as well as outlining the challenges of all sizes and opportunities producers face. and in all regions

*This article was adapted from the original written by Tom Peterson, executive director of South Dakota Dairy Producers and farmer relations for the Midwest Dairy Association. The original appeared in Growing Places, a new quarterly magazine published by AGE Media for the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

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

BEEF ON THE HOOF. PHOTO BY BRETT DAVELAAR.

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

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HUTCHINSON COUNTY FAMILY

‘IN ALL THE SETBACKS OF YOUR LIFE AS A BELIEVER, GOD IS PLOTTING FOR YOUR JOY.”

~ John Piper*

By Bob Fitch

Today’s story is about a family with a deep faith in the providence of God. Obstacles have fallen in the way of Mark and Amber Bradley’s daily lives and their dreams for the future. Very little of the comfort they enjoy today could have been foreseen a mere decade ago.

Mark and Amber farm and raise livestock between Menno and Freeman. Both grew up on farms, Amber in Hutchinson County and Mark near Grand Rapids, Michigan.

They met when both were students at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.

The couple married in the summer of 2009. Mark had graduated a year earlier and found work in Orange City with a heating and cooling contractor. When that company fell on hard times, he found jobs as a hired hand for local farmers.

Meanwhile, Amber still had a year of school left. Nevertheless, the couple had a plan: They were going to buy farm land in Michigan near Mark’s boyhood home. Amber even arranged for her student teaching to be done in Michigan because they were confident destiny was taking them east.

Mark and Amber Bradley celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary last summer. Their children surprised them by creating the sign and mounting it on the tractor, emulating a sign used on a tractor at their wedding.

Photos courtesy of Amber Bradley except where noted.

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

But destiny is fickle and they never were able to get the right deal to come together.

Instead, the providence of God brought the newlyweds to the farm of Amber’s parents, Clinton and Lori Mehlhaf. In 2011, Mark was offered a wage-based position to take over the chores in the custom hog finishing barns, a task Clinton had tired of doing. Mark also helped with the crop farming.

In addition, the couple obtained FSA startup and operating loans to begin their own small cow-calf herd and flock of ewes. Amber taught for a year in Scotland and then opened her in-home daycare while homeschooling their oldest daughters for several years. She now teaches 5th-6th grade at Freeman Academy.

GRAIN CONDITIONING

But disheartening obstacles interrupted the good vibes almost immediately. “We lost our skin in 2012. We had just gotten in the livestock market when sheep went from $2 a pound down to 75 cents a pound,” Mark said. “At the same time, the price of hay and corn went up dramatically. We didn’t have any of our own, so we had to buy it. Clinton sold us the corn and hay we needed. They were patient on the payback period – but we paid them back every dollar.”

THE PATH TO MORE PIGS About seven or eight years ago, Mark began learning about large custom hog finishing buildings. When he gave hints about moving ahead, suddenly people came out of the woodwork trying to talk to him. He had the head of a local bank come “to my dining room here, and sell me on how I need to put up this hog barn. He worked out the whole balance sheet for me. At one point, I made the comment I’d be looking back in a few years and wish I had built two right away. And the banker said, ‘Oh, you want to build two?’”

Mark continued, “Well, I sat down with Amber and asked her ‘How much do you love me? Do you love me enough to borrow a million-and-a-half dollars?’” She digested the information and said yes.

When he built the barns, he wanted them to pay for themselves and then ultimately provide a revenue stream to purchase additional land down the road. “Little did I know at the time, what's actually come out to be a bigger benefit is I’m able to fertilize 75 percent of my acres with the hog manure. That’s a big deal considering how fertilizer costs have gone through the roof.” He strip-tills all the home acres that he rents from his mother-in-law; and has a combination of strip-till and no-till on acres further away.

LOTS OF HELP, YET ON THEIR OWN Amber’s parents, Clinton and Lori, did not co-sign the loan papers for the new hog buildings, just like they had not cosigned the original loan and operating loan Bradley’s had borrowed seven years earlier. The necks that were sticking out belonged to Mark and Amber. She said, “Dad helped us in many other ways, but he refused to co-sign the loans. He never wanted to put what he had built at risk as collateral for something we were trying to build. He would rather us

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Helping cover the silage pile: Hannah, Abigail, Sarah and Jordan.

Abigail running the baling tractor last summer at age 11.

Hannah helping out on shearing day.

Sarah feeding a bottle lamb. Photo by Bob Fitch.

Jordan helping work the sheep.

fail and still have everything that's here to fall back on.”

Mark added, “We were fortunate Amber’s parents had a set-up that we could utilize to start our small sheep and cow herds as well as machinery to use. As for the new hog barns, there was nothing special about us. Anything that we did, for the most part, anybody else could do it. They just need to have the stomach to go out and do it.”

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD BECOMES CLEAR Through the unrealized Michigan 20

plan and various setbacks, Mark and Amber persevered, even taking on a large debt with a vision for their future. Fundamentally, though, they believe the reason they were in Menno, South Dakota, instead of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was becoming clear. “It was very much a God thing,” Amber said.

In the mid-2010s, her dad began experiencing balance issues.

Clinton’s symptoms were consistent with Parkinson’s disease, although the official diagnosis didn’t come until later. The disease began to progress quickly towards the end of 2016 and continued downhill in

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

2017 and 2018. According to Amber, “Everything with my dad; it was God's plan that we were here and we could help him and mom. We could cherish that time with him.

Now we can carry on his legacy and build one of our own for the next generation. We’re very grateful for the providence of God.” Clinton passed away in June 2019.

Biblical scholar John Piper has said the root of the word “providence” in Latin comes from “provide;” with “pro” meaning “forward,” “on behalf of” and “vide” meaning “to see.”

The translation of the word means “to supply what is needed; to give

sustenance or support.” In English, we might say “I’ll see to that.” Thus, providence is the act of God’s “seeing to” the universe; as in, “He’ll see to that.”

God also “saw to it” that Mark had time to learn about the managerial side of farming from his father-in-law. “Sitting in meetings with seed dealers and fertilizer decisions, chemical decisions, and all these different meetings, crop insurance meetings. There’s a lot of time that gets put into all of that.”

THE JOY OF TODAY AND THE HOPE FOR TOMORROW According to Mark, “My ambition is to set up this operation so that no matter how many of our children may want to be a part of it when they get older, there will be room for everybody. I'm not saying I will achieve it, but that's what my target is.”

On the home place, Mark is raising cattle, hogs and sheep, while farming rented land. Besides some high schoolers helping out, his regular Amber’s parents, Lori and the late Clinton Mehlhaf.

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

21

Abigail updates the records while Jordan helps Mark vaccinate the lambs. Photo by Bob Fitch.

help is the crew he and Amber are raising under their own roof. Amber said their children – Abigail, 12, Hannah, 10, Jordan, 8, and Sarah, 6 – help on the farm all the time. “They will do whatever needs to be done.

The last couple years have been really easy on me in terms of being in the barn.” Their kids’ work ethic helped her find the time to complete her master’s degree in education in December 2021. In addition to teaching, helping with farm work, and doing the farm’s bookkeeping, Amber is also enjoying helping to re-start the Freeman Area Children’s Choir. Both Abigail and Hannah are in the choir.

Mark said he’s worked hard to set up the operation to allow his kids and wife to help. “The kids are very hands-on, very capable, probably well beyond their years. I kind of grew up that way. Even our 6-yearold Sarah can handle swinging the gate open and closed. It really saves me effort and time when I’m moving hay at chore time. At the end of the day, if I'm just beat, I can tell any of 22

In addition to sheep and hogs, the Bradleys also have a small cow-calf herd.

them to go do the evening chores for the sheep and lambs in the barn.” The kids like baling and Sarah and Jordan like to go with mom to move bales.

During the wet spring of 2019, there were several times he buried the feeder wagon tractor or the loader tractor in the mud. Amber couldn’t leave the children in her in-home daycare to go out to help. “Abigail was only eight years old, but with our powershift tractor, I set it up, got the chain tight, and when I waved at her she put it in gear and pulled me out. She did it three times that spring.”

The kids also help with the harvest, quality control and sales of sweet corn in the summer. Off the farm, Abigail, Hannah and Jordan are involved with several sports. Jordan is a wrestler, coached in part by his dad, who wrestled in high school and college. Abigail and Hannah both play several instruments and sing. Both girls were in the South Dakota Elementary Honors Festival.

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

Sarah enjoys keeping up with all her older siblings.

Amber’s mom, Lori, is also an important part of the farm. “She helps out here when we need her.

We call her the executive assistant.

She does whatever’s needed, whether that’s running for parts or taking somebody to a field or fixing Mark’s pants.”

Mark concluded: “I've had plenty of failures on different things over the years. Most of those failures later turned into great successes.

Her dad always said ‘the school of hard knocks’ helps you learn what to do and not to do. The good Lord has blessed us. Everything that's happened, good or bad, has led us to where we are today.”

SOURCES • *Headline quote by John Piper, founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary • www.desiringgod.org/articles/theprovidence-of-god • www.preceptaustin.org/the_providence_of_god

FRIENDS FROM IOWA

Jim Blankespoor of Doon with his 1950 Ford F1 pickup and his 1955 Ford Crown Victoria.

VETERAN MECHANIC BRINGS NEW LIFE TO SUPER M’s, FLATHEAD FORDS AND MORE

by Bob Fitch

A long-time mechanic in Doon, Iowa knows engines, he knows iron, and he knows what he likes.

For 63 years, Jim Blankespoor of Doon has been working on tractors and other equipment for farmers from Lyon and Sioux Counties and points far beyond.

He started working at local implement dealers in 1962 and opened his own shop in 1974.

Over the years, Jim added on to the shop twice. And it needs more expansion now, but that’s up to his son, Randy, and his business partner, Joe Huyser, who own Blankespoor Repair today.

According to Jim, “The first tractor I overhauled in this building (back in 1974) was a 1942 or ’44 M Farmall. We had that tractor back in here last summer and it’s still running today. It purrs like a tomcat in a creamery.”

Even at age 83, Jim’s energy seems boundless. Nevertheless, the years march forward and now macular degeneration is beginning to steal his sight. Today, he wears magnifying glasses similar to the ones jewelers wear – the powerful eye-

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

23

The 1951 Ford tractor on the left has a flathead V8 engine; and the 1950 Ford tractor on the right has a 970 John Deere diesel motor.

wear helps him continue to work in the shop on old International M tractors. “When you get old, your body tends to wear out,” he said.

So far, diminished vision hasn’t limited Jim’s ability to spot the trucks, tractors and vintage equipment which he plans to overhaul and jump-start to a new life.

On a cold winter day, touring the inside of his garages and sheds is like discovering a previously hidden stash of tractors, trucks and motorcycles which have been perfectly preserved – and are now ready to roll onto the show floor.

Jim’s basic process is to assess the viability of a restoration; if chances seem favorable, then he’ll buy it and began dismantling it; he’ll do the initial sandblasting work; but then turn the body finish work off to a professional in that field (typically done by Memory Lane Restorations

24

in Sheldon.) Then its Jim’s turn to take a look at the mechanical problems and prospects for the engine.

engine into that tractor.’ So the engine for the 8N came from a 970 John Deere diesel.”

“My 8N Ford has got a flathead V-8 in it. It came out of a 1949 truck the Sioux Center Fire Department used. I went through 11 engines before I found a good one. They were all cracked or something else was wrong with them. I completely rebuilt the engine.” Jim advertised on a swap shop program on WNAX radio, and he ended up pulling the tractor out of a grove even though the back wheels were rusted out and all the parts were full of moss.

“Using a loader, we got it out of there and put it on the trailer and brought it home.”

Mix and match is a common theme for Jim. His International 706 was rebranded as a 708 after it was upgraded with an eight-cylinder combine engine. He took the sixcylinder motor he pulled out of the 706 and used it to replace the original four-cylinder motor of an International Super M.

While he was looking for wheels for the tractor, he happened to spy a John Deere with a diesel engine in it.

“So I got my tape out, measured it, and thought, ‘I can get this

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

He has a Harley motorcycle body in which he put a Honda Goldwing engine. He calls his creation a “Honda-Davidson.” He overheard some dedicated Harley owners saying, “That guy ought to be shot, chopping up a good Harley like that.”

Other treasures include a 1947 Ford cab-over in which he installed a 454 Chevy engine. It’s been upgraded with air conditioning, electric windows, tilt wheel, cruise control.

They hook a trailer to the rear and use it regularly to haul tractors or autos to various shows.

His 1950 Ford F1 pickup with a flathead V8 motor is in pristine condition. The wood in the truck bed has about 20 coats of varnish on it. “I started in April and I didn’t get done until October,” he said.

SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH & TAXES

A beautiful piece you might not find in many local car collections: A 1955 Ford Crown Victoria, with a two-tone paint job, one of which is “Tropical Rose.”

Over the years, his eclectic collection has included 10 Harley and 12 Goldwing motorcycles, three Cushman scooters, and two Wisner motorbikes (sort of an oversized trike for adults). “My wife, Wilma, and I traveled all over the country, including to Alaska on that trike. It’s got cruise, heat, AC, automatic transmission, and tilt wheel. You see, when you’re a kid, you start out with a trike; and when you get old, you end up with a trike again.”

Some might consider Jim’s 1949 International KB5 a masterpiece in automobile restoration. While procuring some parts at a salvage yard in South Sioux City, he mentioned to the owner he was looking for something like a wrecker or a flatbed to mount on the back of the KB5. The owner, Chuck, replied, “I think I’ve got just the thing for you.”

He had a tanker that perfectly matched the size and era of the International KB5 and, after some work, Jim had an antique fuel truck which looks like it just came off the line at the factory.

To restore the engines and bodies of tractors, trucks and motorcycles, he said, “A guy don’t have to be nuts, but it sure helps.”

Jim still rises at 5:50 every morning, lets the dog out, and turns on the lights in the shop. “I still work on some old M’s that people bring in. That gives me something to do.”

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As he was finishing restoration of this 1949 International KB5, Jim Blankespoor happened upon this tanker which matched the era of the truck as well as the size of the truck bed.

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KEEPING LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE

A BASKETBALL EXTRAVAGANZA MEMORIES OF LOCAL BASKETBALL STARS, PART 2

Editor’s note: Last month in our history article, I collected and printed stories of past basketball stars in our coverage area. I had several more players and several coaches to include, but some of the honoree information got stacked in the wrong place on my desk. My apologies. Here’s the rest of the story.

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

To spark your memories, here are some of the great basketball names from teams in Hutchinson, Turner, Lincoln and Minnehaha Counties – Part 2. (There were a lot of great high school players. To narrow things down, the focus is limited here to former players and coaches who are in the South Dakota Basketball Hall of Fame or the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame. Sioux Falls teams/players are not included.)

MIKE BEGEMAN (Parker, 1975) The Parker Pheasants had a combined record of 70-10 during Mike Begeman’s final three seasons and were in the championship game twice. His outstanding play as a do-everything guard helped Parker become a force in Class B. He was a 4-year letterman at Augustana, which won an NCC Championship his junior season. He also

Argus Leader, December 3, 1974, via newspapers.com.

Brookings Daily Register, April 11, 1975.

coached O’Gorman for several seasons. SD Basketball Hall of Fame, 2019.

JERRY EVEN (Dell Rapids St. Mary’s, 1964) One of the brightest stars at the SD State Catholic Tournament was four-year starter Jerry Even. He scored 2,032 points in his career, averaging 23 points and 17 rebounds his junior year and 26 ppg/14 rpg his senior year. In four years of tourney play, he averaged 21 ppg; and scored 108 points in the 1963 tournament. SD Basketball Hall of Fame, 2020.

COACH BURNELL GLANZER. The 1971 Freeman High and 1975 University of South Dakota grad was

tory to lead the Jackrabbits in scoring four consecutive years. He was on the All-NCC team three years.

SD Basketball Hall of Fame, 2020.

one of the most successful boys basketball coaches in state history, guiding Armour (and Tripp-Delmont/Armour) to a 617-209 record in 37 seasons. Burnell was just the third South Dakota boys basketball coach to reach the 600-win mark. He led Armour's Packers to a state-record 64-game win streak from 1978-80. SD Sports Hall of Fame, 2017.

AUSTIN HANSEN (Brandon Valley, 1998). In his senior year, Austin Hansen helped the Lynx capture its first State Class AA title. Brandon Valley finished 21-2 that year, with Hansen averaging 18 points and 6 assists per game. In college, he became the first player in SDSU his-

COACH GAYLE HOOVER. Gayle Hoover coached boys basketball at Parker for 34 years. He retired in 1993 as the winningest coach in state basketball history, with a 577-217 record. He guided Parker to eight state tournaments, including runner-up finishes in 1968, '73 and '74. He was a basketball star at both SF Washington High School and Sioux Falls College.

Hoover also is a member of the SD Softball Hall of Fame. SD Sports Hall of Fame, 1998.

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

27

COACH JIM MARKING. A 1950 Parkston High School graduate, Jim Marking had a 73.8% winning percentage in 24 years of coaching prep and college basketball. He retired as the winningest coach in SDSU men's basketball history (148-80).

He coached high school basketball at Hayti and Watertown. He was the first coach to win state titles in Class A and B. SD Sports Hall of Fame, 1992.

BOB PIDDE (Freeman, 1975) The Freeman Flyers trailed by 8 points with 8 minutes left in the 1975 Class B championship game. Bob Pidde scored 11 of his 23 points in the final quarter to keep the Flyers perfect season intact. He was a strong defensive player on top of averaging 17 ppg and 16 rpg his senior year. He went on to play both basketball and baseball for SDSU. SD Basketball Hall of Fame, 2020.

ARLO MOGCK (Parkston, 1955) Parkston High School was small by Class A standards in the mid-1950s, but Arlo Mogck led the Trojans to 2nd and 3rd place finishes his junior and senior years. After graduating from USD-Springfield, he coached the Harrisburg Tigers to the Class B title as a 22-yearold rookie coach. He later coached Canton to the state tournament, before coaching Worthington State Junior College, where his teams were champions three straight years. SD Basketball Hall of Fame, 2020.

LOREN THORNTON (Harrisburg, 1936) In the first year of the twoclass system, Loren “Dutch” Thornton was named the Class B tournament’s MVP. Then he was a three-year mainstay for SDSU and part of the

Argus Leader, March 10, 1963.

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Jackrabbits’ NCC championship team in 1940. He also excelled in baseball, playing several years in the minor leagues. He coached Flandreau to an undefeated football season and to several Class B Tournaments. SD Basketball Hall of Fame, 2020.

TRIPP HIGH SCHOOL, 1967.

Recognized as a “Team of Excellence” by the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Wildcats had a perfect 28-0 season in 1966-67.

Tripp beat Herreid 72-46 to win the State Class B Tournament.

Mike Freier scored 35 points and Dick Prien grabbed 14 rebounds in the title game. Freier, Prien and Bill Fischer were named to the all-tournament team for Coach Jim Flevares. SD Basketball Hall of Fame, 2018.

SOURCES • South Dakota Basketball Hall of Fame, www.sdbbhof.com • South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, www.sdshof.com • Sioux Falls Argus Leader via newspapers.com • Brookings Daily Register via newspapers.com

Argus Leader, March 12, 1967, and the headline the following day.

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