The Farming Families of Iowa—February 2023

Front: Hailey, Dee Jay and Bobbi Kellen; and Brittany and Carter Lake.

Back: Brandon, Don, Mary Jane and Jacob Kellen. Story on page 28.

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NEW BUSINESS FRONTIERS FOR RULE SHEEP CO.

By Bob Fitch

Now third generation family member Tyson Rule is a trailblazer in the rapidly expanding field of artificially inseminating sheep. Artificial insemination of swine, beef cattle and dairy cattle has been common for many years and proven to be highly profitable. But similar procedures have been less successful in sheep and the American industry has lagged behind technological advances in Australia and other countries. Rule

Sheep Co. is a major player filling that void in the United States.

The family’s genesis in the sheep business began when Tyson’s grandfather, Larry Rule, started a commercial feedlot in Brighton, Colorado, in 1955. In the 1970s, he got into the packing business when he founded Denver Lamb. In 1983, Larry, his son, Rob, and family moved to Hawarden and started a new processing plant called Iowa Lamb. In 1989, the family sold their

On the left: Tyson and Amber Rule and their children, Maverick, Madison and Makenzie. In the center are Cindi and Rob Rule. On the right: Cindi and Rob’s daughter, Jennifer, and her husband, Brian Brenneman, and their children, Sam and Beckett. Photo by Ashley Dekkers, AshleyD Photos.

The Rule family of Hawarden has been part of the sheep industry for the better part of 70 years. They’ve been active in a lot of different phases … feeding, procurement, processing, breeding and showing.

interest in the Colorado packing plant to Superior Farms, although they continued to operate a sheep feedlot in Brush, Colorado. Larry passed away last year at the age of 93.

Rob is Tyson’s father. He fed sheep south of Hawarden and also procured sheep for Iowa Lamb and then for Superior Farms after the company purchased the Hawarden plant in 2009. Rob retired from Superior this past October. Rob’s wife, Cindi, continues her work as a nurse practitioner in Ireton for Hawarden Regional Healthcare.

Tyson graduated from Iowa State University with a major in animal science and a minor in entrepreneurial finance. But his journey back to a career in animal science was circuitous. He worked five years in Topeka, Kansas, for IKON Office Solutions selling copiers

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Makenzie, Amber, Tyson, Madison and Maverick Rule. Madison showed the Reserve Grand Champion 4-H Market Lamb at the 2019 Iowa State Fair.

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to major corporate accounts. “Working for IKON was a great learning experience. Sales and sales management taught me how to deal with people and a lot about business operations.”

Tyson and his wife, Amber, and their daughters returned to northwest Iowa in 2008. They obtained an FSA firsttime farmer loan to purchase land about halfway between Hawarden and Akron. “The game plan was to get big enough for my dad to be able to have a fulltime employee so he wouldn't have to be doing chores at night.” They built two big hoop barns that fall and had sheep in them by January 2009. Initially, lambs continued to be born at the home place and then brought to the new site. They soon built a lambing barn and then a nursery barn was added in 2012. Today, only specialty groups that require extra care are at Rob’s home site. During 2021, they built a modern office facility.

A FULLY INCLUSIVE BREEDING BUSINESS

The first leg of the business was to raise and sell lambs for 4-H and FFA exhibitors. “We sell animals into 45 states,” he said.

“But we wanted to figure out how to be a fully inclusive business. So we looked at artificial insemination, which wasn't really being done with sheep in the United States. It was pretty prevalent in Australia and we hired a woman from Australia in 2009 to be our artificial insemination technician. She came in and we AI’d 400 ewes. That July, 300 of them had babies. Previously, a producer might get 30-50 babies out of a sire; we were able to get 200-plus out of a sire.” The second leg of their business became reproductive services.

When the Rule team AI’d their first 400 ewes in 2009, Tyson estimates that their herd may have doubled the total number of ewes being artificially inseminated in the U.S. “We realized it worked and, all of a sudden, it's just blew up to the point where it's closer to 100,000 ewes being AI’d across the United States every year now. It's been a big change to our industry and we were lucky enough to be on the forefront of that.”

Traditional methods of livestock artificial insemination are not effective with sheep because of difficulty in preserving the ram's semen and the anatomic complexity of the ewe's cervix. The method Rule Sheep Co. adopted from Australia is laparoscopic artificial insemination where semen is deposited directly into the uterus through an abdominal incision.

Rule Sheep Co. artificially inseminated about 16,000 head last year. When their new AI technician – Dalton Pottebaum, an ISU graduate and native of Alton – comes on, they expect to increase the number to as many as 30,000 head. Currently about 6,000 are AI’d locally and the other 10,000 or so are done on producer sites across the country. The company’s services are in such high demand that, from July through September, Tyson is often on the road 85 of the 90 days. (When he flies to clients, the semen tank is his carry-on. TSA just waves him through when he tells them its semen – they want nothing to do with it. If the flight attendant or a fellow

Tyson and Amber in front of their wall of champions.

Drop The Mic was the Championdrive.com “Man of the Year” in 2017 and 2018. Rule Sheep Co. sold a million dollars of semen from the ram.

passenger asks him about it, he just says it’s “genetic cells.”)

“We're excited that we’re the first sheep breeders ever to sell a million dollars of semen out of one animal. ‘Drop The Mic’ was born in ’15, and by ‘19, he’d sold a million dollars,” he said. Drop The Mic was the Championdrive.com “Man of the Year” in 2017 and 2018. Their current superstar ram is ‘Break The

Internet.’ Half interest in the ram was sold for $240,000, most likely the highest dollar individual spend in the sheep industry.

ANIMAL NUTRITION BUSINESS EXPANDS

After show lamb sales and reproductive services, the third leg of the operation is a rapidly growing animal nutrition business

called Rural Supplements. “We're lucky to have partnered with some really smart nutritionists who have helped us formulate successful products. It’s fun to see all the national shows where maybe three of the top five animals are on our product.” The product line morphed and expanded where they now sell livestock supplements for multiple species of show animals.

Makenzie Rule showed the champion female at the Sioux County Fair last summer.

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The livestock supplements business is spearheaded by his wife, Amber, who was brought in as the organization’s chief operating officer. She helps run the marketing department, the office and the production crews, allowing Tyson to do more strategic planning, sales and the reproductive work.

Amber is a native of Oklahoma City and the couple actually met at a sheep show in Oklahoma when Tyson was in his last year at Iowa State. Amber was there to watch her niece exhibit in the show. “She stood out as a city girl at a livestock event. She was dolled up and ready for a night on the town and here, you know, we were at a county fair barn-type of deal. We met that first night and the next night we went out on a date to Chili's. The next weekend she came to Iowa State to visit, so it was a pretty fast-moving relationship –from not knowing each other at all to her driving nine hours the next weekend to come visit me.”

RULE KIDS MAKE THEIR MARK

Amber and Tyson have been married for almost 19 years and have three children. Madison is a sophomore at Iowa State, where she is currently majoring in political science. Makenzie is a freshman at West Sioux High School where she is in FFA and is a cheerleader. She’s also an active member of a competitive cheer team in Sioux City. Maverick is a second grader at Ireton Christian School and is active in youth sports, especially wrestling, in Hawarden.

Their daughters have already made a mark in the sheep world. According to Tyson, “Madison pretty much won grand or reserve at every national in America. When she

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Rob Rule retired in October after decades of procuring sheep for Superior Farms and Iowa Lamb. Tyson’s dad now works wherever he’s needed at Rule Sheep Co. (but not in the office).

was a freshman in high school, we discussed how it was going to take a lot of work on her part, plus a lot of luck. And we got lucky her senior year when she won in Kansas City. She’d already won in Louisville, Phoenix and Denver. She hit it hard.”

Makenzie had the champion female

at Sioux County last summer and got reserve champion at the State Fair. She will push to land the top spot at State Fair this year.

Young people are also a big part of the Rule Sheep Co. business plan. Each summer, they bring in four or five college interns from across the

United States. Being on the leading edge of new technology has made their internships very sought after.

“I'm trying to bring in kids who want to be in agriculture, top tier kids who can earn top tier salaries in this business rather than becoming a lawyer or a doctor.”

CCC-A, FAAA

Elizabeth “Libby” Benson, Au.D., CCC-A, FAAA

Rule Sheep Co. is located on the Sioux-Plymouth County line.

ALTON NATIVE WAS ‘COUNSELOR, FRIEND AND BROTHER’ TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Even though he had to walk several miles from his home in Alton to school in Orange City, Bernard “Ben” Braskamp was never late for 8 a.m. chapel services at Northwestern Classical Academy, As the forerunner of Northwestern College, the Northwestern Classical Academy was established to prepare students for the ministry. Ben Braskamp’s ministry eventually led him to be the spiritual counselor for some of most powerful politicians who ever served in the U.S. Congress.

Born in Alton on Feb. 18, 1887, Bernard Braskamp graduated from the academy in 1903 at the age of 16. He then earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan; master’s degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and Princeton University; and was later awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity from Hanover College. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1911, he spent nearly 40 years as a pastor in Washington, D.C., initially serving the congregation of what later became known as the National Presbyterian

Rev. Bernard Braskamp (far left, standing next to the casket), chaplain for the United States House of Representatives, presides over the graveside funeral service for Speaker of the House of Representatives Sam Rayburn at Willow Wild Cemetery in Bonham, Texas, 1961. Seated in the front row are former presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Carl Hayden of Arizona, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Photo by Cecil Stoughton, White House Photographs, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston (Public Domain).

Church before reaching what the Alton Democrat newspaper called “the pinnacle of his profession.”

In 1950, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously elected Braskamp as its chaplain – the first full-time chaplain in either the House or Senate. For the next 16 years until his death on Feb. 22, 1966, he served as pastor not only to the legislators and their families, but to all House employees in the Capitol. His brief prayers given each day to open the sessions of the House contained “the essence of greatness,” said Rep. Albert Ullman at the time. “They never fail to bring us close to the Divine, and to inspire in each of us a renewed dedication to the sacredness of public trust.”

During his time working with the House of Representatives, Braskamp's many prayers included the one that opened the session that passed the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964. The New York Times said: "The air of a great occasion hung over the chamber from the moment that Chaplain Bernard Braskamp began his prayer with the quotation from Leviticus engraved on the Liberty Bell: ‘Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.’”

On the day after his death, the Congressional Record included nearly 10 pages of tributes from members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Majority Leader and future Speaker of the House Rep. Carl Albert said, “His prayers often reflected the mood and tempo of the House – its crises, its defeats, its victories. In every case, he reminded us that these things shall all pass away, but the Kingdom of the Lord shall endure

Dr. Bernard Braskamp, a 1903 graduate of Northwestern Classical Academy, opens a 1956 session of the House of Representatives with prayer in his role as the legislative body’s first full-time chaplain. Photo by United Press International.

forever … His humanity was the quality which made him our friend and confidante, as well as our official pastor.”

The minority leader in 1966 was future president Gerald R. Ford, who said, “All of us in this chamber have lost a good friend and wise counselor. We have been strengthened spiritually and religiously by his daily prayer.”

Speaker John. W. McCormack said one of Braskamp’s casual remarks deserved to be in the treasury of American humor. McCormack related the tale, “When someone commented to him about his praying for the House of Representatives, he (Rev. Braskamp) corrected the statement by saying: ‘I always look out over the House of Representatives and then I pray for the country.’”

Sources

• Primary Source: “A Pastor for the House,” by Anita Cirulis. Published in “The Classic,” fall 2017, used with permission from Northwestern College.

Braskamp’s leadership in sending aid to the people of Holland during World War II inspired Queen Wilhelmina to knight him in the Order of Orange Nassau. Braskamp’s prayers from the 85th and 86th Congresses were compiled in a book which is available in the archives at Northwestern College. In ordering the chaplain’s prayers from 1957 to 1961 to be published, Speaker Sam Rayburn said, “There is no one who enjoys in such a notable degree the respect and affection of the entire membership of the House as does Dr. Braskamp. To the membership of the House of Representatives, he is counselor, friend and brother. Free from any suggestion of sectarian bias, his daily ministrations were helpful and inspiring, lifting all who heard him to a deeper realization of their need for divine guidance.”

• The Congressional Record

• History.house.gov

• Wikipedia

Dr. Bernard Braskamp (right) shakes the hand of Reverend Dr. G. Ousley Brown (left) while Congressman (and future West Virginia governor) Arch A. Moore Jr. looks on. Photo from West Virginia & Regional History Center.

FROSTY TRAILS.

PHOTO BY JON KLEMME.

‘SIMPLE GRAIN FARMERS WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LIVESTOCK’

By Bob Fitch

Family and farming are first priorities for Chad

Te Slaa. His fun is found in financial markets, family and physique.

Chad farms and feeds cattle near Rock Rapids. While they hold land separately, Chad and his dad, Loren, and his uncle, Gary, work together growing corn and soybeans. Chad and Loren are partners in the small cattle feeding operation.

“Crops are the main thing for us. Cattle is more a side deal, although they pay the bills for me for now,” said Chad. “I custom fed for a couple years. Now Dad and I each own half of the cattle. So I’m custom feeding for him.”

As of November, Gary found himself not feeding cattle for the first time in many years. “So far, I feel pretty lucky I’m not feeding this winter. When I see this weather and I think, oh man, I'm glad I don't have to be helping with chores, walking pens, and I don't have to scoop bunks.”

Gary started working with his dad on the farm right after graduation from Central Lyon High School in 1975. He had his own farrow-tofinish pig operation into the 1990s, plus custom finished some pigs, too. But he got out when “there was no money in it anymore.”

Chad, Loren and Gary Te Slaa farm near Rock Rapids.

After Loren graduated from Central Lyon 1980, he made the Te Slaa team a trio. “The three of us farmed together until Dad passed away two years ago. Now we've been keeping the farm going trying to get Chad started.” In addition, it’s possible Gary’s youngest son, Lane, could follow into the Te Slaa farming tradition. Currently, Lane lives in Inwood and is a spray applicator based out of Doon.

Gary and Loren’s father, Alfred, grew up farming in Sioux County near Hull. But he migrated north into Lyon County in 1962 onto a farm just outside the Rock Rapids city limits. Then he rented the current homesite in 1972 and purchased it in 1975. Alfred fed cattle into the late ’70s, stepped back from livestock for 12-15 years, and then got back into cattle in the ’90s. He was still in robust health until he was hit by Covid and passed away in December 2020.

A PASSION FOR MARKETING

Loren and Gary share Chad’s interest in digesting and analyzing the farm markets as well as the larger financial markets. After graduating from South Dakota State University with a bachelor’s and master’s in economics, he

worked as an ag lender at First Dakota National Bank in Sioux Falls for about two years.

Going from his bachelor’s degree into his master’s program, the learning emphasis transitioned to scholarly research. His thesis was about accumulator contracts, an

advanced grain marketing contract which included knockout levels, double ups and some sophisticated options. His thesis addressed how the accumulator contracts performed during neutral, up or down trends.

Working with numbers and

A good share of the Te Slaa family in 2019. Front: Phyllis, Alfred and Lane. Back: Brent, Morgan, Chad, Susan, Loren, Gary, Barb and Mitchell.

analyzing numbers is fun for him, but he jumped at the chance to get his hands dirty when a monoslope building east of Rock Rapids came up for sale. He transitioned out of the position at First Dakota National Bank – and now farming/feeding cattle is his full-time occupation.

“I always wanted to farm,” Chad said. “It's just hard to get started. Working at First Dakota and starting at the farm part-time was an opportunity. Through college, I was over here and helped out on weekends; and I did the same when I got time off from the bank.”

Chad manages all the financial transactions related to the cattle, plus helps manage the herd. Their hired man, Brim, carries the greatest physical daily demands of the job.

SUNSHINE IN THEIR EYES EVERY MORNING

No one in the Te Slaa family actually lives on what was the home site of Gary and Loren’s dad. Strangely, half the family has a “reverse commute” compared to others in the Sioux Metro. Gary, Loren, Chad, and Loren’s son-in-law, Brent, all head east every morning, squinting into the rising sun; and evenings are all about going west and squinting into the setting sun.

According to Loren, “When we got married, Susie already had a house in Sioux Falls, so I moved in with her and we haven't made it back to the farm yet.” Susan worked as a medical secretary at Sanford and

retired last summer. They’ve been married for 34 years.

Chad and his wife, Elizabeth, live on the southeast outskirts of Sioux Falls. She is a registered nurse at Sanford USD Medical Center and serves as a triage nurse in women’s health. Elizabeth is a native of Chaska, Minnesota. The couple met through Chad’s sister, Morgan, while Liz was in nursing school in Mankato. Morgan and her former roommate set the two up on a date.

Morgan lives in Harrisburg and is a nurse practitioner in Sioux Falls at Limitless Male. Morgan’s husband, Brent drives from Harrisburg to Rock Rapids for his position as an electrical engineer at DGR.

Chad, Jace and Elizabeth Te Slaa.

Gary, Alfred and Loren Te Slaa during harvest 2017.

It’s not hard to guess from looking at his arms that Chad’s favorite hobby is weightlifting.

Gary resides closes to the home farm. He and his wife, Barb, live northwest of West Lyon School and the drive from their place to the farm is only about 20 miles (but still mostly into the sun, both coming and going). Barb works at the Edith Sanford Breast Center as a mammogram/x-ray technician. The couple has five sons spread across the country:

• Jess is in Salem, Oregon, where he grows blueberries.

• Josh is in Madison, Wisconsin and has a degree in biology. He works in a lab, testing blood and semen for shipment overseas.

• Joel lives by Harrisburg. He's the head of maintenance for the Sioux Falls School District.

• Mitch works as a PLC programmer for Interstate Electric. He’s based out of Sioux Falls.

• Lane lives in Inwood and works from Doon as an applicator. “He’ll probably be the one that farms,” Gary said. Gary and Barb also have seven grandchildren.

Gary and Loren started out renting land together and they still farm rented land in partnership. They’ve each purchased land which run as

separate entities. At one time, they were farming ground not only in Iowa, but also in South Dakota and Minnesota.

HEADED FOR WHEREVER THE PLANE TAKES THEM

Gary joked that it’s time for him to back off now that he has a Medicare card. The brothers look forward to when it’s time to travel somewhere warm in the winter. Where do they like to go? “Wherever the plane takes us,” Loren said with a grin. They’ve made trips to Mexico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Florida and Alaska. They also enjoy Branson in the fall. They used to enjoy biking for a day at RAGBRAI and Tour de Kota.

Right now, Chad spends his free time with Elizabeth and their first-born, Jace, who is almost one. In addition, he has a passion for weightlifting. “I like to lift weights, that's kind of my hobby. It's enjoyable and keeps me in shape.”

On the farm side of life, Chad’s long-term goals are to expand more on the crop side. “We’ve got enough cattle, we don’t need to expand on that anymore. It can be hard to find land, but as Dad gets older and eventually if he ever retires, then

I’ll start renting some of that farm ground. But for now the cattle pay the bills.”

Chad thinks his dad and uncle understate their skill as farmers. How did the brothers find success? According to Gary, “We’re just simple grain farmers really. We’ve got a little bit of livestock; and plant, harvest and spray a few weeds. Back in the day, you just worked till you got it done.” Loren’s answer: “Be honest and work hard.”

But Chad chided them a little. “Be honest and work hard, yeah, but I feel like you guys worked smart, too. A lot of guys do stuff the hard way, but you were always on the cutting edge. You were good at adapting to change and adopting new technology.”

In addition to making the most of his opportunities with crops and cattle, Chad also is hoping to convince Elizabeth that moving their home to Lyon County at some point would be advantageous. “It'd be nicer to have the kids go to school out here. When I went to school in Harrisburg, there were about 100 kids per grade and that was pretty good. But now that's 400 or 500 per grade. There's not going to be any farm kids there for them to relate to.”

Loren and Susan.

Abby, Lane, Gary, Barb, Kelly and Mitchell.

LONESOME CORNCRIB.

PHOTO BY BRETT DAVELAAR, BD PHOTOGRAPHY.

TRULY A FAMILY BUSINESS

By Bob Fitch

Don and Mary Jane Kellen have been married for 68 years. They raised seven children on their farm. Their youngest son, Dee Jay Kellen and his wife, Bobbi, and their children farm and feed cattle south of Le Mars.

At 91 years old, Don isn’t bashful about still trying to tell his kids what to do. Dee Jay said, “I’m still his kid, so he’s not afraid to tell me what I’m doing wrong.” But Mary Jane smiled and joked, “Dee Jay doesn't listen to Dad.”

Fortunately, Don doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk.

According to grandson-in-law, Carter Lake, “Grandpa is a good model of work ethic. He's out here busting his butt all the time. It gives you the motivation to do the same.”

Dee Jay said, “This past fall he helped haul corn into the bunker. His main task has been hauling dirt. With open yards, there’s always a place for dirt. He hauled this fall right up to the last day when it was too frozen to get the scraper into the ground.”

Two of Don Kellen’s most important lessons for life – work hard and take care of the livestock first – are second nature to his children and grandchildren.

The Kellen family in 2020: Dee Jay and Bobbi Kellen; Brittany and Carter Lake; Jacob, Hailey and Brandon Kellen. Seated are Cash, Freckles and Beau. Photo by CStarr Photography.

Don served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and returned home in the fall of 1954. He and Mary Jane were married that same week. They first lived on her father’s farm near Remsen and later moved to Seney. He worked for a feed mill as storekeeper and bookkeeper for a few years until taking over his parents’ farm near Le Mars in the early 1960s. “We started out feeding cattle and milking cows. After a couple years, we gave up the dairy and just started feeding more cattle, and we raised a lot of hogs,” Don said. Their son, Del, and his family still live on that land today.

In 1983, Don bought the land where Dee Jay and Bobbi farm today. The young couple moved to the site in 1991 when they got married.

“Bobbi has been my constant and has been through it all with me,” Dee Jay said. “She has been there every time I had to vent and when we took a hit in the cattle and thought we would lose everything.” Bobbi is the tax deputy in the county treasurer's office, where she’s worked for 22 years. “Her job has provided insurance for us. Just as importantly, there’s countless loads of cattle-manure-laundry. She’s a taxi, she helps move equipment, she hauls meals to us on her lunch hour, and feeds us at night.” Their son, Jacob, said, “Food is the most important. Without Mom, the whole operation falls down.” Son Brandon agreed: “If you’re working for Dee Jay and you’ve got bad news, wait until he eats first.”

EXCITED FOR THE FIRST POTLOAD OF CATTLE

When Dee Jay and Bobbi moved to the farm, “There wasn’t much of anything here. I was working fulltime in town and helping take care of the few cows here and then working for Dad and Del on the homeplace. I’ll never forget the day Dad came home and said he had bought a pot of calves at Sheldon and we were going to partner on them.”

Dee Jay started farming and feeding the small herd of calves, but was primarily working as an over-the-road trucker. But his dad always instilled in him that the livestock must come first. “It's got to come before the grain and it’s got to come before your job,” Dee Jay said. “I think I've done a pretty good job of instilling that into my boys because there's times I get wound up with the (manure hauling and round baling) custom work and want to take off, but Brandon will remind me we’ve got to do this treatment first. They know livestock is the bread and butter and it's got to be first before everything else.”

The feedlot grew little by little, year by year. “After we were

Don and Mary Jane Kellen have been married 68 years. Mary Jane joked that Don never wanted to go on a cruise “because he was on a ship in the ocean for a month coming back from Korea.”

into it six or seven years, then there was enough that I could give up all the other stuff and just focus on the livestock here.” In 2005, he bought the acreage and feedlot from his parents and did a significant expansion to the north. “As the kids grew, they all got involved in everything like vaccinations and treatments. We’ve got multiple pictures of Christmas morning where we’d go out to do treats before we could open presents. That was part of the regimen.”

Daughter Brittany said, “When we were too young to work the cattle, our job was to stand on top of a post and count all the cows that went by – but not out loud, you're never allowed to count out loud. Everybody had to pick a post and hope you all ended up with the same number.”

ALL 4 KIDS PLAY A ROLE

Today, Brandon and Jacob work fulltime in the operation. Their dad said, “Brandon does the bulk of the feeding right now and takes care of the feedstuffs. Jake takes care of most of the manure hauling and round baling, the custom stuff. He also helps with the maintenance part of it.”

An aerial view of the Kellen farm around the time Don purchased it in 1983. It hadn’t changed much by the time Dee Jay and Bobbi moved there in 1991.

An aerial view of the Kellen farm in 2016, showing the development of the feedlot.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Donations and other support provided annually to multiple FFA programs, local fire departments, town projects, livestock shows, school programs.

Brittany has an MBA and works fulltime at Hanor, a multi-state pork producing company. In addition, she’s also in charge of accounts payable, accounts receivable, human resources and payroll for Kellen Feedlot. Brittany’s husband, Carter, is in purchasing for Wells Inc. But he also helps as needed at the Kellen farm on nights, weekends and during harvest. During summers in high school, he was on the concrete crew enhancing the Kellen feedlots or helping the family do custom concrete work. (They don’t pour their own concrete anymore. Jacob said, “I don't think anybody misses it.”)

Dee Jay and Bobbi’s other daughter, Hailey, attends the University of Northern Iowa where she majors in elementary and middle level education. But she’s not off the hook either. Her dad said, “Every weekend Hailey is home and on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter,

Every year, Kellen Feedlot has a “bale rodeo.” Last fall, they had 11 people, three loaders, four semis and four pickups. The group hauled their personal-best 1,100 bales in 10 hours. Without the focus and energy of the day, “We would be hauling bales forever,” Dee Jay said. His son-in-law, Carter, said, “It's a good time and a good group of people. We all get along and we all like working for and with Dee Jay.” In this photo, Brittany is running the skid loader.

that's when we work cattle because we have an extra body for the chute. She graduates this year and hopefully will be back a little bit and still be able to help. When she pulled in today, I told her ‘I need tags; and can you help work cattle tomorrow?’ It's truly a family business.”

A GREAT NEIGHBOR

Dee Jay said their survival and success feeding cattle is due in large part to the symbiotic relationship they enjoy with Plymouth Dairy. “They’ve been a great neighbor for us.” Kellens take the “waste feed” from the dairy and feed it to the light 450- to 500-pound calves they buy and finish out. The return to Plymouth Dairy is the Kellens hauling out the dairy manure as well as delivering several thousand bales every year.

“With buying the calves that light and controlling rations that long, we started selling on the grid which means we’ve got to sort cattle every week. We've been marketing some good cattle and are picking up a nice premium. It’s been the difference in making money the past couple of years. It’s a labor-intensive deal, but everybody’s got to find something that makes you better than the next guy,” he said.

“We don't need to buy fancy cattle, we need to buy cattle we can grow and make fancy. Sometimes that takes a few more days on feed and, with the cheaper feed, we can do that. I’m never going to be the one who has the biggest rate of gain. I like the dollar in my pocket when I'm done. Driving around, you can see our feedlot is not a showplace, it's a workplace.”

His stress levels in recent years are considerably less with the nearlyall-in-the-family system of having Brandon working the feedlot; Jake covering the custom work; Brittany dealing with the business end; new crew member Adam Vaske quickly contributing; and Carter, Hailey and some great part-timers in reserve. That’s good because working cattle can crack up a body pretty badly. By the time this magazine is in the mail, Dee Jay will be recovering from back surgery. According to Bobbi, “He’s been hit by too many cows.”

“This feedlot wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Dad helping me build it for the first 25 years and all the support every family member has put into it,” Dee Jay concluded.

Three generations of Kellen cattle feeders: Brandon, Dee Jay, Jacob and Don.

Serving farmers in southeast SD and northwest IA

SEMI and AG TIRES (new and used)

COLBY COBB SALAD

From the Midwest Dairy Association

INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING

• 2 cups fat-free plain yogurt divided

• 4 large basil leaves

• ¼ cup parsley stems removed

• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon honey

• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

712-753-4800

2403 US Highway 18

Inwood IA 51240

MOBILE TIRE REPAIR AND SERVICE www.oak-street-station.com

• 2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise

• ½ teaspoon salt optional

• ¼ teaspoon pepper additional, optional

INGREDIENTS FOR SALAD

• 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce 1 small head

• ½ cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes

• ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced

• 1 cup diced cucumber

• 1 hard boiled egg chopped

• 2 slices cooked turkey breast cut into strips

• 2 tablespoons bacon bits

• 1½ cups shredded Colby or Colby Jack cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

For Dressing

Place 1 cup of yogurt, basil, parsley, chives, lemon juice, honey and pepper in a blender or food processor. Cover and pulse until smooth (dressing will be green in color). Pour yogurt mixture into a medium bowl; stir in remaining yogurt and mayonnaise until just blended; refrigerate until ready to serve.

For Salad

Place lettuce at the bottom of a bowl and sprinkle the tomatoes, onion, cucumber, turkey, bacon bits, egg and Colby cheese on top. Just before serving, pour dressing over salad and toss lightly.

712-737-3339

123 Albany St. Orange City

NOTES

Dressing may be prepared up to 2 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

We are aggressively looking for new wean to finish barns to fit into our operation. Give us a call about your new construction plans for 2023.

We o er very competitive yardage rates and long-term contracts, as well as one of the best barn prices in the area.

over 50 years.