The Farming Families of Iowa—July 2022

Steve, Glenn, Betty and Brian Rozeboom.

Story begins on page 12.

The right care. The right place. The right time.

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A PASSION FOR THE LYON COUNTY FAIR

By Bob Fitch

Whether it’s showing livestock or displaying an exhibit of photography or clothing, being involved in 4-H or FFA projects is a positive, characterbuilding activity. “Maybe I’m old school, but a lot of it boils down to the parents being involved helping to get the kids off their phones,” he said. The DeGroot family practices what they preach. Both Wes and his wife, Hester, are on the Lyon County Fair Board. Their children and grandchildren have participated in 4-H and FFA. And their daughter, Jill Postma, helped take the family to a new level of fair involvement when she went to work for the ISU Extension Service in Lyon County 15 years ago. As county youth coordinator, she spends most of her time with 4-H leaders and participants with much of the effort in anticipation of youth having a positive experience with their fair project.

“Too many people forget that fairs are for the young people,” said Wes DeGroot, president of the Lyon County Fair Board of Directors.

Colby, Jill, Scott and Keanna Postma.

The fair board trusts the DeGrootPostma family connection. “We don’t make decisions on our own. We always bring it to the fair board,” Jill said. The pair agreed they work well together. “Dad and I have respect for the fair board boundaries versus the family boundaries.”

This time of the year, father and daughter are all-in, all the time, preparing for the Lyon County Fair which is July 18-21 in Rock Rapids. Details can be found at www.lyoncofair.com.

Jill said, “People are so very invested in the Lyon County Fair. It brings the whole county together. There are no town or school boundaries when it comes to the fair – we all become one community that week.”

4-H and the fair experience help youth make positive connections so they can become productive citizens in the future, she said. “That’s why the volunteers do what they do. The more positive adults you have in a youth’s life, the more likely they are to succeed.” The county’s 311 youth in 4-H are led by 34 designated 4-H club leaders, plus many other volunteers on the livestock committees. “Whether it’s livestock, clothing, woodworking, welding or other project areas, we’re teaching responsibility and communication and hard work.”

A key role Jill plays is to hire good judges. “We’re looking for judges who will interact with the kids. If the judge is good and explains to them ‘why,’ that helps them learn and have a good experience whether they walk out of the ring with purple, blue or red. The kids really aren’t competing against each other, they’re being evaluated on their project; and they need to proud of the project they create.”

Wes said the approach judges take with youth is essential to get the kids to return with another project next year. “It’s especially important for those who are showing for the first time. When you’re nine or 10 years old and you’ve got a bucket calf, it’s very important to have a good judge who explains to the kids and really talks to them.”

Both father and daughter said “tradition” is the first word people think of for the Lyon County Fair. Like most fairs, food is a big part of the tradition. Food booths are operated by the Rock Rapids Christian Reformed Church; 4-H; the county’s pork, beef, dairy and sheep producers; and Rapid Speedway which includes local favorites of Carroll Street Treats and Pizza Ranch.

In addition, there are big community meals on the evenings of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday’s meal features pork loin sandwiches, sweet corn and watermelon. Pork chops are served on Tuesday. Ribeye steaks and hamburgers are on Wednesday’s menu. At each evening meal, the local band Highway 9 performs under the tent. Local commodity producer organizations play a key role presenting the evening meals.

A major improvement on the fairgrounds this year is a $250,000

Hester and Wes DeGroot with the Lyon County 4-H Alumni Achievement Awards they received last year.

upgrade to the 4-H exhibit building which has been enclosed with air conditioning added. It will also be available for year-round use with heat available. The Lyon County Riverboat Foundation was the largest contributor with additional support from the Lyon County Fair Board, Lyon County Extension and 4-H clubs.

The improvements to the 4-H exhibit building are the latest in a continuing effort to maintain and update the grounds at the fair. “It’s great that the fair board is always looking to improve and invest to grow the fair,” Jill said. Fair board members deserve a lot of credit for the oftenunseen work they give behind the scenes, she added.

Livestock numbers ebb and flow among the species. In recent years, horse, poultry, goat, sheep and pet numbers have increased. Cattle and swine numbers remain strong. While dairy numbers are down substantially from 20 years ago, they’ve been holding steady at about 60 head for several years even as dairy shows have been disappearing at other county fairs.

A panoramic view of the Lyon County Fair in 1916. The barn on the far left and grandstands in the center still stand today.

Cattle exhibitors in bygone days of the Lyon County Fair.

A parade on the race track at the Lyon County Fair.

As a youth, Jill showed dairy and swine, and had projects in clothing, foods and home improvement. Her daughter, Keanna, took her 4-H interest in clothing into adulthood and is now majoring in apparel merchandising and design at Iowa State University. Keanna’s older brother, Colby, is following more in his

dad’s footsteps, majoring in business and marketing at Northwestern College. Jill’s husband, Scott, is the manager at Premier Bank in Doon.

Along with their son, Wade, Wes and Hester farm crop ground and feed beef cattle, pigs and sheep near Doon. They have four other sons, Bruce of Seward Neb.; Mark of Stillwater, Minn.; Philip of Sioux Falls; and Matthew of Doon. They have 12 grandchildren.

Even though they give many hours to the Lyon County Fair, father and daughter are always ready for a little more fair time. Jill said, “I’m one of those weird fair junkies. We go to the county fair, the state fair and the Clay County Fair. I’d go to more local fairs if I could, but they all overlap.” Wes said, “Her mother and I have been to the Alcester fair (Union County, S.D.) and the Brookings (S.D.) County Fair and the Minnesota State Fair. When you’ve got grandkids showing, away you go.”

The agricultural economy can be a roller coaster ride, yet the Lyon County Fair tends to run smoothly year-toyear and generation-to-generation. The years 2020 and 2014 provided two of the biggest bumps in the road.

Fair activities and attendance were limited in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. But the community still pulled together so the kids could have their projects judged. One addition from that year they’ve maintained is broadcasting livestock shows on YouTube, which is appreciated by distant relatives or by local grandparents who might be in a nursing home.

The big bump in the road was the devastating flood of 2014 which occurred one month before the fair was due to open. The Lyon County Fair Board owns its own fair grounds “… except when the flood was trying to take it away,” Wes said. “The water was running three feet deep through all of the buildings.”

Everything on the grounds had to be cleaned up, washed down and re-painted. “There was mud on everything,” he said.

However, the grounds were restored in one month’s time because of the way people from throughout the county rallied to the cause, Jill said. “It was like the ‘Field of Dreams’ lineup of cars on the first cleanup night after the flood. The people were lined up the street wanting to get in to help. It brought tears to your eyes to see that support from the county. Rock Rapids and the area were hurting and to have people take time from their own cleanup to come help with the fairgrounds was amazing.”

The response in 2014 – as well as the year-in and year-out level of leadership by the fair board and the volunteerism from throughout the county – is a showcase of the passion the people of Lyon County have for their fair, said the father and daughter duo.

Jill DeGroot Postma showing dairy at the Lyon County Fair as a youth.

Electricians do some of the final work on the remodel and upgrade of the 4-H exhibit building at the Lyon County Fair.

TIGHT-KNIT FAMILY AND SELF-SUFFICIENT DAIRY

By Bob Fitch

Glenn likes to talk about dairy cows, going to church as a family, and, most of all, about the life he and his wife, Betty, have shared with their sons and their families.

“It's been a good life, I think anyway. We’ve enjoyed our family immensely,” Glenn said. He and Betty have been married for almost 56 years and have three sons, 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He and Betty met when the two Iowa transplants were both working in Omaha, Neb., back in the 1960s. Betty said, “We met through the church – really our minister's wife got us together. She would invite us over for Sunday dinners all the time.” Betty grew up on a dairy farm at Wellsburg, which is north of Marshalltown.

Country music’s Tom T. Hall once wrote a song that shared the story of an old man who found pleasure in the simple things of life like “old dogs and children … and watermelon wine.” Glenn Rozeboom’s list of life’s pleasures is a little different, but just as down-to-earth.

Steve, Glenn and Brian Rozeboom.

SIOUX

When Glenn was deployed overseas as a member of the Air National Guard in 1968, she and their six-month-old son Steve moved to the farm of Glenn’s parents near Carmel. Glenn was called up after the USS Pueblo incident between the U.S. and North Korea, but went to Vietnam rather than Korea. Betty said, “I lived with his parents for a year when Glenn was in Vietnam. His folks were wonderful people and they took good care of us.” She would send lots of baby photos of Steve to Glenn, and he wrote letters home every day.

Several years later, the couple decided to return to Iowa even though Glenn was making a good living in Nebraska as a manager for National Disposal. “Steve was about four or five at that time. We had a neighbor up the block from us in Omaha who had a 12-year-old son. And this 12-year-old was on drugs. I said, ‘That’s it, it’s too close,’” said Glenn.

“So I called my dad and asked him if I could start a dairy. He talked to a dairy dealer named Sam Wester and asked him ‘What do you think of this idea?’ And Sam kind of kicked the dirt and said, ‘Yeah, John, it’s a good idea and you’d be a damn fool if you don't go 25 more cows and go with him.’ That's where it all started, with a 50-cow dairy.” Betty utilized her childhood experience on her family’s dairy to help.

About five years later, his father retired, and then he died in 1983 of complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Another five

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years later, their two older sons, Steve and Scott, joined him in operating the dairy, then known as Rozeboom Dairy (now known as Dry Creek Farms). “We started out with a double four parlor; then went to a double 12 when the boys came in.”

Dairy markets are notoriously volatile and there have been plenty of bad financial years. “You know, my dad would tell you, those bad years make you a better manager. And if you were smart enough to save up during the good years, a farmer can make it through the bad years. And I believe that,” Glenn said.

According to Betty and Glenn’s youngest son, Brian: “Now, it's more pay-down-debt during your good years so you have the slush to fall back on in your bad years. You can't afford to save money right now because you'll end up paying for it in taxes, in my opinion.” He bought out the shares of his brother, Scott, in 2002.

Brian and his oldest brother, Steve, run the show today at Dry Creek Farms. In his mid-70s, Glenn was still going strong until last year when his semi-trailer caught the edge of the road on the night of Sept. 2nd. The trailer and cab rolled. Glenn broke his back and many other bones in the accident and recovery is taking a long time. “I go out every week or every-other-week to try to work, but I just can’t do it anymore.”

Brian said, “He’s just lucky to be alive. It was bad enough at one point that I brought Mom up there and I called my brothers and said, ‘You better be ready. We might be planning a funeral this week.’” “It was pretty tough going there for a while,” Glenn agreed.

For Steve and Brian today on the farm today, the biggest challenge is keeping a quality work force in place and wondering if and when the time will be right to employ robotic milking. Currently, they employ five full-time milkers and two full-time feed men.

Steve said, “We’re pretty self-sufficient in the fact that we raise our own calves, we raise our own heifers, we feed out all of our steers, so we have dairy beef. That's what our world is right now.” In addition to their own grain crop and forage acres, they do a little custom chopping and planting.

On the crop side, their tractors are equipped with the latest technologies such as GPS, autosteer and row cutoffs. In the dairy, the activity tracker has improved the results in their breeding program.

But robotic milking presents a conundrum. Steve said, “We've looked at new technologies quite

Steve and Amy Rozenboom with their daughters’ families. On the left: Dan and Brooke Faber hold sons, Tae and Hayes with Drake standing in front; Steve and Amy; and Morgan and Chad Hoekstra and their son, Briggs.

Addison, Brian, Sawyer, Brody and Nicole Rozeboom.

Dry Creek Farms is northwest of Carmel.

intensely in the last two years. It's pretty hard to make that technological jump (to robotic milking) – because it's a big jump. It's a change in facilities. It's a change in management. It's a change on labor. It's a change on cow handling; everything changes. And then you’ve got to cash flow it.”

They’ve seen robotic operations that work and they’ve seen failure. They have concerns about how cold-tolerant the technology is. Brian said the robotics seem to pencil out for the small operations and the really big operations but, for dairies in the middle like theirs, it’s a tough call. Most importantly, Glenn said, it makes the most sense in all-new facilities. Ultimately, Brian said, “If you can’t find the labor, that's what you’ve got to do, though.” Robots or no robots, “Number one, the cows always, always, always come first,” Brian said. “If we’ve got to stop farming for an hour to be cow people, we’ll do it. That's the way it is. The cows are paying the bills. Animal care is number one.”

The Glenn and Betty Rozeboom family in 2016.; On the far left is their son Scott with his son Steven, and Steven’s children in front - Kyler, Max, Hunter and Lexi.; Betty and Glenn in the front-center.; Behind them are Steve and Amy, and their daughter Morgan, son-in-law Dan and daughter Amy holding Briggs.; On the far right, Nicole and Brian have a weaving of children winding through them. Addison is in the front, then Colby, and, finally, Brody is in his dad’s arms.

Looking forward, indications are Brian’s oldest son, Sawyer, who will be a senior at Western Christian High School, will join Dry Creek Farms in the future. “As far as expansion, that may not be on the dairy end but, rather, on the feedlot end. The dairy has been good to us, but dairy is volatile and we’re not sure we want to dive deeper,” Brian said.

He and his wife, Nicole have been married for 20 years. She owns and operates B Fierce Boutique in Hull, a women and girl’s clothing boutique. Their daughter, Addison, will be a sophomore at Western Christian and younger son, Brody, will be a fourth grader. (Brian said Brody will probably be the guy who designs the robot instead of milking cows with the robot.)

Steve and his wife, Amy, have been married for almost 35 years. Amy works in foodservice at Kinsey Elementary in Sioux Center. They

have two daughters. Brooke is a first grade teacher at Kinsey Elementary. Her husband, Dan Faber, works at Trans Ova Genetics. They have three sons, Drake, Hayes and Tate. Steve and Amy’s daughter, Morgan, works at Interstates Electric. Her husband, Chad Hoekstra, farms, feeds hogs and does custom manure application. They had their first child, Briggs, in March. While Glenn and Betty’s middle son, Scott, isn’t on the farm any more, he helps out at Dry Creek during chopping season. He’s proudly posted photos of himself with the comment: “This was my vacation.” He has five children and one grandchild. Scott works for Standard Ready Mix Concrete in Sioux City. One of life’s simple pleasures Glenn and Betty enjoy is that the families of both Steve and Brian attend worship with them at Carmel Reformed Church. “So we’ve got a whole family unit here going

to the same church. That's great,” Glenn said.

Steve described Carmel Reformed as a melting pot church which is open and welcoming of new people, with member families from many communities. Both Steve and Brian were busy in June helping teach at Carmel’s Vacation Bible School, which is perhaps the largest one in the area.

Steve said he met youth and students there from places like Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis; not to mention most of the communities in northwest Iowa. “During the morning opening or the afternoon closing, you’ve really got to step in there because it is quite an experience. The kids are all so excited.” Glenn added: “I think it takes good leadership. And we've had that for many, many years. The Spirit is just alive.”

KAYAKING ON LAKE ALVIN

PHOTO BY JON KLEMME.

BLESSED WITH 150 YEARS OF GOD’S GRACE

By Bob Fitch

Special memories of a cherished church home came rushing back to veteran members of Christ Lutheran Church during its 150th anniversary celebration in June.

Members of Christ Lutheran Church are proud of their building’s high functionality. It was designed in the early 1970s by a team of church experts – Pastor Reitz with input from many member committees.

In the week before the church’s anniversary celebration, several long-time members sat down to reminisce. The group included Duane and Sharon Popken, Wayne and Julie Beitelspacher, Bill and Rosanne Osterbuhr, Cliff and Verda Koerselman, and Ralph Kruse. Within the group, Verda, Bill, Wayne and Sharon are all lifetime members while others “married into a lifetime membership.” Sharon has served as church secretary for 26 years. They remembered Mission Festivals, ladies’ circles and the brotherhood. Their parents had services in German. Several of them could remember when women sat on one side of the church during services and men on the other. Church was the center of farm families’ social lives from the founding on forward for 100 years. Luther League included softball games, comedy shows, roller skating, hayrides and camp outs. Within the lifetime of this group, the church held Sunday School classes in an old chicken house on the property – the church couldn’t hold all the kids back in the days when there was a large farm family on almost every quarter of land.

German pioneers started the congregation in 1872. Founding a church at the very beginning of their new life in America demonstrated the immigrants’ belief in the necessity of providing spiritual care of their families. Today, some of the fifth, sixth and even seventh generations of those original families are still members at Christ Lutheran. “We’re the ‘Mother Church’ of all the Lutheran churches around here. We’re the oldest church of all the country churches,” said Cliff, who is the church’s second oldest member.

In the beginning, church members met in homes and were served by traveling missionaries. The church’s first regular pastor was hired in 1874; and the first church building was constructed in 1879 at a cost of about $700. Its dimensions were 36 x 24 feet. The parsonage was 20 x 16.

The church founders purchased 40 acres of land which had been the property of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. They plotted space for the building and a cemetery. The rest of the land was rented out to pay for its purchase. Thirty-one of the original 40 acres are still tillable. According to Wayne, “In the spring, most of the time the seed and fertilizer are donated and farmers pitch in to get it planted. In the fall, we have harvest day one afternoon to get the crop out.” Typically, receipts from the sale of grain are donated to missions or charitable organizations.

The church grounds, with its border of mature trees, helps in another way. “We're so lucky. It’s an advantage for us when we’re recruiting a young pastor with a young family. It’s quite a draw when they drive up and see this beautiful church and the beautiful parsonage; and then meet all the beautiful people inside,” Wayne said. Ralph added that the congregation is known for successfully mentoring young pastors. One

young pastor and his wife said they appreciated the peaceful country setting and have never forgotten they didn’t have to be thrown into the rat race right out of seminary.

Music has always been a central part of the worship and experience at Christ Lutheran. At times, Christ Lutheran has had as many three choirs. The senior choir would sing at the community Christmas program at Pioneer Village

The altar and pulpit area of the second church building.

on the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. At one time, there were four organists in the congregation. Marlys Renken retired as one of those organists in 2018 after 65 years.

Rosanne is the sole organist today. She was excited that the anniversary service included a new arrangement of a hymn written years ago by their former pastor, Peter Boe. The new arrangement was done by John S. Dixon, an English composer who enjoys church history. He wanted to give the arrangement as a gift after visiting Christ Lutheran this spring. Three former pastors participated in the music during the anniversary service, which also included a soloist and organ duets.

As demonstrated by the need to hold classes in a chicken house, Sunday School has always been important. That carried forward through financial and prayerful support of seven sons and one daughter of the congregation who went into full-time ministry. In addition, scholarships are presented to high school graduates who are going on for more education.

Verda said no history of Christ Lutheran is complete without telling the story of Onno and Mary Johnson. “They were awesome,” she said. Onno was hired as the church janitor in 1947, and the couple lived across the road from the church. Over the next 30-plus years, he and Mary became much more than janitors. They didn’t have any children, but “the whole church was their family. They loved kids.”

Ralph said, “Onno used to walk through the field to the cemetery to raise and lower the flag every day. He would ring

Long-time members of Christ Lutheran Church interviewed for this story: Ralph Kruse, Duane and Sharon Popken, Wayne and Julie Beitelspacher, Cliff and Verda Koerselman, and Bill and Rosann Osterbuhr.

the church bell every Saturday night, usually while we were milking the cows. What I enjoyed the most was that Mary always had lots of great cookies. Theirs was the best place to go trick or treating. You almost got your bag full in one stop!”

In the church’s 150th anniversary book, Dorothy Grasz praised the wonderful pastors who led the church. “My confirmation pastor was Richard Fruehling. He taught me to see God in everyday things. He’d take a pencil and give a lesson on how the lead tip could record our words, even as our good works are recorded in heaven; while the eraser could remove mistakes, even as Christ removes the stains of our sin.”

Also in the anniversary book, current pastor Shawn Brooks wrote, “The story of a church, the history of a church, is the story and history of its people. Bricks and mortar crumble. Buildings get remodeled or replaced. In 150 years, there have been three Christ Lutheran Church buildings, but only one Christ Lutheran Church. We gathered together to show God our gratitude for being blessed with 150 Years of God’s Grace. As always, we come together to pray for God’s mercy and to give thanks for God’s goodness and to reaffirm that we are God’s people in this time and place.”

Christ Lutheran Church was packed to capacity on Sunday, June 12, for the congregation's 150th anniversary celebration worship.

Onno and Mary Johnson served Christ Lutheran Church as their janitors for more than 30 years. More importantly, they were surrogate grandparents, favorite surrogate uncle and aunt, and friends to the entire congregation.

How did Christ Lutheran put this many people in a sanctuary measuring 36 x 24 feet?

An aerial view of the congregation’s second church building and the cemetery. The current building sits in the grassy area to the lower left of the one pictured.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

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

AN UNEXPECTED TOOL FOR YOUR FINANCIAL TOOLBOX

By Bob Fitch

Farmers like their tools and they usually have a lot them – whether it’s to fix hydraulics, an irrigation valve, a clogged combine or even the kitchen sink. Other “tools” farmers rely on are service providers such as bankers, seed company reps, feed consultants, mechanics and veterinarians.

An unexpected tool farmers may want to add to their financial toolbox is life insurance.

Life insurance typically exists to provide a benefit to the insured’s heirs or cover end-of-life expenses or debt. But Brad and Brian Van Bruggen, of Van Bruggen & Wesselink Agency of Sioux Center, want area farm families to know life insurance can be like a Swiss Army knife – a multi-faceted tool to help fund farm expenses, help with generational succession issues, or even cover longterm care expenses.

Van Bruggen Wesselink works closely with Pekin Life Insurance Co., a provider of financial protection products. According to James Schmitz, life specialist with Pekin, “The problem with life insurance is you can’t get it when you need it. You just don’t know when your

insurability will change. So a little bit of planning is key. It sounds simple, it seems obvious, but so many farm families don’t spend any time planning – except when it’s tough to get something done.”

Even if you can’t afford the ‘perfect’ amount of life insurance, something is better than nothing, he said. And, if you are proactive – at almost any age – there are some interesting and potentially lucrative possibilities. “I’ve seen young farmers investing in a universal life policy with the main purpose of building cash value. You can do what’s called ‘over-funding’ a universal life policy and kind of build your own bank. The cash that builds in the policy can be used to buy equipment or fix equipment or pay off other loans or debts,” Schmitz said.

Brad Van Bruggen added, “I’ve seen cases where a farmer in his 30s gets a universal life policy and funds it at $10,000 a year. At retirement, he’s going to have hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting there. But, along the way, he can draw against it to be his own banker and invest in the farm using his own money.”

Schmitz said, “The next biggest area where I see farm families using life insurance is perpetuation.” The simplest example is life insurance benefits can be used for a child who is staying in a farm operation to be able to buy out his or her siblings upon the death of a parent.

He said such policies can be purchased for pennies on the dollar if you’re insurable and you get it early enough. Brad said their agency and your attorney can help set up such plans within a family farm trust.

Also on the estate planning side, life insurance can help cover inheritance and estate taxes, funeral and final medical expenses, and debt. Brad pointed out, “Many farms are now getting to the size and value where they’re going to blast through that estate tax exemption level.”

Brian Van Bruggen added, “The other benefit of having a life insurance policy is that it’s tax-free money for the first beneficiary.”

Finally, there’s a little-known option available through Pekin Life Insurance. “I call it ‘living benefits.’ Long-term care fits into that,” Schmitz said. “We have three different types of life insurance policies – transitional, whole and universal – where you can add a long-term care rider. Should the insured need long-term care services, they can start pulling the money out of their policy and covering those long-term care bills.” In other words, a person can use the life insurance benefit before they die.

About 75 percent of people are going to need long-term care of some sort in their lifetime. In Iowa, expenses in a nursing home are averaging approximately $8,000 per month. Inflation on nursing home expenses is running about 15 percent. “Even if you’re lucky enough to be in a position to stay home, it’s $300 per day for an in-home nurse. Those costs are very real,” Schmitz said.

The maximum benefit of a long-term care rider is $350,000 (although that may increase to $500,000). “Other companies may be different, but our company’s policy allows 5 percent of the death benefit per month to be taken out to cover long-term care expenses.” A person taking the maximum amount would have $17,000 a month to use towards long-term care expenses. That can help prevent drawing down family assets to pay for long-term care.

Brad said if you purchase regular long-term care insurance and end up not needing it, the premiums you paid will just be gone. But, Brian said, “If you have the long-term care rider on a whole life policy, somebody is going to collect that money – either the insured or the beneficiary. Or it could be a combination of the two.” In addition, from an underwriting perspective, it’s easier to qualify for the longterm care rider on life insurance than to get coverage on a regular long-term care policy.

Schmitz said even if you don’t think you’d qualify for life insurance, “Don’t say to ‘no’ to yourself.” He’s seen policies issued on 85-year-olds. “The real key is ask questions and listen. Brad and Brian will help you find out what you already have, what’s important to you, and then help you put together a plan that can help meet your needs.”

DRUDGERY REPLACED WITH LIGHT SIOUX COUNTY REC

In 1930, nothing marked the difference in the quality of life between city and country quite like electricity did. Electricity started coming to urban America beginning in the late 1880s and the 1890s. Most cities, towns and urban homes were wired by 1920.

Reflecting national statistics, only about 10 percent of rural homes in Iowa had electricity by 1925. At the time, more than two-thirds of Iowans still lived on the farm.

“Drudgery” is the word most often used by historians to describe the work of farm families in the 1920s and 1930s. Life on the farm wasn’t worse than in the past – it just seemed that way compared to the advances being made by town and city dwellers. Farm families were still stuck with fatiguing work and menial labor.

“Farmers without electricity milked cows by hand in the light of kerosene lanterns. Farm women cooked over a wood- or coal-burning stove and washed clothes by hand on a washboard. Farm children pumped water and carried it in buckets to the kitchen and the barn. An icehouse, well, or farm cellar provided the only means of keeping foods cool. The privy took on an identity as a rural institution,” wrote Tom Morain, former director of the Iowa State Historical Society. The darkness of the farm versus the bright lights of the city also sapped the morale of farmers and made it difficult to retain young people on the farm. “For more than four decades after town homes were wired for electricity, Iowa farm families endured the pity

Serving northwest Iowa farmers and homeowners since 1886.

Two linemen working on the REC lines in the mid-1900s. Photos courtesy of North West Rural Electric Cooperative.

or condescension of townsfolk who took electric lights, central heating, or bathrooms for granted.”

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order creating the Rural Electrification Administration. However, within months, it became evident to REA officials that established investor-owned utilities were not interested in using federal loan funds to serve sparsely populated rural areas. But loan applications from farmer-based cooperatives poured in, and REA soon realized electric cooperatives would be the entities to make rural electrification a reality. In 1937, the Electric Cooperative Corporation Act was designed as a model law that states could adopt to enable the formation and operation of not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives.

Local leaders put in the legwork by going to door-to-door to recruit their neighbors to join the cooperatives. It took more than a little arm-twisting – some farmers considered electricity a luxury, while others found the $5 sign-up fee hard to come by in the midst of the continuing Great Depression.

Among the early RECs which came into existence were Sioux Electric Cooperative Association, O'Brien County Rural Electric Cooperative, Plymouth Electric Cooperative Association, and Ida County Rural Electric Cooperative (later joining forces as the North West Rural Electric Cooperative).

In fact, the Sioux County Electric Cooperative Association became the first in the nation to obtain a loan from the Rural

Kevin Eekhoff President, Le Mars

Brad Cave Ag Banker

Eric Walhof Regional Bank President

Chad Schuiteman Ag Banker

Jill Kessenich Loan Portfolio Manager

Kent Roos Ag/Commercial Banker

Electrification Administration. Based in Orange City, the Sioux County organization was loaned $250,000 in 1938. The founding board of visionaries included George Boerhave, Fred Vander Ham, Russell A. Patrick, Peter Moeller, Fred Dawson, Alvin Linch and H.J. Shoemaker. Eugene C. Mulder of Orange City was named general manager of the Sioux Electric Cooperative Association in 1939, a position he held for more than 40 years.

On June 30, 1938, the Sioux Center News reported that the Sioux County Rural Electrification project “is really a combination of two highline projects which have been intermittently brought to the public’s attention during the last two years. The first project originated around Hawarden, the second around Boyden. Both enterprises were started about the time of the establishment of the Rural Electrification Administration in Washington in May 1935.”

During the first year of its operation, the Sioux County cooperative built 228 miles of power lines. By October 1938, it had connections with 440 farms, rural residences and rural business places. In its July 6, 1939, edition, the Hawarden Independent reported “JUICE TURNED ON JUNE 30TH. The William Nibbelink farm home near Orange City was the first patron to receive electric service from the Sioux County rural electrification project.” Fifteen homes in the county were energized on the first day.

It took five, 10 or even 15 years for rural electrification to reach some farms in the country. But when the juice came on in a county or region, the word “drudgery” began to fade on the family farm. Electricity changed the lives of farm families, from the moment they got up early in the morning, through meals, chores, and work until they went to bed at night.

Electricity revolutionized farm work. Now livestock water tanks were filled by electric pumps and barns had power for devices like electric milk machines and egg counters. Greater efficiencies allowed farmers to expand.

Electricity brought changes that just made life safer and better, according to Wessel’s Living History Farm. “Electricity brought power for lights to work, read and sew at night; power for appliances like refrigerators and freezers to preserve food; power for small kitchen devices such as mixers and blenders; and power for other labor saving devices such as electric stoves, irons and clothes washers.”

Combined with the advent of the automobile, rural electrification did much to eliminate the disadvantages that threatened to stigmatize farm life into a second-class existence. In addition, electrification allowed farmers to better feed the burgeoning urban population.

TYPICAL DIESEL? THAT’S LIKE LEADING YOUR TRACTOR OUT TO PASTURE.

SERVICE IS STILL IN STYLE. Call us for your Cenex fuel, propane and lubricant delivery needs.

more complete additive package for a more complete burn. Keeping your off-road engines on point.

Headline in the July 6, 1939, Sioux Center News on the day before the first rural electric cooperative member was “energized.”

The life-changing nature of electricity was an emotional one for many families. Some celebrated by burying their kerosene lanterns. One farmer was quoted: “We just felt so good and rejoiceful that we thanked the Lord for it.” A woman remembered that her mother cried as the family stood in their farmyard at sunset and watched as her brother flipped the switches that lit up the newly installed light bulbs. Another woman remembered when their farmhouse was first wired for electricity: "Yeah, it was like Heaven. Then, we put in a well and had running water and we put in a bathroom. So, that was like Heaven, really." Finally, one farm wife’s comments on what the labor-saving devices meant: “We’ve got time to live.”

Sources

• Tom Morain, Iowa Heritage Illustrated, 2000. www.teachingiowahistory.org

“It’s Electric! Rural Electrification in Iowa.” Iowa Public Radio, 2014.

• North West Rural Electric Cooperative. www.nwrec.coop

Siouxland: A History of Sioux County Iowa. By G. Nelson Nieuwenhuis, Sioux County Historical Society, 1983.

• Wessels Living History Farm, York, Neb. www.livinghistoryfarm.org

• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. www.nwrec.coop/about-us/history

• “Electricity's Impact on Rural Life. The Day the Lights Came On."

By Lu Ann Jones, Tar Heel Junior Historian, 1985. www.ncpedia.org/

agriculture/electricity#

• www.electric.coop/our-organization/history

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

The federal Rural Electrification Administration loaned local cooperatives the funds to bring power to rural homes in the 1930s-1950s.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT

CARBON FARMING: SOIL HEALTH + NEW REVENUE

By Clay Craighton, Agronomist, Agoro Carbon Alliance

Carbon Farming involves implementing practices that are known to improve the rate at which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted to plant material and/or soil organic matter. It includes a variety of agricultural methods aimed at sequestering atmospheric carbon into the soil and in crop roots, wood and leaves. Practices such as: reducing tillage or moving to no tillage, introducing cover crops, improving your biodiversity on your pasture, and more are some examples of these carbon sequestering agricultural practices.

Conservation soil health practices are proven to increase profitability. With Agoro Carbon Alliance, they can also generate carbon credits that add a new revenue stream for your farm or ranch nationwide, while reducing other operational and crop input cost savings. Increased profit potential from your same acreage plus improved soil health and crop nutrient availability are some of the many benefits that can incur from implementing these practices.

WHAT ARE CARBON CREDITS AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

• A carbon credit (or “offset") is a certificate representing one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent that is either prevented from being emitted into the atmosphere or removed from the atmosphere as the result of a carbonreduction project.

• Carbon credits can be used by buyers to compensate emissions by financially enabling projects that avoid emissions or remove carbon dioxide.

• Hence, carbon credits are an important market-oriented mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.

HOW DO CARBON MARKETS WORK?

• Supply is created by project developers that develop an emissions avoidance/ reduction or removal project.

• Projects are certified by independent third-party auditors that validate against a methodology as defined by standard/ certification body (e.g. Verra Standards).

• Buyers purchase and retire the credits so their impact can be claimed towards a climate target.

• Intermediaries bring supply and demand together and maintain records of the creation and sale of credits on central registries.

Carbon pricing compares with other commodity pricing, ie. subject to market forces.

THERE ARE TWO TYPE OF CARBON MARKETS:

Compliance markets are based on government regulations and allow firms to reduce emissions for compliance purposes.

• Voluntary markets are non-regulated with participation based on self-imposed emission goals (have grown to 95 MtCo2e in 2020).

HOW CAN CREDITS BE GENERATED IN AGRICULTURE?

Global farm decarbonization can reduce annual carbon emissions by up to 1 gigaton. There are two ways to generate credits:

• Additional emissions avoidance/ reduction, e.g. variable rate fertilization, controlled-release and stabilized fertilizers, improved fertilization timing, introducing a new source of fertilizer e.g. manure application, biological introduction, etc.

• Nature based sequestration e.g. regenerative agriculture (low/ no-till to maintain integrity of top soil structure), cover crops, improved crop rotations, increased biodiversity on pasture & grassland, as well as grazing management.

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE FREEZER PIE

From TasteofHome.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 container (23.2 ounces) frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed (2-1/2 cups thawed)

• 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix

• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed

• 1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)

• Optional: Additional whipped topping and fresh strawberries

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, combine strawberries (with juices) and pudding mix; let stand until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Spread into crust.

2. Freeze at least 8 hours or overnight. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. If desired, serve with additional whipped topping and strawberries.

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

of Sioux County