May 2022 | www.AgeMedia.pub
Faith / Family / Friends / Farming
Meet the
HOOGENDOORN Family Brent Hoogendoorn of Rock Rapids. Story begins on page 6.
of Lyon County
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LYON COUNTY FAMILY
Brent Hoogendoorn is using advanced genetics and intensive management to build a strong sheep operation.
SELF-RELIANT PRODUCER STRIVES FOR SELF-SUFFICIENT SHEEP By Bob Fitch
Brent Hoogendoorn is a self-reliant sheep producer and he manages his Polypay flock to be self-sufficient.
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Brent is building on a family tradition. His grandfather, Ron Zwart of Hawarden, is a long-time sheep producer. His parents, Dennis and Joan, raised and fed sheep after starting out with a farrow-to-finish hog operation and raising cattle. According to Brent, “They started with 40 western ewes in 1999. With the pig market being junk, it was a good time to try the sheep business.” Today, Dennis works for
Cooperative Farmers Elevator and Joan works for Whispering Heights nursing home in Rock Valley. They continue to live on the sheep production site east of Lester. Brent and his older brother, Mark, bought their parent’s sheep in 2010. “Then we began to change things to match up with where we thought the future was going. We wanted to try to get away from the
old school and join the new technology crowd.” They adopted accelerated lambing production. “The ewes lamb three times in two years – February, September, and the following May. It adds about 30-40 percent to the bottom line. The lambs in February pretty much pay the feed bill for the ewes and the lambs. There’s a little bit of profit and the lambs in the fall are a little bit of a bonus because the feed’s already been paid for.” About 70 percent of the ewes that lambed in February will breed in the fall. “It takes about a year to transition to get everything synced up. It requires a lot of management to keep that all straight – to make sure the right sheep are in the right pens and getting the right feed.” While Brent and Mark, along with their younger brother, Kyle, share ownership of the flock, Brent runs the operation on a daily basis. Mark is the sheep manager at the USDA Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., and is in process of starting a flock at his home acreage there. Kyle works for a custom harvest and farming operation near Nevada, Iowa. He and his wife Emily, raise National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) registered Polypay breeding stock with the goal of raising superior genetic rams and ewe lambs. They also raise cattle, Guineas, and Pea fowl. “We buy his NSIP rams to better our genetics here,” said Brent. “They are genetically selected, top-of-the-line rams. NSIP is all data-based, tracking maternal wean weights, number of lambs born, number of lambs weaned. NSIP pretty much took the beef industry model and adapted it for use with sheep. You can choose the best rams whether you want a more maternal line or a more terminal line.” Genetic predictability is achievable through NSIP’s Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs). The bottom line goal is produce a superior and more consistent product for customers, whether they are feeders, processors or consumers.
Vanessa and Brent Hoogendoorn with their sons, Jaxon, Garrett, Lincoln and Brentley.
In addition to the NSIP breeding stock, Brent also utilizes the Pipestone Lamb and Wool Management Program to finetune his approach. This education and consulting program is offered by Minnesota West Community & Technical College in Pipestone, Minn. Through short courses, tours, online courses and newsletters, the program helps sheep producers increase income and profit. The Pipestone system of sheep production revolves around lowest cost feed ingredients, efficient labor use, low input costs, high production levels, and intensive management. It’s based on achieving optimum production of a quality product. Maximum profit is more important than maximum production. “It’s funny how many sheep we can run on the yard versus cattle. In this area, a rough estimate on pasture you can figure on is 10 ewes for one cow-calf pair. If you look at it from a cost standpoint, if you get 20 lambs out of 10 ewes, and we get $200 a lamb, that’s $4,000 an acre – compared to the cow-calf guy who sells one calf an acre for $1,100,” he said. Brent also manages a pig finishing unit his brother Mark owns across the road from the sheep site. Brent owns a bedded
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barn with pigs at his home place east of Rock Rapids. “My barn doesn’t have a pit. The pigs are bedded on corn stalks and have outdoor access. They have just about the same amount of square footage inside as they have outside. I have a contract with an integrator who has a niche market for antibiotic-free pork.”
Lincoln, Jaxon and Brentley enjoy lots of outdoor time.
Brentley Hoogendoorn has some little lambs, their fleece as white as snow.
He built the pig barn east of Rock Rapids with the goal of eventually using it for an expansion of his sheep operation. “The pigs help with cash flow and take care of bills from other places so we can expand here and get to the genetics we want. That takes time.” In addition to the sheep and pigs, he works for a neighbor doing field work in the spring and fall. He said it’s been beneficial to be partners with his brothers, but it’s time to move to the next stage. “Mark just bought an acreage in Nebraska. We get along, but we both want to do our own thing. I’m glad we worked together because it’s benefited both of us.” Brent hopes to soon build a new fully insulated facility and triple his ewe numbers. Because he’s maxed out on production space on the farm, he’s begun selling ewe lambs as replacements for other producers. “We’re pretty picky about what we keep. We select for better genetics and they’ve got to be a good sound ewe – deep chested, good legs,
Siblings Kyle, Mark, Amy and Brent Hoogendoorn. Photo by Dear Jane Photography.
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good feet. And the most important trait is they’ve got to be self-sufficient. Because I’ve got quite a bit going on, I can’t be here babying them. They’ve got to take care of themselves.” He enjoys working on his own. “That’s the way I like it. It just helps the bottom line. We save Saturdays for if I need a little help. Then Dad or Mom or my sister, Amy, can help.” Amy is a senior at West Lyon High School and has enjoyed showing sheep at the fair.
Joan and Dennis Hoogendoorn. Photo by Dear Jane Photography.
When Brent was at West Lyon, “I was more into dairy back then. I worked at a couple dairies and went to school for dairy science at Northeast Iowa Community College in Calmar. But it helped me – with nutrition, genetics and management style.” After college, he raised some bottle calves. “After we’d get done lambing, I’d pack the barn with baby calves and I had huts outside. But now it seems everybody wants to do it and there’s not much money in it.” Life isn’t all about sheep. He and his wife, Vanessa, have been married since 2015. She is a therapist who works at Sprout Play Therapy in Sioux Falls. She was born in Fairmont, Minn., and grew up in Sioux Falls. “I took a city girl and moved her out to the country. She has no interest in the sheep, but is glad her boys are growing up on the farm,” Brent said.
Amy Hoogendoorn showing sheep at the Lyon County Fair.
Vanessa’s work at Sprout Play assists children and their families to find meaningful tools and strategies to help children grow and thrive. According to the late psychologist and play therapy pioneer Virginia Mae Axline, “Play Therapy is based upon the fact that play is the child’s natural medium of self expression ... It is an opportunity which is given to the child to ‘play out’ his feelings and problems just as in certain types of adult therapy an individual ‘talks out’ his difficulties.” In addition to play therapy, Sprout Play offers counseling services for children and their families. Vanessa and the other therapists in the practice collaborate with teachers and daycare providers to develop techniques to improve behaviors. The couple has four sons: Brentley turns five in May; twins Lincoln and Jaxon are three; and Garrett is six months old.
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Brent joked that with four boys growing up under their roof, “I figure I’ve got free labor until they’re 18.” Brentley enjoys being with his dad and the sheep. “He’s still a little intimidated by some of the older animals. He loves to chase; he’s got his favorite rattle paddle he takes with.” Brent says the boys are all about being outdoors. “We try to go fishing at the Rock River as much as we can. I think the boys like to throw rocks in the river as much as they do fishing, but that’s fine with me. Since the boys are so close in age, I try to do one-on-one time as much as I can.”
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KEEPING LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE
The St. Louis Globe Democrat featured Alton native Roscoe “Wattie” Holm after he had six hits, two runs and two RBIs during a doubleheader on July 1, 1928.
ALTON BALLPLAYERS REACHED THE MAJOR LEAGUES WITH THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS Spring signals a return to the baseball diamond for players from Little League to Major League. Almost 100 years ago, two ballplayers with Alton connections got their shot at the big leagues.
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Roscoe “Wattie” Holm was born in Peterson, Iowa, and also lived in Granville, but called Alton his home for much of his youth. He was a regular player on the Alton semi-pro team. Herman “Hi” Bell was born in Kentucky, but played for multiple semi-pro ball teams in northwestern Iowa. He played on-and-off for the Alton team and married Alton native Emma Goebel. Before he married Goebel, Bell would live with a sister in Sibley during the summer semi-pro season. In 1924, Holm and Bell were both rookies in Major League Baseball – and both played for the St. Louis Cardinals. Holm was a utility man, with the ability to play outfield, third base and even catcher. Over 81 games, his batting average was .294.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that rookie Herman “Hi” Bell gave up only two runs over 18 innings of pitching in a doubleheader on July 19, 1924. He was the last MLB pitcher to start both games of a doubleheader.
PITCHED 18 INNINGS AND WON 2 GAMES IN A SINGLE DAY Bell was typically a middle innings reliever. He achieved his greatest claim to fame though on July 19, 1924, when he became the last pitcher in Major League history to start and win both ends of a double header. In the first game, he held the Boston Braves hitless until the eighth inning and held them hitless for four innings in the second game. Bell won only three games his first season, and two came in this double-header, 6-1 and 2-1. A St. Louis Star & Times columnist wrote about the doubleheader, double-win: “Bell breezed home with the triumph – his first of the season … Who’d pitch the second half? ‘Gimme the ball,’ said Big Hi in the clubhouse. ‘I’ll take ‘em again.’” For Hi Bell that day, he pitched 18 innings, gave up a total of six hits and two walks, and allowed only two runners across home plate. A writer in the St. Louis Post Dispatch described Bell as “big-fisted, raw-boned and with a deep love for rough and tumble.” Following the end of the 1924 season, the Cardinals made a barnstorming trip which included an exhibition game against the Alton team. Home town heroes Holm and Bell suited up for Alton, with Hi pitching and Wattie playing catcher. School classes were closed at 2 p.m. to allow the children to watch the game. An estimated 1,700 fans turned out to watch the Cardinals edge Alton, 4-2.
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ALTON BOYS WERE PART OF THE CARDINALS FIRST WORLD SERIES WIN Two years later, Holm and Bell were members of the Cardinals team which beat the New York Yankees in the 1926 World Series, four games to three. After the pivotal game six when St. Louis tied the series at three games apiece, the St. Louis Globe Democrat reported comments by future Hall of Famer and the Cardinals player-manager Rogers Hornsby: “Hornsby praised the well-rounded play of Roscoe Holm, a Cardinal substitute in today’s game. He called attention to the hitting and fielding of the center fielder …”
The Alton Democrat reported on the Cardinals’ visit for an exhibition game in October 1924.
Holm played in the World Series again in 1928 when the Cardinals were National League champions. Bell apparently wasn’t on the team’s active roster at the time, although his career with the Cardinals spanned the seasons of 1924-1930.
St. Louis lost four straight games to the Yankees in ‘28. But a keen observer – future Hall of Famer John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants – told the New York Journal American that Holm made the finest defensive play of the World Series. The Yankees’ Mark Keonig had come to bat with a man on second and he hit the ball into short right field and it looked like it would fall for a hit. McGraw said: “To play this ball safely meant to let the runner score. Instead of doing that, Holm started for the ball with all the speed he had in him … he dived headlong toward where the ball would fall and it stuck in his outstretched hands. Being off balance and going so fast, Holm turned a complete somersault, but came up with the ball in his hands.” Unfortunately, that catch was Holm’s last major contribution to the Cardinals. He was injured in May 1929 when he ran into the outfield wall at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
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Former Alton baseball players Wattie Holm and Hi Bell shared a headline in the St. Louis Globe Democrat after both played well in a Cardinal exhibition game in April 1927.
Cardinals manager William McKechnie discussed his outfield plan in the St. Louis Post Dispatch prior to the start of the 1928 World Series. McKechnie said, “Holm has done about everything on the team … He hits well and has proved himself on the defense.”
His batting average slumped and he spent 1930-1932 in the minor leagues except for one short stint back in the show in 1932. Still with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1930, Bell pitched the eighth inning of game six of the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. Bell was out of the Major Leagues in 1931, but returned in 1932-34 for the New York Giants. The Giants beat the Washington Senators for the World Series title in 1933. Just like in ’30, his participation was limited – he pitched the eighth inning in the third game, the Giants’ only loss of the series. But Bell enjoyed taking home a second World Series ring. He retired after the 1934 season. Bell eventually opened a restaurant in Glendale, Calif., and died of a heart attack on June 7, 1949, about a month short of his 52nd birthday. HOLM’S POST-BASEBALL LIFE ENDS IN TRAGEDY Not quite a year later, Holm’s life came to an end as well – and it was a gruesome story. Growing up in Alton, Roscoe Holm excelled in football, basketball and baseball. In 1920, at the age of 19, he was drawing his first payday as a professional athlete, collecting the princely sum of $300 per month as a catcher for an amateur baseball club in Worthington, Minn. His father, knowing baseball careers don’t last long, pushed Wattie to attend the University of Iowa to get a degree in dentistry like his brother (at one time, his brother pitched
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for the Doon town team). Wattie was elected president of his freshman class, but lost his collegiate athletic eligibility because he played minor league professional ball the summer between his freshman and sophomore year. Holm moved quickly through the minor leagues before being called up to the Cardinals in 1924. By 1932, his big league baseball career was over. After leaving the Major Leagues, he opened up a gas station in Storm Lake in 1933. In 1937, he was appointed deputy sheriff of Buena Vista County. Throughout this time, he continued to play baseball for semi-professional teams in Storm Lake, Alton and Aurelia; and, for a time, managed the Storm Lake Whitecaps, a semi-pro team. In 1946, while living in Linn Grove, Holm and a partner announced they were going to manufacture baseball bats. The bats they produced were going to be named “The Hawkeye Wonders.” Apparently, a company had placed an order for 100 dozen. However, the assembly line that would lead to riches never materialized. Instead, the venture became another in a long line of disappointments for Holm. Finally, he worked for The Slagle Lumber Company in Everly and then Sportsmans Store in Spencer. He, his wife and daughter were planning to move to Linn Grove, Iowa, in spring 1950. He quit at the Sportsman Store a few days before the fateful date of May 19, 1950. On that morning in Everly, Roscoe Holm shot and killed his wife, shot and injured his daughter, and then turned the gun on himself and took his own life. His wife, Ella, had
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Herman Bell played for the New York Giants from 1932-34. He was part of the Giants’ 1933 World Series champion team.
been a seventh and eighth grade teacher in Everly and had secured a new position at a ladies’ clothing store in Linn Grove. Their daughter, Margaret, 14, was struck by one bullet which entered her left wrist and lodged near the elbow. Several months after the funeral service, Billy Southworth, Holm’s roommate from their Major League days, and his wife took Margaret into their home to raise and educate her.
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Media members and friends speculated that Roscoe Holm was discouraged and depressed because every business enterprise since the end of his baseball career had failed. The inability to achieve success off the diamond apparently led him to a maddening abyss of despair. On the day of Holm’s death, Clay County Sheriff Elmer F. Zinn said that two rings were found on Holm’s fingers. One was inscribed, “St. Louis Cardinals. World Champions 1926.” The other bore the inscription, “Rochester Red Wings. Champions 1931.”
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SOURCES • • • • • • • • •
Siouxland: A History of Sioux County, Iowa. By G. Nelson Nieuwenhuis, 1983. Alton Democrat. Baseball-Reference.com Duane Linn, “Wattie’s Final Out.” Society for American Baseball Research, Field of Dreams Chapter. St. Louis Post Dispatch St. Louis Star & Times. St. Louis Globe Democrat. MightyCaseyBaseball.com. HistoryofCardinals.com.
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SUNSET. PHOTO BY DANIEL HOEY
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PLYMOUTH COUNTY FAMILY
A QUADRUPLE HELPING OF FAMILY STORIES By Bob Fitch
The sheep pens at the Hawkins place have been stretched to the limit this spring. By mid-April, their ewes had already delivered six sets of quads and 24 sets of triplets. Likewise, the length of this story is stretched to the limit because of a “quad” of good story-tellers. Roger and Kathleen Hawkins and their son and daughter-in-law, Travis and Kaylene Hawkins, all have stories to tell about family legacies in farming. Roger and Kathleen live on the family home place north of Le Mars. Travis and Kaylene operate Hawkins Sheep Valley Ranch south of Akron. Travis does the crop farming on Hawkins land and on land with roots in his mother’s Muth and Benson families. Travis represents the fifth generation to farm the Hawkins acres. More than 130 years ago, Roger’s great grandfather moved from Ireland to Canada and then later to northwestern Iowa where he purchased the farm in 1890. “When I was a youngster, we had everything on this farm,” said Roger. “We had dairy cows, a Black Angus herd, sows and pigs, broilers and laying hens, and we had sheep. We separated the cream and took it to Hull. We took the eggs to Sheldon and that’s what paid for the groceries on Saturday night. That’s the way farming was in those days because we needed everything to survive.” Travis and Kaylene Hawkins with their sons, Richard and John. 20
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The diversity found on farms during his younger days has mostly faded away. While today’s operations are bigger, one
thing that hasn’t changed is the tenacity of farmers: “Farmers never give up … other than when our health gets to the point we can’t farm anymore, we stick around,” he said. While their cattle and hog feeding operations are long gone, Roger and Kathleen are still active on the crop side. According to Roger, “In the spring, Travis does the planting and I haul the seed. In the summertime, we do some hay for his sheep. In the fall, he runs the combine, my wife runs the grain cart and I run the semi. We’re still involved, but I don’t know how many more years I’ll be driving a semi.” Travis and Kaylene’s oldest son, Richard, 6½, made sure to interject that he helps Grandma drive the grain cart and Grandma said younger grandson, John, 2½, helps out, too. Kathleen’s parents and grandparents were farmers south of Ireton. “My dad started with nothing. He went through some hard times. But they were savers and they put the money back into the farm and bought more land. They worked hard, they did it themselves.” Her father died in a farm accident when she was 18. Her brother took over and her mom was hands-on with field work. Kathleen emulated her mom by purchasing her own farm land and by working in the field. “I’ve been on tractors all my life. When I was in high school, I windrowed the hay. When we were first married, my father-in-law didn't think I needed to help with the field work and drive tractors. But, after he had heart issues, I think he asked me to help.” Kathleen is a graduate of Westmar College and taught school for six years before becoming a stay-at-home mom and volunteer. Over the years, she’s been active in the Plymouth County Cattlewomen, the county 4-H and Youth Committee and at Seney United Methodist Church. Roger is a long-time church council member plus has been in county leadership positions for the pork producers, cattlemen’s, Farm Bureau and Sportsman’s Club. He went to South Dakota State University with the intention of becoming an ag engineer. “After the first semester, I found out I wasn’t smart enough for that.” He switched his major to animal science and worked for $1 an hour baling hay and hauling manure for his dad and uncle. Three days after graduating from SDSU, he got his draft notice. He joined the U.S. Navy and served four years.
Kathleen and Richard Hawkins were recognized as an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader in 2018. Kathleen is third from left, daughter Emily, Roger, daughter-in-law Kaylene, son Travis holding his son Richard, and Gov. Kim Reynolds.
The Hawkins family in August 2021: Kaylene and Travis with son, Richard (front) and John; Roger and Kathleen; Emily and Matt Casillas with sons Izayah and Anthony.
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“When I was in the navy, I figured out I couldn’t work for anybody else. I’d had enough being told what to do, when to do and how to do.” So he returned to farming. “I think I got in at the right time. I paid plenty of rent at the time, but that’s what was available.” He was fortunate to be in a position to purchase land during the 1980s. The Hawkins family is committed to soil and water conservation. In 2018, Roger and Kathleen received the Outstanding Conservation Farmer Award from the Sioux County Soil & Water Conservation District. For 40 years, Kathleen has been improving the conservation ethic on her land in Washington Township of Sioux County. She has installed terraces, grassed waterways, tile lines, the county’s first rock chute outlet. Roger farmed this land for many years and, since 2008, both the
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looked pretty cruddy at the time. I thought I needed to do something different.” He graduated from SDSU with a degree in animal science. Then he studied veterinary medicine at Iowa State University, graduating in 2008. He worked at the Akron Veterinary Clinic full-time from 2008-2016. Although “retired,” from that career, he has maintained his veterinary license.
Above: The Richard and Kathleen Hawkins farm north of Le Mars. Below: Hawkins Sheep Valley Ranch south of Akron.
Travis and Kaylene met when she was visiting her aunt and uncle in Orange City. At the time, her uncle was the pastor at Seney United Methodist Church. Kaylene said her aunt and Travis’ mom conspired to get the pair together. The romance started with email correspondence and grew from there. Kaylene visited during lambing season and that’s when Travis knew the relationship was the real deal. When the office manager at Akron Veterinary Clinic asked how it went, Travis said, “Kaylene was not in the corner puking and she found lambing fascinating, rather than thinking it was disgusting.” Kaylene said, “My dad’s a science teacher, so nothing really grosses me out.” The couple married in June 2012.
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Roger and Kathleen’s daughter, Emily, is an associate editor of acquisitions for the University of Nebraska Press. She’s married to Matt Casillas and has two step-sons, Izayah and Anthony. Kathleen said Emily loves the farm and always returns home for the Plymouth County Fair. “We only had horses because of Emily. She wanted a horse just like I did when I was a girl. My dad and mom said ‘no’ to me. But Emily's dad was convinced and, in the course of a few years, each of us had a horse of our own.”
Even though his parents fed cattle and hogs, Travis’ first 4-H livestock project was showing six lambs when he was 10 years old. “My parents gave me a small amount of money to start out with. I made a little bit of money, so the next year I raised seven, and the next year I raised eight. I did that from age 10 until about 15. Then I bought a few ewes.”
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | May 2022
In high school, he was inspired by a demonstration presented by a veterinarian from South Dakota State University. “The farm economy
Kaylene spent much of her childhood at Milligan, Neb., and a short time in Kansas. Her parents are teachers and they both grew up on farms. She attended Doane University in Crete where she majored in mass communications and religious studies. She has a master’s degree in history from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. (Her family’s century farm was the subject of her master’s thesis.) She took part in ROTC during college and decided to join the U.S. Army after graduation. Kaylene said she and Travis have complementary skill sets for growing and improving their flock of sheep. “All of the things we’ve done over the years have worked together to prepare us well for raising sheep.” He knows animal genet-
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ics, veterinary medicine and business. She learned nurturing skills when she was teaching young people in ROTC and when she was a rear detachment commander helping to care for the families of deployed personnel. She’s applied her military training in security, personnel, project planning, maintenance and supplies to the logistics of running a sheep farm.
John and Richard Hawkins with a pair of bottle lambs.
Travis said they have a closed ewe flock to enhance biosecurity. They also continuously strive to improve herd genetics. According to Travis, “We’ve brought in genetics that are a more meaty type with a larger ribeye area. So we’re up to a pretty respectable size lamb chop.” Suffolk rams improve meat quality; Polypay rams make good ewe lambs. One of the qualities they select for is prolificacy, although not necessarily for quads. They’ve had so many triplets and quads this spring that they frequently ran out of space in the lambing barn. Kaylene said, “Everybody who says sheep are stupid haven’t been around them much. I don’t think they’re stupid; I just think they’re cautious by nature – they get eaten by wolves and coyotes. They have to be very protective.”
Richard Hawkins won a blue ribbon in photography last summer at the Plymouth County Fair. “Yeah, I beated my mom,” he said. “I got a blue ribbon and a red ribbon. My mom got a red ribbon and a white ribbon.”
She continued, “They’re comical sometimes, they’ll jump over things that aren’t there.” Travis added, “And once one jumps over the imaginary object, then all of them do.” Kaylene said she’s had sheep jump over her and she’s 5’4” tall. “They’re like deer in many ways if they get startled. You’ve got to be care-
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ful. And rams are not to be trusted. They have extremely strong heads. I’ve been hit pretty hard.” The majority of their stock is sold at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock, but they did begin direct marketing a portion of their yield in 2013. The lamb is processed at Hudson Meats & Sausage, a USDA inspected plant. It is sold at Woudstra Meat Market in Orange City; Hudson Meats in Hudson, S.D.; and directly by the Hawkins family by calling 712-568-2662. FRIENDS AND FAMILY Travis is a past president of the Northwest Iowa Sheep Producers Association. Kaylene said, “Sheep producers are fun to be around. We get together with them three of four times a year. We’ve done tours and BBQ’s. They’re like family. Sheep people are humble people. All the men have beards and all the wives know how to pull lambs.”
Most important to the couple are their sons, Richard and John. One of the reasons Travis left his veterinary practice was to ensure he wasn’t working around the clock and could be home fully engaged with Kaylene raising their boys.
didn’t learn anything about farming today, but I think I learned how the Hawkins family has done it over five generations.”
Richard and John are at an awkward age where it’s tough to just set them in a stroller while their mom and dad are working in the barn, but they aren’t old enough to not have an ever-present eye on them. “The boys love to be out there when they can,” Kaylene said. “Sometimes we stick them in a pen and tell them to wait and watch and listen.” At an Annie’s Project education day, she got some friendly advice when an older farm woman encouraged her to keep taking the boys to the barn. “Take your time, be safe, but keep them out there,” the woman said. Kaylene came home that evening and thought: “Oh my gosh, I
This year’s first set of quads at Hawkins Sheep Valley Ranch. Photo by Kaylene Hawkins.
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SIOUX COUNTY FAMILY
FAMILY PULLS TOGETHER ON THE FARM, IN THE SHOP AND ON THE TRACK by Bob Fitch
Blame the drought on Ken Kooima. The abundance of his dry humor is influencing the weather patterns. Once upon a time, Ken and Ruth Kooima were big into hogs. They had a farrow-to-finish operation when they moved to the current farm site in May 1971. “Ruth helped me for many, many, many years,” Ken said. “We had intercoms in the kids’ bedrooms and in the hog house. She’d be working the hogs until the kids started crying.” One day Ruth was helping in the finishing shed. Ken said, “We were working the hogs and I think I might have hit her with my shock stick and she ended up on top of the hog feeder. Or was it you saw a mouse?” Ruth rolled her eyes at him. “Another time we were sorting the cattle and she was down at the end of the alley, directing which pen they had to go into and here we had a wild one come by her and kicked up his back legs and hit Ruth right in the chest, kind of threw her a few feet. I said just the wrong thing: ‘Are you going to get up or are you just going to lay there?’” Ruth replied with some spitfire: “Boy, I got up and I went right to the house. That was the end of that!” “So I had to finish by myself,” Ken said. In addition to being roughed up by livestock and raising three children, Ruth was also a nurse at Hegg Memorial Hospital for 40 years. “There were times I’d work all night, come home in the morning, change clothes, and go out to the hog building,” she said.
Kurt and Megan Kooima with their daughters, Sophia, Kensley and Isabella. Photo by Ashley Dekkers Photography. 26 The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | May 2022
Today, Ken and Ruth farm and feed cattle just south of Rock Valley with their son, Kurt, and his wife, Megan. Kurt is
also a partner in D&K Repair and Megan is the principal at Ireton Christian School. Ken said Kurt loved farm equipment from the get-go. “I fixed a bed for him behind the seat of the tractor and he’d come along.” After Kurt graduated from high school, he went to Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon to study truck and diesel mechanics. While he was still in school, he got a job at a local tractor dealership. According to Ken, “Kurt came home and said he’d gotten his ‘dream job.’ He was working in the wash bay, which was the lowest spot on the totem pole.” After graduating from NCC, Kurt went to work for an area implement dealer. But Ken found he needed his son closer to home. “One fall, I had cattle get out of the pen, over the fence. I called Kurt and told him to get home because I needed him. He came home pretty quick, but he told me ‘Dad, I’m not working for you. I can’t just leave my job whenever I want.’” Not long after that, Kurt and his friend, Dave Rozeboom, were talking about starting a repair business of their own. Ken said, “I thought that was a good chance for me to have Kurt at home. I had been thinking about putting up a new machine shed anyway. I told them if they wanted to start their business, I’d finish off part of the shed and they could have their business in there. We never dreamed it was going to turn into what it is today.” Ruth and Ken Kooima
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An aerial view of D&K Repair, which Dave Rozeboom and Kurt Kooima operate just south of Rock Valley.
Kurt and Dave started D&K repair on January 1, 2004. The business focuses on repair of farm equipment and semi-trucks and it took off quickly. By 2010, D&K built their own shop on the next property south of the farm. They’ve added on twice and are preparing to add on for a third time. Kurt said, “We employ nine or 10 people. We’ve got four ag mechanics and two truck mechanics.” They also buy and sell used tractors. Kurt and Dave both volunteer on the trades division advisory board at NCC. In succeeding years, Kooima’s also changed the look of the farm operation. “Kurt didn’t like hogs, not at all,” Ken said. “So we tore the hog buildings down and expanded our cattle business.” They incorporated as Red Rock Cattle Inc. Kurt’s cousin and good friend, Korrie Kuyper, has been running daily feedlot operations for eight years. “We couldn’t do what we do without him,” Kurt said.
D&K Repair has expanded twice and the third addition is on its way.
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The cattle company was named in honor of the Red Rock tractor pulling team, owned by Kurt and partners Dave Rozeboom and Barry Haverhals. They built Red Rock in 2006; and 2007 was their first season. In 2014, they brought home the class championship from the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky. Kurt, Dave and Barry share driving duties and Red Rock has been the points champion the last two years in the Super Farm
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Red Rock has been high point champion the past two years in the Super Farm Class on the Outlaw Circuit. Kurt Kooima, Dave Rozeboom and Barry Haverhals each get a chance in the driver’s seat during competition.
Class of the Outlaw Truck & Tractor Pulling Association. When Kurt and Megan were first dating, she had never been to a tractor pull, but picked up on his love of the competition quickly. In fact, she surprised him at their wedding by having the ring bearer drive a “Red Rock” customized pedal tractor down the aisle. Megan was born in Sioux Center, but grew up in Sioux Falls. She was living in Lincoln, Neb., when they met. Ken told the story: “One day, Kurt said he had to leave early to go to Omaha. I asked him: ‘What’s in Omaha?’ He said “There’s a girl there … and she’s quite a girl.’” Kurt answered, “I did not say that.” “Yes, you did,” Ken replied. According to Kurt, “I said this might be a wasted trip.” Megan said, “We met on ChristianMingle.com. I did a little research before I met him. I called my aunt and uncle who lived in Sheldon and asked them if they knew who this Kurt was and see if I was going to get myself into who knows what. “We met in a WalMart parking lot. I got in his Tahoe, never having 30
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The Kooima girls take a break from the heat at a tractor pull last summer.
met him before. I let one of my friends know that if she didn’t hear from me in three hours to call the police,” she said. The WalMart rendezvous proved to be an answer to prayer. “Just about daily, Ruth and I would pray that the right girl would come into Kurt’s life,” Ken said. Ruth added, “We’re pretty glad we live just down the road when they had these three little precious girls so we could come and rock them at night or whatever they wanted us to do.” Kurt and Megan’s daughters are Sophia, 6, and twins, Kensley and Isabella, 4. They spend their day at Ireton Christian School where their mom has been the principal for two years. Megan said the teachers and board at ICS are devoted to providing students with a balanced Christ-centered education and a solid foundation for service in God’s world. Coincidentally, Paige De Jong, an older first cousin to the girls, teaches Kensley and Isabella at Kings of the Kingdom Preschool, which is located at ICS. Paige is the daughter of Ken and Ruth’s daughter, Kim, who lives in Orange City and works
at Interstates. Kim is married to Jamie Nibbelink, who works at HiWay Chevrolet Buick in Rock Valley. Ken and Ruth’s other daughter, Kandi, is a preschool teacher at Rock Valley Christian. She’s married to Brent Van Oort, who works at Kooima Laser. Ken and Ruth have nine grandchildren and one great grandson. With both the family and the farm, “There’s been some good years and some bad years,” Ken said. “Farming’s been good. There’s no occupation that has to have such a reliance on God and faith. We’re dry right now, but we’ve got to believe the Lord is going to send the rain pretty soon. We got the lesson learned last year that the Lord doesn’t need much rain to give us good crops. We had record yield last year on just a little bit of rain.” Thinking about their granddaughters – Sophia, Kensley and Isabella – and the years raising their own son and daughters, Ken said, “There’s no place like the farm to raise kids. They got their cats and their dogs. They want a horse, but Grandpa’s kind of holding them back on that.”
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A FRIEND FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
A SANCTUARY FOR THE SOUL by Bob Fitch
Faith and family are the two cornerstones of a unique retreat center located near Tripp, S.D., just south of the Hutchinson County line. “I always had a dream to honor the memory of our ancestors and to do it in a way that’s faith-based and tells the story of immigrant families,” said Gary Jerke, who, with his wife, Janice, developed and operate a rural retreat center called “The Farm.” It is a nonprofit organization overseen by a ninemember volunteer board under the name Faith & Family First Inc. Gary said the intention is to focus on what he calls the “8 F’s.” The first two “F’s” are the foundation for everything else – faith and family. “I’ve always felt they are the cornerstones of our society. If you don’t have a strong faith and a strong family network, then our society is going to crumble,” he said. The next “F” is freedom – they are working with groups such as the VFW and the American Legion to develop a patriotic freedom display. Other “F” themes are fitness and health, financial well-being, farm life, and folklore and fun. Of course, farm life wouldn’t be fun if one overlooked the “F” of food. “Kuchen and chislic are two of South Dakota’s state foods and, of course, those are traditions from our local German-Russian ancestors.” When Gary and Jan give tours of the local area, there are usually stops featuring kuchen and chislic. They also plan to have cooking and canning classes. Over a calendar year, programs will be developed around each of the eight “F’s.”
Jan and Gary Jerke of Tripp. 32
The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | May 2022
“One of the expressions I like to use for the property is that it’s a sanctuary for the soul. Many people who come here find the environment allows them to get
right with God or to define what they need to work on within themselves.” The Farm is located on the original Jerke family homestead. The primary five acres includes Gary’s childhood home – a 1917 Sears & Roebuck kit-built house which has been remodeled and refurbished inside and out. They added a wrap-around porch and a wheelchair-friendly ramp. The first-floor bedroom and bathroom are handicap-accessible, as is most of the property and facilities. The house has a modern kitchen and sleeps 12. However, they did have a church group of 45 people from Mitchell – many brought sleeping bags and slept in tents, the tree house and the barn. Typically, the Jerke’s do not provide food service, although Gary and Jan might be convinced to make some kuchen. In addition, it’s possible to have an event catered by one of the local Hutterite colonies.
Gary Jerke's childhood home, a 1917 Sears & Roebuck kit-built house. They’ve refurbished it as a guest house at The Farm retreat center.
There’s an outdoor stage for concerts and ceremonies, an outdoor stock tank splash pool, and a fire pit. The authentic Amish-built barn is heated and air-conditioned and includes German-Russian historical displays and state-of-the-art meeting space for up to 90 people. It also has a kitchen. The Farm clearly identifies itself as a Christian nonprofit with a mission to provide an alcohol-free, drug-free and smoke-free experience to those seeking tranquility. Gary and Jan welcome family reunions, weddings, prayer retreats, class reunions, and corporate retreats and planning sessions. “It is such a peaceful setting,” Gary said. “It’s a gravel road and we don’t get a lot of traffic. You don’t have any of the peripheral noise of even a small town. You can hear the rooster crowing, the sheep bellering and once in a while a horse neighing. You just kind of find yourself.”
The lower level meeting space in the Amish-built barn at The Farm.
The property features 37 acres of native prairie pasture. “It’s never been turned over, it’s never been grazed. You can walk out in it and feel what Laura Ingalls Wilder might have felt,” he said. Gary is an expert on the story of Germans from Russia who settled in Dakota Territory. Except for a settlement in Sandusky, Ohio, more German-Russians first settled in South Dakota than anyplace else. Hutchinson County and all of its neighboring counties have elements of the Germans from Russian people and culture. Gary said, “The core of the German-Russian culture – even more so than North Dakota and north-central South Dakota – is Hutchinson County. At one time, Hutchinson County was likely the most ethnically identifiable county in the country because it was virtually all Germanic-speaking people.”.
The stock tank splash pool at The Farm.
With an eye towards preserving memories for their own and others’ children and grandchildren, Gary said, “People need to talk to people. They need to put away their computers and iPads and smartphones. They need to sit down with their family and their neighbors – especially the elderly – and ask them questions. Dig into their stories and wisdom – it’s history that makes life fuller and more complete.” For information about room and facility rates, go to www.experiencethefarm.com, call 605-505-1233 or find them on Facebook.
An Amish-made quilt in a bedroom of the house. May 2022 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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