Mark Kasten State Farm

“We love homemade ice cream so that’s what we decided to do,” said Sherilyn. “At that time of the year, we have strawberries and sour cherries, plus raspberries are coming into season. We thought this was a way to showcase our farm products. It proved to be a hit and we found we really liked doing it and it was something the whole family could be involved in.” The “whole family” includes their sons Liam, 15, Solomon, 13, and Christian, 11.

After success with the ice cream at the 2018 Chislic Festival, it was added to the menu at The Chislic House restaurant in Freeman in 2019. Even after the restaurant closed at the end of 2019, “we kept developing recipes just for ourselves because it was something the whole family enjoyed doing together,” Sherilyn said. “With nothing happening at the restaurant in 2020, we decided to do a pop-up shop on the weekends. Last summer, the five of us went in to sell ice cream for three hours on Saturday and Sunday nights.” The ice cream was prepared in the commercial kitchen facilities of the former Chislic House which is now occupied by Tienda y Restaurante CentroAmerica. The ice cream is also on the menu at Tienda.

The pop-up ice cream shop hit the spot with locals and was so much fun that the Ortmans are back at it again this summer. Until Labor Day, every Saturday and Sunday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., ice cream with fruit grown Will and Sherilyn Ortman run Berrybrook Organics in Turner County near Freeman. at Berrybrook Organics will be sold at a shop adjacent to the Tienda location on Highway 81. “We added root beer floats and ice cream sandwiches using cookies from a local baker. We’ve loved playing with different flavor combinations.” When it’s your New ice cream flavors this year will include several rhubarb livelihood that variations. In addition, for Schmeckfest fans, the big news is the introduction of Pfeffernusse ice cream. Pfeffernusse, counts … also known as peppernuts, are bite-sized German cookies typically flavored with anise, and are a favorite among local count on me. Mennonite ethnic groups. Looking forward, Ortmans are exploring the possibility of creating an on-farm creamery to allow them to use even more products from their farm and other organic producers in the area. The creamery will be called the Berrybrook Dairy Nook. “We’ve always been about local foods,” Sherilyn said. “Most Mark Kasten, Agent 180 N Main Ave Parker, SD 57053 Bus: 605-297-4747 mark@markkasten.com 180 N Main Ave. Parker, SD 57053 Bus: 605-297-4747 I get that. Let me give you a hand protecting what’s When you run a farm, you invest more than money. farmers are growing corn and soybeans which consumers don’t directly eat. The corn and beans are fed to livestock for 368 N Main St. Freeman, SD 57029 Bus: 605-925-7353 important to your family with insurance from State Farm® . meat or used in bio-fuels. We view the mantra ‘farmers feed the world’ a little differently. We’re interested in adding value mark@markkasten.com Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.® that translates into food which people can consume directly. CALL ME TODAY. Thankfully that’s a trend that’s growing nationally – the whole CSA (community supported agriculture) model and restaurants wanting to source their products locally. For us, we’re 205 10th St, Rock Valley raising meat, we’re raising dry goods, we can grind corn into 712-476-5419 corn meal, or grind the wheat into flour, and we’re roasting the soybeans to feed the chickens.” 209 S Main St, Inwood Will said, “We believe we're here to love our neighbor as 1001336.1 712-753-2200State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Bloomington, IL

The Ortman’s puppy Rusty hasn’t learned the command “sit” quite yet. Rusty is joined in the photo by Solomon, Liam and Christian Ortman.

ourselves. To us, that means caring about what you eat and doing our part to make sure quality food is available for those who want it.

“We’re not a big farm. We’re way more interested in adding value to the land we have versus expanding our footprint. Not everybody can get bigger and there is a tremendous amount you can grow on a small piece of land,” he said. “We’d rather not let a single product leave the driveway of the farm without having added value to it. Instead of sending a semi of grain out the driveway, I’d rather turn it into flour; or combine the beans into soup mix and sell that; or roast the soybeans for custom livestock feed,” Will said. When value is added to commodities on the farm, he said there’s a greater chance a farmer can be a “price-maker instead of being price-taker.” The Ortmans strive for their operation to be regenerative and sustainable. Their definition of those terms not only includes employing ecologically sound practices, but it also means having diversified revenue streams which will create opportunities for future generations. “Our own children are the biggest motivating factors for us doing what we do the way we do it,” Will said.

“We have the organic crops. We have the developing ice cream business. If one of our sons loves that and wants to take that on, he can pursue that. If one of our sons wants to be in charge of the marketing for our farm enterprises, he can do that. If one boy wants to take over the eggs, he can expand that as much as he wants,” he said.

Sherilyn added, “If our boys want to farm, Will is adamant about having made a way for them to do that because he feels like it’s important work.” All three of their sons attend Freeman Academy which the family actively supports. “Our youngest son, Christian, has been interested in trees and fruits and gardening since day one,” she said. “We’re putting in a very small permaculture orchard with new fruit trees. Christian was involved in researching the varieties and helped choose what we would grow. He’s watching videos about permaculture to learn the science behind that. If he wants to be an orchardist some day, the seeds of that are planted.” In addition to eggs, grass-fed/ grass-finished cattle, and dry edible beans, Ortmans are adding a small herd of pigs and meat birds to the mix of protein sources they can sell to consumers. “Those are all small-scale enterprises which any one of our sons could take over or scale it up as much as he would want to,” Will said. “The key to providing opportunities to enable future generations to stay on the farm is rooted in that diversity. Any one of those could be its own offshoot business.”