ountry C cres A
A Supplement to the Star Shopper
Friday, June 1, 2018 • Edition 8
On guard
PHOTO BY ABBY HOPP
Buddy protects Mark and Nancy Quistorff ’s sheep May 16 on their farm near West Union.
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Quistorffs’ flock protected by llama By ABBY HOPP Staff Writer WEST UNION – Pulling into the Quistorffs’ yard just outside of West Union, a visitor will likely see an unusual sight for Central Minnesota – a llama in the pasture, grazing the green grass alongside a flock of sheep. Buddy is Mark and Nancy Quistorff’s llama. He has quite a bond with both the sheep and the Quistorffs. “You often see him running and dancing with the sheep,” Mark said. “It’s like a calf in the springtime.” Buddy eats what the sheep eat and does what the sheep do. He can often be seen rolling around in the dirt like a horse. But Buddy is not just a pet. Buddy is a guard llama, doing anything it takes to protect the sheep. About 25 years ago, the Quistorffs lost six sheep. Not knowing what happened to them, they walked many miles around both the perimeter of the farm and on the farm itself, but they still could not
find the sheep or what killed them. This was alarming to the Quistorffs and inspired them to do extensive research to find something to protect their flock. Though the Quistorffs do not know what got their sheep, the animals have many predators which are often the greatest risk in raising sheep. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, common predators in Minnesota include coyotes, dogs, wolves, foxes, eagles and other birds of prey. The best way to deal with these predators is to keep a guard animal, such as a dog, donkey or llama, with the sheep at all times. The Quistorffs decided this step was a necessary one. “We live too close to town to have a guard dog and donkeys holler too much,” Mark said. So, after hours of discussion and research, the Quistorffs came to a deci-
QUISTORFFS continued on page 3
Setting goals Fiskness family aspires to farm full-time By KATELYN ASFELD Staff Writer OSAKIS – Pulling into the driveway of the Fiskness family farm outside of Osakis, goats can be seen laying in the pasture as their kids hop and kick playfully in the warm sun. The youngest of the Fiskness family, Abigail, is quick to point out the names and personalities of each goat as they approach the fence, tails wagging excitedly. “This one is Buttercup and there’s Coco,” she said. “That one’s Casper and this is Dino.” Nearly every animal on the farm has a name and the Fiskness family know the personality of each one. Ten years ago, Amber and Jed Fiskness bought their farm and were eager to begin farming. Together, with their three children, Mackenzie, 14, Zach, 12, and Abigail, 9, they raise and sell a variety of different vegetables, eggs and meat animals to over 100 customers. As they began raising a family, Jed and Amber wanted to know more about the food they bought, where it came from and how it was grown. This led them to begin growing their own produce and raising their own animals. “I love the outdoors, animals and the farming lifestyle,” Jed said. “I grew up on a dairy farm and always wanted to have a
farm of my own.” On their 72 acres, the Fiskness family raise Berkshire hogs, cattle, broiler (meat) chickens, egg-laying chickens, turkeys, goats, rabbits and sheep. They also grow an assortment of vegetables including kohlrabi, cabbage, beans, broccoli, winter squash, sweet corn and more. “Early on, we began growing vegetables for our family,” said Jed. “Then neighbors and friends heard what we were doing and they wanted to buy produce from us. That’s when we realized that there might be a market for this.” They began selling their produce six years ago by word of mouth, and now they sell on Facebook and at the Osakis Farmers Market, providing eggs, meat, vegetables and canned and baked goods. “Our most popular products are the chicken eggs, sweet corn, pumpkins and the meat chickens,” Jed said. Currently, the Fisknesses have nine head of cattle and 75 Berkshire hogs, including new litters of piglets. “I’ll sell some pigs as feeder pigs to be finished out elsewhere because I don’t have the space to grow out that many,” Jed said. “I usually like to keep 25 feeders.” When their chicken coop is at full capacity, they have 125 layer hens, each laying an egg every 25 hours. In the winter, when there is less sunlight, Jed will use artificial light to keep egg production
PHOTOS BY KATELYN ASFELD
The Fiskness family stands for a photo May 20 at their farm near Osakis. Pictured are (front): Abigail, 9; Middle: Amber (from left) and Mackenzie, 14; Back: Zach, 12 and Jed.
going as chickens require 14 hours of sunlight. The demand for their chicken eggs is high amongst their customers. “We’re almost always short of eggs,” he said. “Very rarely do we have extra eggs. We’ve actually had different people approach us that wanted large quantities, and unfortunately, I couldn’t help them.” They plan to build a third coop for more hens to meet the growing demands
for chicken eggs. They own a diverse flock of chickens that produce white, brown and green eggs. “We do a little bit of everything for chicken breeds. Our main four that we’ve been raising lately include White Leghorn, Barred Rock, Buff Orpington and Ameraucana,” he said.
FISKNESS continued on page 6