ountry C cres A
A Supplement to the Star Shopper
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Friday, October 5, 2018 • Edition 14
From hobby to business
Tabatts sell variety of fall décor By KATELYN ASFELD Staff Writer
LONG PRAIRIE – A sure sign of fall is when the weather becomes cool, leaves begin to fall, days get shorter and pumpkins are in season. Amongst the fields of large green leaves and yellow flowers, one can spot bright orange pumpkins peeking out, ripe and ready to be picked. Many Americans enjoy the brightly-colored fruit, from home décor to
carving and baking. For over 25 years, the Tabatts in Long Prairie have been growing and selling pumpkins, as well as squash, gourds and other fall décor, to those who relish autumn activities and décor. As a child, Jerome Tabatt had a garden with his family where they grew a variety of produce, including pumpkins. “It started out as a hobby,” said Jerome’s wife, Brenda. “He would try growing different varieties of pumpkins, ornamental squash and gourds.” Jerome began selling his produce out of the back of a truck along Highway 71. His side business flourished. “I became involved as soon as Warty pumpkins are one variety of pumpkins the Tabatt family sells at their farm near Long Prairie.
we were married, which was 25 years ago,” Brenda said. When they first began, the Tabatts grew pumpkins, a few squash, mini pumpkins and gourds on two acres. “We would get our family and friends to help pick and it was done within a week,” Brenda said. “Now, it takes us almost all of September and half of October to pick.” The Tabatts now have 25 acres dedicated to pumpkins, gourds, squash and fall decorations, such as corn shocks, straw bales and ornamental squash. “We both have jobs outside of this, so we set up a small building at my parents’ farm,” Brenda said. “My dad is a farmer and my mom is retired, so they are there to watch the stand.” The stand, however, is a selfserve system, open Sept. 15 to Oct. 31 from sunup to sundown, where customers can stop, select the items they want, then place
PHOTOS BY KATELYN ASFELD
TABATT continued on page 3
Brenda Tabatt cuts a pumpkin from a vine Sept. 27 at Tabatt Pumpkin Farm near Long Prairie.
A BREED APART By KATELYN ASFELD Staff Writer
KIMBALL – On the rolling hills east of Kimball, Bob and Diana Lange’s home overlooks the Clearwater River where they have lived for more than 40 years. Diana enjoys the hills, while Bob likes
seeing the wildlife. Both enjoy being surrounded by the peace and quiet of nature. On the hillsides are pastures where the Langes raise a unique breed of cattle – the Normande. The cattle possess distinctive markings of spots and blotches in
Langes raise Normande cattle
cy and climatic adaptability. Ad- them out here.” The Normande is a dual-purditionally, they found the breed was relatively new to the Unit- pose breed that can be raised for ed States. The first importation milk or meat. They have a high of Normandes to the U.S. from butterfat and protein content their place of origin in Norman- in their milk which is ideal for dy, France began in cheese making. Their 1974 and 1975, acmeat is lean, with an cording to the North average of 1/4 inch in American Normande back fat. Association. The characterThe Langes pur- “We wanted istic of the cattle the chased their first two Langes desire most is to raise a purebred Normande calving ease. breed of heifers in 1976 at “We haven’t lost a beef expo in Des a calf in four years,” cattle that Bob said. Moines, Iowa. “Every cow would be “We were the was able to give birth first people in Minnewithout any problems easy to sota to begin raising and the calves were take care of all healthy and lived.” them,” Bob said. Their cow-calf N o r m a n d e and easy to operation grew and calves average 70 to handle” became more refined 90 pounds in birth through selective however, - Bob Lange weight, breeding. At their through selective peak, the ranch had breeding, the Lang50 cows; they now operate with es’ calves are between 65 to 20 cows and two bulls on 60 80 pounds at birth. Other cattle acres of pasture and 100 acres of breeds can be up to 100 pounds grassland. in birth weight. “We sell our cattle for breedPHOTO BY KATELYN ASFELD LANGE A Normande Normande cow looks down curiously ing stock,” said Diana. “We keep No about five steers back and finish Sept. SSe ept. 27 in a pasture near Kimball. continued on page 6
white, black, brown and brindle (brown color with streaks of another color). All of the cows have dark pigmented hairs around their eyes, offering protection from the sun and from pinkeye. The Langes, originally from Montevideo, moved to the area after both took up work at a nuclear plant in Monticello. They found the perfect area to build their home and farm and raise their three daughters, Julie, Tanya and Kristy. The couple wanted to raise cattle on the grassland they owned. “We wanted to raise a breed of cattle that would be easy to take care of and easy to handle,” Bob said. The Langes first heard about the Normande breed when they went to the Minnesota State Fair and saw a bull on display. “He was huge,” Diana said. Normande cattle had the characteristics the Langes desired, such as good temperament, easy calving, high feed efficien-
Page 2 • Country Acres - Friday, October 5, 2018
Country Acres Published by Star Publications Copyright 2014 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6577 Fax: 320-352-5647 NEWS STAFF Diane Leukam, Editor diane@saukherald.com Mark Klaphake, Assistant Editor mark.k@dairystar.com Herman Lensing, Writer herman@melrosebeacon.com Liz Vos, Writer liz@albanyenterprise.com Laura Hintzen, Writer laura.h@saukherald.com Katelyn Asfeld, Writer kate@saukherald.com Carol Moorman, Writer carol@melrosebeacon.com
This month in the
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Story ideas send to: diane@saukherald.com SALES STAFF Jeff Weyer, 320-260-8505 jeff.w@dairystar.com Kayla Hunstiger, 320-247-2728 kayla@saukherald.com Missy Traeger, 320-291-9899 missy@saukherald.com Tim Vos, 320-845-2700 tim@albanyenterprise.com Mike Schafer, 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Brian Trattles, 320-352-6577 brian.t@saukherald.com
5 By the light of the moon Diane Leukam Column 8 A wedding gone viral Willmar 12 Fall Harvest Q&A 14 A paradise in Central Minn. Upsala 16 Country Cooking 18 Fowl fun for the family Sauk Centre
PRODUCTION STAFF Pat Turner Amanda Thooft Nancy Powell Brian Dingmann Maddy Peterson Jennifer Coyne, Proofreader Andrea Borgerding, Proofreader
Deadlines: Country Acres will be published the first Fridays of April, May, June, September, October and November, and the third Friday of every month. Deadline for news and advertising is the Thursday before publication.
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Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 3 TABATT continued from front their payment in a bucket. This allows Brenda’s parents the freedom to leave if they need to. The self-serve stand is also beneficial for Brenda and Jerome as the two both work full-time. Brenda is a dental assistant at Lakeland Dental in Long Prairie and Jerome works for the city of Long Prairie in the Public Works Department. In September and October, the Tabatts stay busy, from sunup to sundown. After finishing their work days at their regular jobs, they spend most evenings in the fields, picking pumpkins. “We try to take vaca-
tion time in the fall to work and deliver pumpkins and keep our stand full,” Brenda said. “We work most nights in the field picking, unless we get a hard rain. Most nights, we don’t get in the house until eight or later, but it feels good to get a lot accomplished. It’s a lot of physical labor, but we feel better and sleep harder.” The Tabatts’ children, Carley, 21, and Riley, 18, grew up helping with the operation. “Our most memorable times were when our kids were little,” Brenda said. “They would ride along, help pick and enjoyed
carving pumpkins. It was a great way for our family to bond together.” Now, as young adults, Carley and Riley are in post-secondary school. Carley is in her fourth year of college at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D. where she is majoring in marketing. Riley is in his first year in the welding program at Alexandria Technical and Community College. Riley continues to stay heavily involved in his parents’ operation. “Carley and Riley have been very involved since they very young,” Brenda said. “Riley now sells pumpkins along the road-
PHOTO BY KATELYN ASFELD
Ripe pumpkins lie in a field Sept. 27 at Tabatt Pumpkin Farm near Long Prairie.
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side on trailers in Osakis and along Highway 27 to Little Falls. The income he makes helps him pay for his schooling.” Planting pumpkins Planting begins at the end of May, with their first crop ready in early September. Seeds are planted using an old corn planter. During the growing season, the Tabatts maintain the fields with regular watering, weeding and cultivating. This year, they planted approximately 20,00030,000 seeds in three fields. Every year, they plant several varieties of ornamental squash and gourds and 1015 varieties of pumpkins. “We always try new varieties every year to keep up with the latest and greatest,” Brenda said. “We love odd, crazy-looking ornamental squash and gourds.” A new crop for the Tabatts this year are mini warty pumpkins and yellow pumpkins. Like most crops, forces of nature such as the weather and hard frost, insects and animals, can affect the quality and growth of the pumpkins and squash. “We’ve faced problems with deer eating the pumpkins and squash and
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Carley (from left), Brenda, Riley and Jerome Tabatt grow and sell a variety of gourds, pumpkins, ornamental squash and fall décor at their farm near Long Prairie. The Tabatts have been selling pumpkins for over 25 years.
their hooves busting the pumpkins,” Brenda said. “Rain is also another problem we face. The fields get muddy and we’re unable to pick and keep the pumpkins clean.” In anticipation of crop loss, the Tabatts plant extra pumpkins, gourds and squash. “If there are pumpkins
damaged or scarred, we leave them in the field,” Brenda said. “We cut pumpkins off the vine with small branch hand saws and wipe the dirt off. We pick only the perfect ones.” In addition to their roadside stand, the Ta-
TABATT continued on page 4
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Page 4 • Country Acres - Friday, October 5, 2018 TABATT continued from page 3 batts grow pumpkins for another farmer in Elk River and multiple stores. “Semis come up weekly to get bins full of pumpkins and squash which are sold in stores across the Twin Cities,” said Brenda. Like many farmers, the Tabatts have years that are better or worse than others. The best crop the Tabatts have had thus far was in 2004. “There were pumpkins on top of pumpkins that year,” Brenda said. “The crop was fabulous.” In 2009, the pumpkin crop suffered from the snowfall in early October. “It stayed really cold through
all of October and we didn’t have all of the pumpkins picked,” Brenda said. “All the sales quit and our season was done. It was a bad year.” Despite the challenges, the Tabatts’ hobby has turned into a thriving business which they thoroughly enjoy. “We still enjoy it more than ever; the smiles on the faces of children and seeing the same faces year after year,” Brenda said. “There’s nothing like seeing the enjoyment they get from what we grow.” The Tabatts plan to continue their business, with the hopes of Riley taking over in the near future.
PHOTO BY KATELYN ASFELD
Derek Dempsey (from left), Noah Koltes, Jerome Tabatt, Brenda Tabatt and Riley Tabatt harvest white pumpkins. The pumpkins will be sold in multiple stores.
A variety of ornamental squash and pumpkins lie on the floor inside a shed Sept. 27 Derek Dempsey (in camo) tosses a pumpkin to Noah Koltes (in blue) to place in a crate of pumpkins. Behind Koltes is Brenda at the Tabatt Pumpkin Farm near Long Prairie. Tabatt and her son, Riley, while Jerome drives the skidloader.
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Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 5
By the light of the moon
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by Diane Leukam which I think you will find interesting. We went a little outside the box, with sugar beets, potatoes and grapes. With our most common crops of corn, soybeans and alfalfa, one could almost forget all the other crops being grown in our area, albeit on a much smaller scale. We are amazingly diverse in Central Minnesota. Since it is fall, we have a story about what else, but a pumpkin farm. Near Long Prairie, Jerome and Brenda Tabatt grow a variety of fall produce on 25 acres. Those who stop by their roadside stand may not even see them. In keeping with our Minnesota Nice culture, they have a self-serve system, something that still baffles people from other regions of the U.S. Many of you have
heard of hospitality services like Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway. Through these services, people can rent – or rent out – properties, and even their own homes. Millions of them are available worldwide, and many country people are taking advantage of the potential income opportunity on their beautiful properties. In Upsala, Jill Zasadny and Joan Wingert have used their creativity to remodel, decorate and furnish several buildings, and opened them up to guests looking for a country getaway. Over in Kimball, Bob and Diana Lange tell us about their unique breed of cattle, the Normandes. Learn about how these spotted bovines have been an important part of their lives since they introduced the breed in Minnesota after purchasing their first two heifers in 1976. Southwest of Willmar is Stonewall Farms, where the Holmgrens designed a stable for Friesian horses. Now they have put it to a much different use. Each weekend for much of the year, the farm hosts a wedding ceremony – or
PHOTO BY KATELYN ASFELD
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Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 7 LANGE continued from page 6
The couple also enjoys traveling. They own a mobile home they take cross country to places such as Niagara Falls in New York and the Redwood Forests in California. With all of their hobbies, Diana and Rob continue to hold a special place in their heart for their cattle. “They’re such gentle animals, even the bulls. The more you’re around them, the tamer they stay,” Diana said. “We hope to continue raising Normandes until we can’t anymore.”
A cow-calf pair stands for a picture Sept. 27 at Riverview Ranch near Kimball. Normande cows and calves do not always have the same coat color.
PHOTOS BY KATELYN ASFELD
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Page 8 • Country Acres - Friday, October 5, 2018
A wedding gone viral Holmgrens change course from Friesians to unique venue philosophy By DIANE LEUKAM Staff Writer
WILLMAR – What does a family do when a wedding goes viral? Create an award-winning destination wedding venue, of course.
When Drew Holmgren and his wife, Morgan, got married seven years ago, the ceremony took place in a stable on his parents’ property northwest of Willmar. After the big day, photos began circulating on social media, and calls soon began coming in from nu-
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merous couples inquiring if they, too, could be married there. Arrangements were made, and the rest, as they say, is history. “It was just when the rustic stuff in general was coming in,” he said. “The pictures of our stable kind of went viral everywhere.” Now the manager of Stonewall Farms, Holmgren explained the history of this unique facility, which has literally evolved from one business venture into another. The Bryce and Kim Holmgren family has owned the property for 25 years. The rolling hills alongside beautiful East Solomon Lake, were the perfect setting for raising their 11 children. They always had horses on hand for them to care for and to ride. Eventually, they decided to raise and breed Friesian horses, a beautiful, large type that originated in the Netherlands. With judges looking for a tall, powerful version on the breed, the Holmgrens went straight to the source genetically, with a horse named Lobke. “We found her in the Netherlands and decided to bring her bloodline over into the states,” Holmgren said. “The Friesian blood-
line here was limited.” In order to house the Friesians, the family built a stable for them on the property. The upper level was open and airy, while the lower level was filled with stalls and a bare bones apartment to be used by family members and veterinarians while foals were being delivered. A center
HOLMGREN continued on page 9
Drew Holmgren shows an award received from LGT, Luxury Travel Guide of Birmingham, UK, Sept. 8 at Stonewall Farms in Willmar. The farm is a wedding venue with clientele from the all over the United States, and numerous couples from Europe.
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Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 9 HOLMGREN continued from page 8 aisle separated the two sides of the stable. While the Holmgrens still keep four Friesian mares and two other horses on hand, the horses’ main activity now is for the beauty they provide to the setting, as well as occasionally pulling a carriage for weddings. Drew, now 28, has seen the business evolve from raising horses to hosting weddings, a process that fortunately fit right in with his interests and studies. “I was in school (at North Dakota State University) for landscape architecture,” he said. “All of my projects and thesis work turned into event design and event facilities. All my school time turned into designs for this place. This really took off and that is where our heart and passion is.” The picturesque landscape of the Holmgrens’
property has been an ongoing process, beginning many years ago with the planting of hundreds of pine trees. Now, that landscape has been transformed into a multi-space wedding facility. Holmgren gives tours regularly, to people who come from all over the United States, and even overseas. In fact, one of the couples married there were from Norway. He begins the tour with the stable that sparked the beginning of the venue. Built completely of white oak, four stalls – all similar but each one of a kind – can sleep two people each, generally members of the wedding party. “With people coming from all over the U.S. and other countries, it is a unique experience,” Holmgren said. “Where
HOLMGREN continued on page 10
PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM
This two-story stable was originally built for Friesian horses owned by the Holmgren family. Now, it is one of three main sites on Stonewall Farms, a wedding venue southwest of Willmar.
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The ballroom above the stable can be quickly flipped to hold a wedding ceremony in bad weather.
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else do you stay in a horse stall?” The aisle down the middle of the stable provides the perfect place for grooms’ dinners. On the opposite side, the bare bones apartment has been transformed into the groom’s quarters, decorated by Holmgren and his mother. (The bride and her attendants prepare in the lower level of the family’s home.) “This place has been a playground for me and other members of my family to challenge ourselves creatively,” he said. “Mom is very artistic and she has done more of the interior design, furnishing, etc. [Here], we can use those talents to bless people.” Upstairs is a ballroom, also a backup for ceremonies on rainy days, as well a space for desserts and refreshments. Most ceremonies, though, take place in the pine forest, a site discovered by Kim while a couple was touring the property. Until then, outdoor ceremonies took place on the lawn or near a pond,
but this couple wanted to it all.” Now, people want to be married among the pine be married in the forest, trees. “The couple caught on where the pine trees have to the vision like mom,” Holmgren said. “We decidHOLMGREN ed to try it. The view says continued on page 11
PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM
A Friesian mare stands proud behind a non-electric fence Sept. 8 at Stonewall Farms southwest of Willmar. What began as a horse breeding enterprise has evolved into an award-winning destination wedding venue.
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Drew Holmgren explains how he designed this bridge as a connecting point between sites at Stonewall Farms, for easy access to the upper level of the stable which serves as a ballroom for weddings.
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Fall harvest year, and getting any kind of consistent harvest plan together has been impossible. Harvesting a root crop in the mud is difficult as it is, but trying to juggle seasonal workers, scrape mud off of roads, pull trucks out of the field, and keep everyone safe can be a daunting task. We are very fortunate to have such resilient growers at Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative. We all work together to do the best we can and have a reputation for getting the crop out even when the weather throws us some serious curveballs. This isn’t the first time we’ve battled mud, and it won’t be the last. I am very proud of our employees and our cooperative when it comes to digging in and getting the job done.
Are you trying anything different this harvest? This will be our second year running the Agrifac 12-row self-propelled harvester. It defoliates, lifts, cleans, and holds the beets in a 30-ton hopper. We are still learning all of the intricacies of this machine, and we are going to find out more about maintaining the machine now in its second year.
What do you like about the harvest? This may be overgeneralizing, but it is rewarding to see our investment of time and money finally come to fruition as we deliver a salable product. There’s something Describe your operation: We are a fourth-gen- very gratifying in seeing a freshly-harvested field in eration family operation growing sugarbeets, corn the fall. (grain and silage), soybeans, kidney beans, alfalfa, sweet corn and industrial hemp on 6,000 acres. We Tell us your most unique fall harvest story. This may not be unique to our operation, but every time also have a 125-head beef cow-calf herd. I think about how tough the conditions are, I think How far along are you with the harvest? We back to a crop in the 90s when I rode around with have harvested 250 acres so far, participating in our our hired man and helped chop frozen mud off of the beet lifter. It was so cold that the beets and mud co-op’s pre-pile harvest period. would freeze in the truck boxes on the way to the pilHow has the harvest been and how does it er and we’d have to climb in the trailers and chop out compare to other years? Our sugar cooperative the beets. The cooperative finally shut down harvest has received multiple rain events, each with 2 inches when the beet lifters couldn’t penetrate the frozen or more and in some areas, 5 to even 7 inches, since ground. the start of the harvest season. Trying to harvest between these rain events has been a challenge this
What is your average yield of sugarbeets each year? Our farm average is around 25 tons/acre.
Nate Hultgren Hultgren Farms Raymond, Kandiyohi County Crop: Sugarbeets
How do you prepare your fields for winter after harvest? If the field was muddy and we made deep tracks, we will chisel plow. If there isn’t any substantial soil disturbance from trucks, the self-propelled harvester has enabled us to skip fall tillage. In some cases, we have dragged in a cover crop to prevent blowing dirt over the winter.
How was the growing season this year for sugarbeets? We were lucky to escape some of the heavy rains that other portions of our growing region received. We had some uneven emergence due to a delayed planting season into a very dry May. We did experience some reduced growth rates due to multi-inch rains within a week of each other that caused the beets to stand in mud for 10-15 days. Cercospora leaf spot has been a battle. We continue to spray our crop every 10-12 days with fungicides to hold off the disease but the wet and humid conditions have made it difficult to keep at bay. All of our fields have some leaf spot damage, but until we see our final sugar percentage we won’t know the extent of it. We had the warmth and sunshine this year, but the excessive moisture and later planting date took the top end off of this crop.
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Millner Heritage Vineyard and Winery Kimball, Stearns County Crop: Grapes Describe your operation: We have seven different grape varieties, three of which are University of Minnesota (UMN) grapes and four that were bred by an independent breeder named Elmer Swenson. The winery has nine acres of grapes planted currently (with 27 more acres purchased this year for vineyard expansion in the years to come) with roughly 5,000 vines planted in total. We plan to plant 500 more next year, 1,000 the following and so on.
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Our three UMN varieties include marquette, a red grape used in several different wines, including three dry reds, one off-dry red, an off-dry rose’, and a port-style wine; frontenac, a red grape used in a few wines including a dry red, an off-dry red (same as the marquette) and a sweet red; frontenac gris, a pinkish-gray grape used in one of our rose’s, a sweet white and our ice-wine style wine. The Elmer Swenson varieties include kay gray, a white grape that is very low acid and used for blending; prairie star, a white grape that makes a Moscato-style white wine; sabrevois, a red grape that goes into a sweet red wine; and Brianna, a white grape that makes a semi-sweet white wine. How far along are you with fall harvest? Harvest at our vineyard is already over! Our last harvest was Sept. 16 for this year, which put us about two weeks ahead of our harvest last year. The warm weather this year helped ripen our fruit quite a bit faster than normal. How has the harvest been and how does it compare to other years? Quality was high but quantity was relatively low compared to previous years. Last year we pulled 27 tons out of our vineyard and this year I believe it was near 16 tons. What do you like about the harvest? I like that there is an “end” point to the vineyard work. The entire year builds up to just a few short weeks for harvest and then the cycle restarts in November with pruning after the vines have hardened off for winter. It is very satisfying to see the end result of such a large project. I also really love and appreciate the fact that we get so many volunteers out to help pick the fruit off the vines; we really could not do it without them. Every volunteer gets a free lunch, a few glasses of wine, and two bottles to take home. Tell us your most unique fall harvest story: On the processing side (destemming and crushing) I deal with quite a few bees. The bees like the juice just as much as we do, and last year I ended up with three wasps in my pants and it ended just about as well as you’d think it would. Seven stings in total, but that is just part of the job. Are you trying anything different this harvest? We are making a new style of wine! Our winemaker, Jon Millner, is married to a Hungarian immigrant and back in Hungary they have a style of wine called Tokaji Aszu, which is a wine made with grapes deliberately infected with a fungus called Botrytis, often Q&A continued on page 13
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Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 13 Q & A continued from page 12
called Noble Rot. This fungus pierces the skin of the grape and raisins it on the vine. This fungus does not exist in Minnesota (or North America if I recall correctly) since we do not have the climate for it to survive. Jon is trying to imitate this style of wine by dehydrating grapes in large dehydrators that we have built ourselves in order to raisin some grapes and then add them back to a base wine, increasing the sugar contents, flavors and acids. This yields a high-alcohol, full-bodied, sweet wine that can age for quite a long time. We have made one vintage of this wine already but it is not yet available for sale and we have gone ahead and are making it again.
How do you prepare your vineyard for winter after harvest? The vines that we have at our vineyard are cold-hardy enough that there is not much needed to prepare them for winter. Most of our vines tolerate winter temperatures down to negative 25 degrees Fahrenheit, some even lower. Older hybrid grapes, like the French-American hybrids, such as marechal foch and seyval blanc, need to be buried in order to survive the winter.
What is your average yield each year? We tend to average between two to three tons of grapes per acre. Some other vineyards are able to yield close to four tons per acre or more, but our vineyard is not planted densely enough to achieve those yields. The vineyard expansion will be planted much more densely to make better use of the land.
How was the growing season? The growing season was a bit of a mixed bag. The weird spring we had where it warmed up and cooled off several times led to some significant bud death, which hurts potential yield. Some varieties like the marquette suffered significant trunk cracking due to the freezing and I had to replace nearly 1/3 of all the marquette trunks. Thankfully, the roots survived and they will be producing grapes again next year. If the roots die or are unable to produce a sucker (a new trunk) it will take three years after planting a new vine for it to start bearing fruit. After the spring, we had quite a wet June and early July. Conditions like this are perfect for certain
fungal diseases and insects to thrive, which made pest control a bit more intense this year. However, from mid-July through September our vineyard did not see too much rain and we ended up with a significant amount of heat. Hot summers really help lower the acids in the grapes (something I cannot get enough of) and help ripen the fruit quite a bit faster. As I mentioned earlier, we harvested our grapes about two weeks ahead of what we did last year. I am hoping for a mild winter that will be easier on the vines and allow me to be outside pruning December through February without much issue, although here in Minnesota, I do not think that my prayers will be answered.
John and Rachel Petron JCP Farms Long Prairie, Todd County Crop: Potatoes Describe your operation. My dad, Richard, started this operation in 1967. We plant most of the potatoes in the middle of April and start harvesting the potatoes last week of July. We fresh market the potatoes, meaning we wash and package the potatoes. We have shipped potatoes to almost all the states and we have been to most grocery stores throughout the United States, in the numerous years we have been doing this. We plant about 500 acres of red potatoes and about 100 acres of yellows and
russet potatoes. she was 13 years old and driving the big combine How far along are you with fall harvest? The when she was 15 years old and seeing all of my sevpotato harvest is just wrapping up the first week of en children (ages 8-24) help with fall harvest. October, excellent quality and average yields. Are you trying anything different this harvest? How has the harvest been and how does it We are trying new cover crops and we purchased a compare to other years? Harvest has been going new extreme clean potato harvester. well; all in all, the weather has been pretty good most days and harvest is progressing nicely. Com- How do you prepare your fields for winter afpared to other years, last year was very wet and we ter harvest? We do grid soil sampling and add ashad several big thunderstorms come through that sorted fertilizer and manure if needed, and assorted did damage to some of our buildings. cover crops
What do you like about the harvest? It’s nice to What is your average yield each year? About see all the hard work paying off with a good harvest. 350 hundredweight per acre. Prices are depressed but we are optimistic they will get better! How was the growing season? This year’s growing season for potatoes was quite favorable and it Tell us your most unique fall harvest story: rained in a timely manner and the big storms mostly Seeing my daughter drive the big Quadtrac when stayed away.
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Page 14 • Country Acres - Friday, October 5, 2018
A paradise in Central Minnesota Zasadny, Wingert create getaway haven By KATELYN ASFELD Staff Writer
UPSALA - In Jill Zasadny’s and Joan Wingert’s backyard in rural Upsala, there are three havens where many people visit to find peace and respite. In what they call their little piece of paradise, the couple has remodeled, decorated and furnished two buildings and a living space on their property into cozy Airbnbs, renting out the space to whomever needs a getaway. The idea of renting out space came to Zasadny when she and Wingert first moved onto the property in 2002. “Joan and I were walking in the backyard years ago and she said, ‘I love it back here, it is the perfect spot to see the stars because it is so dark.’” Zasadny said. “I told her I was going to build her an astronomy tower out there someday.” Zasadny had her mind
set on building a treehouse and wanted to rent it out to guests. Wingert told her before they started on the treehouse, they should first try to rent out their cottage to see how successful it would be. The Concord Cottage, as they call it, was originally a music studio where Wingert gave vocal and music lessons. It later became a guesthouse for friends and family. In April 2017, they posted their timber-framed cottage on Airbnb.com, an online marketplace and hospitality service that allows hosts to list their space and guests to book reservations. “Airbnb is a pretty good system,” Zasadny said. “Unlike a traditional bed and breakfast, the service handles all of the legalities and it costs little to nothing to list your space.” The demand for the cottage space was more than what the couple expected.
PHOTO BY KATELYN ASFELD
The Concord Cottage is one of the buildings on Joan Wingert’s and Jill Zasadny’s property in Upsala which they rent out as an Airbnb to whomever needs a getaway.
“This cottage is almost always rented out, even during the week,” Zasadny said. “A lot of our guests are couples from the city who just want to get away for a while and go somewhere
peaceful and quiet.” The cottage can sleep five and its amenities include a deck and patio, a loft, free wi-fi, running water, a gas fireplace and an eco-toilet. “The eco-toilet uses sawdust,” Zasadny said. “When guests use it, they just sprinkle sawdust on the waste and it composts. There’s no flushing or wa-
ter involved.” The cottage is also decorated with hand-stenciled artwork done by Zasadny and Wingert. A few months after renting out the cottage space, Zasadny and Wingert decided to rent out the lower space of their home. The Glass Master Suite sleeps two, and a few of the amenities in-
clude a private jacuzzi, private entrance and exit, a sunroom made mostly of glass with granite flooring. When Wingert and Zasadny saw how popular the cottage and the suite were, they built the treehouse. GETAWAY continued on page 15
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Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 15 GETAWAY continued from page 14
Over the course of a year and a half, the two meticulously built the treehouse, using building materials, furnishings and décor from a variety of places and, most importantly, their creativity. Neither Zasadny or Wingert had a lot of building experience prior to remodeling and building the Airbnbs, so they learned as they went.
“We designed it when we built it,” Zasadny said. “All we really had to start with was the shape and I like how it kind of looks like a ship. I wanted it to be all about light and color.” A large brass and copper weather vane of a phoenix mounted GETAWAY continued on page 17
PHOTOS BY KATELYN ASFELD
(above) The timber-framed cottage features a large loft, among other amenities, which are available to guests who rent the space on Airbnb.
(left) Hand-stenciled artwork, like this dandelion, is one of the many unique features guests can enjoy during their stay at Joan Wingert’s and Jill Zasadny’s Airbnbs in Upsala.
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Jill Zasadny (left) and Joan Wingert stand in front of their treehouse Sept. 5 in Upsala. They built the treehouse themselves and began renting it out as an Airbnb July 14, 2018. They also rent out two other spaces on their property.
Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 17 GETAWAY continued from page 15 on the roof welcomes guests before they enter the treehouse. Once inside, guests can admire cabinets made from old barn wood, 48 windows, a spiral staircase, beams made from black walnut, a gas fireplace and a logend grain floor. The space also displays Zasadny’s and Wingert’s stenciled artwork on the walls. The treehouse can house six guests. “It was a huge undertaking and it was really hard,” Zasadny said. “I don’t know how many times I apologized to Joan for doing this, but she was so patient through all of this.” Wingert and Zasadny first rented out the treehouse July 14 of this year. Along with building and remodeling the buildings, a lot of work was done on the property. The property features an above-ground swimming pool, hot tub, a waterfall, 2 acres of fenced land, solar panels and a greeting committee of two dogs – Willa and Claire – and two cats – Chase and Cheddar. “Most of the guests love the animals,” Zasadny said. “The cats like to greet the guests in the morning and all of our animals are very friendly.” Despite the challenges of building and remodeling, the two are happy they are able to share their space with others. “We’ve met so many different people by having this Airbnb,” Wingert said. “They’re here to relax and it brings in business to the restaurants and other establishments here in town.” Zasadny agreed. “The farthest-traveled guests we’ve had were from France and Bulgaria,” she said. “We’re happy with our paradise and we welcome others to visit.”
PHOTOS BY KATELYN ASFELD
(above) Dishes, cooking utensils, a coffee maker and other kitchen amenities are available for guests to use during their stay at the cottage. (right) A log-end grain floor is one characteristic of the treehouse.
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Friday, October 5, 2018 - Country Acres • Page 19 KLAPPAS continued from page 18 into the wind,” Joe said. “I’ve done it so many times that I can close my eyes, shoulder my gun and everything will be lined up because of my muscle memory of shooting clay pigeons for practice.” While the group finished their hunt with 28 ducks on the weekend, they will normally shoot twice that on a weekend because each person is able to keep six. The Klappas began the hunting season with ducks and will continue with pheasants in October and deer in November. Each season brings new and exciting memories for the Klappa family. “I found a woman who loves to do what I love to do and a daughter that loves it too,” Joe said. “There is not much more I can ask for.”
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PHOTO SUBMITTED
Holly Klappa and her mother, AnnMarie Klappa, prepare for a duck hunt last fall near Sauk River in Sauk Centre.
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Game Boy.” Last weekend, the Even at school, Holly Klappas, along with Joe’s told her classtwo brothers, mates about made the trip how excited to Lake Trashe was to go verse. duck hunting “My fathis year for vorite thing “I found a to do once we the waterfowl season opener. woman who have our spot “ T h e y set up is to loves to do kick back and responded with, ‘What?’ in the field what I love lay ‘ T h a t ’ s underneath gross,’” said to do and the stars,” Joe Joe, laughing said. a daughter about the conThen, a versations. half bethat loves it fore hour Joe let sunrise, Holly shoot the Klappas too. a 20-gauge prepare for shotgun in There is not the hunt and p r e p a r a t i o n much more the first birds for the opener, to fly by. I can ask but the kick“Basicalback was too ly, I’ll stand for.” hard for her to with my gun handle. - Joe Klappa down and put “ E v e n it up when though she’s I’m going to not shooting, she’ll still shoot. If there’s a strong come and hang out with gust, it’s important to have the ducks landing us,” Klappa said.
Page 20 • Country Acres - Friday, October 5, 2018
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