ountry C cres A
A Supplement to the Star Shopper
e l p sim way of life Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Friday, September 7, 2018 • Edition 12
A
Groshens first generation farmers on small dairy By KATELYN ASFELD | Staff Writer
PHOTO BY KATELYN ASFELD
Holding his son Andrew, Corey Groshens walks a calf to its pen Aug. 28 at Groshens Dairy near Grove City.
GROVE CITY – Corey and Michelle Groshens are an anomaly in the agriculture industry. The first-generation dairy farmers not only milk cows, but they live a simple, old-fashioned way of life. “We listen to old people and do what they did,” Corey said. The Groshens and their three children – Ben, 4, Aimee, 2, and Andrew, 4 months – milk 40 cows and grow corn, alfalfa, barley and soybeans on 197 acres near Grove City. Michelle works off the farm as an area technician for the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development in Willmar, while Corey works full time on the farm. The kids, Michelle said, are very active outside. “They hardly ever watch TV, even in the wintertime,” she said. “They really like being outside.
Aimee likes to hand Corey towels to wipe the cows’ teats off during milking time.” Corey agreed. “They like to follow me around when I’m doing chores,” he said. “There’s always somebody who wants to be out in the barn with me.” Corey began working on his neighbors’ farms when he was 15 years old. Although he did not grow up on a farm, he was familiar with the lifestyle and loved the work. “I like to stay busy and work outside,” he said. He was determined to one day have a farm of his own. He attended Ridgewater College in Willmar for dairy management to further pursue his goal of becoming a dairy farmer. His neighbors, Adolf and Eileen Olson, were older farmers who owned a piece of land nearby. The Olsons were Corey’s biggest mentors, offering him advice on farming and country living. “Whenever Adolf gave me advice, he’d say, ‘I won’t charge you for that,’” Corey said. The Olsons had a barn on their property that once housed dairy cows. Adolf, however, quit milking in 1978, and the barn sat empty for years. Adolf passed away in 1998 and Eileen lived on the
GROSHENS continued on page 4
Grandpa's farm Gerdes reflect on farming and family By DIANE LEUKAM Staff Writer
GLENWOOD – Paul Gerde stood on the hilltop overlooking a vast expanse of land south of Glenwood on the Glacial Ridge. Green pastures and trees cover the rolling countryside far into the distance, with the east branch of the Chippewa River meandering its way between the hills. Pointing east, Gerde explained the improvements he is making to his pasture lands in hopes of getting his cattle to help manage the shrubs and trees threatening to overtake the property. He is burying water lines and adding fencing and water tanks to create new paddocks which will keep the animals in specific areas. “My pasture goes out a mile from this road,” Gerde said. “I have the same problem as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the DNR. The trees are just growing like crazy.” Managing land is hard work, but something that is dear to Gerde’s heart, partly because he considers himself a conservationist, and partly because he and his wife, Bernie, live and work on Grandpa’s farm. Grandpa Peder Gerde officially settled on the farm on Christmas Eve, 1898, and later married Bertine.
“Grandpa was born in 1876,” said Paul who, at 61, is only the third generation on the farm. “My dad was born in 1902. He was 55 when I was born. He was 39 when he got married and Mother was 16 years younger.” Paul’s parents were Fred and Opal (Johnson) Gerde. Ironically, Bernie’s parents (Alfred and MaryAnn Nordaune) were also 16 years apart in age. The couple sat at their table Aug. 27 to reflect on their family backgrounds, raising kids and cattle, sometimes bringing humor into the conversation as they made connections between the two. One story was an animated recounting of the birth of their daughter, Petra, who was born the night before Thanksgiving. A quick tutorial on how to do the chores was given to Paul’s brother, Jim, followed by a mad dash to the hospital that included nearly running out of gas and fighting the holiday traffic. They made it to the hospital just barely in time to deliver a healthy ninepound, five-ounce baby girl. Petra was the smallest of their three children, who also include two sons, Peder and John. Paul’s siblings were big when they were born as well. “Of the five kids in my family, four of us were over 10 pounds,” Paul said. “There are a lot of big babies.” Petra is carrying on the tradition with her third child, Silas, weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. From talk of babies, the conversation
PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM
Paul Gerde checks his Charolais cattle on pasture Aug. 27 on the Glacial Ridge south of Glenwood.
flowed naturally into another form of life, the Charolais cattle they have raised since they sold their dairy herd a first time in 1975. At the time, their neighbor was getting out of the dairy business and he was breeding his Brown Swiss cows to Charolais. “And they really grew,” Paul said. “It’s tough to beat white cattle on green grass.” Jim located a group of Charolais heifers in North Dakota and the two went together to purchase them. “In the 70s and 80s they were advertising [Charolais] as genetically bred for
leaner beef and marketed as more pounds of gain for the feed you are putting into them,” Paul said. “Those were good selling points.” As a cattleman, first in dairy and then beef, Paul has had the cows bred for calving ease, though being careful to stay on the average side. “If I have trouble with calving, it’s because there is something wrong,” he said. “They shouldn’t be having trouble calving with a normal delivery.”
GERDE continued on page 7