SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2019 | Page 1B
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Sauk Rapids Herald
SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2019
Bemboom Acres recognized as Benton County century farm BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
Rubes Sponsored by Fluegge’s Ag
SAUK RAPIDS – With the hardships American farmers face in today’s day and age, it is hard to imagine farmsteads enduring economic downturns like the Great Depression. Still, some survived, and families have continued their ancestors’ legacies for 100 years or more. Bemboom Acres is one of those farms. The property on 40th Avenue Northeast in Mayhew Lake Township has been recognized by the Minnesota Farm Bureau as a 2019 Century Farm. Bemboom Acres will be featured at the Minnesota State Fair in August and will receive a commemorative sign and certificate signed by the fair board, farm bureau presidents and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Farms that are 50 acres or larger and have been in continuous family ownership for more than 100 years qualify for the honor. One hundred thirty-six farmsteads will be admitted in 2019, including two others in
PHOTO BY NATASHA BARBER
Dan Bemboom and his dog Crue take a quick break May 1 on Bemboom Acres in Sauk Rapids. Bemboom owns the property, which is being recognized as a century farm this year.
“Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” Benton County: Estes Brook Farms, of Oak Park, and Nelson Farm, of Rice. “It’s awesome,” said Dan Bemboom of being able to carry on the legacy. “It meant so much to Dad that I could carry on the tradition.” Dan’s grandparents, Gerhard and Margaret Bemboom, purchased the original 160-acre parcel from Edward Schwab March 17, 1919. The two raised their children on the dairy and crop farm and owned the property for 50
years. The farm was passed down to their son Joe and his wife Iola, who milked 34 cows for 14 years before Dan purchased the farmstead from his uncle. Dan, the son of Ray and Rita, has fond memories of his grandparents’ farm. He remembers helping his grandmother in her garden. He was always rewarded with a special treat. “There was a house over there that my grandma lived in,” Dan said. “She always had a Hershey’s almond candy bar in the
fridge.” Dan remembers helping his grandma pick strawberries in the large garden. When they were finished, the chocolate was his reward. “She’d always give it to me,” he said. “That’s the biggest memory I have here on the farm.” When Dan graduated in 1976 from Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, he helped maintain his father’s dairy for two years before taking a job with Morton Buildings,
Inc. But, the lifestyle drew him back. “Like all farmers will tell you, once farming is your blood you’re stuck,” Dan said, chuckling. “It never leaves you completely.” When the opportunity arose to purchase the dairy from his uncle in the early 1980s, Dan did so without hesitation. He multitasked, milking and working for Morton Buildings for one year, before calling it quits to become a full time farmer.
“I’ve never regretted leaving Morton,” Dan said. “I love farming. Even though prices, aren’t what they should be, I love being around cattle and my best companion – my dog Crue.” Dan added on to the original barn’s parlor and expanded the dairy. He milked 50 head – half registered Holstein, half crossbred Holstein-Brown Swiss – cows for about 25 years.
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