Beefy bind
I stand at the kitchen counter and stare at the pound of white paper-wrapped hamburger. Beef, again. Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful to have the meat to prepare, but when living on a dairy farm, one is faced with a rather unique situation in that creativity is lacking when you consume ground beef three to four times per week.
Goulash, meatloaf, chili, hamburger gravy, spaghetti, patties, chow mein. Those have been my staple go-tos, but (yawn) after a while, it all gets humdrum. When time permits, I have been known to throw together a tasty lasagna, but that takes pre-planning because I don’t usually have cottage or mozzarella cheese on hand.
Beef page 2B
Carstensen strings together business to meet demand
Filling the gap with fence
BY MAURA WENNER STAFF WRITER
For some, spring means the start of planting season. For others, it means turkey hunting. But for Bryan Carstensen, owner of Popple Creek Fencing in rural Sauk Rapids, spring marks the beginning of another season building fences.
“This year is my third season,” Carstensen said.
When it took two years before someone became available to build fence on his beef operation, and with
other friends waiting for installs as well, Carstensen saw an opportunity in the agricultural industry.
“I knew there was a need in the area,” said Carstensen, who also owns Popple Creek Wedding and Events with his wife, Meghan. “There was a lot of demand for building fences and not a lot of people do it. I think because the old way of building fence wasn’t fun.”
The “old way” is difficult and timing consuming and consists of people having to dig holes and push posts by hand. However, Carstensen said the process of building fences
has evolved into a less labor intensive and quicker means over the years.
“A lot of the equipment, fence itself, type of wire used, techniques and quality have all changed,”
Carstensen said. “With the right equipment, it’s actually pretty easy, and I have fun doing it.”
The main piece of equipment
Carstensen uses as he constructs fences for area producers is his skid loader with a post pounder attachment.
Carstensen is entering his third season of fence building after filling a demand he saw in the agricultural
AG BENTON Plus Sauk Rapids Herald | Sat., April 1, 2023 Serving rural Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs and Kanabec counties ROD FLUEGGE “the boss” 2040 Mahogany St., Mora, MN 320-679-2981 Farm Material Handling Specialist FLUEGGE’S AG 1960-2023 Celebrating 63 years! BA-13-1B-BL DEER HUNTERS! NEW - JUST IN Tar River No-Till Drill SAYA-507 Call for Pricing Knight 8024 500 bu. CALL FOR PRICE Knight 725 CALL FOR PRICE JUST COMING IN - Kuhn VB2044 Pro-Push Vertical Beaters Truck Tires, 7years old CALL FOR PRICE Kuhn PS242 Horizontal - CALL FOR PRICING ON THE LOT COMING IN Pro-Push 2044 VB 440 bu., 6yrs old, truck tires, going through shop CALL FOR PRICING Carstensen page 2B
RUMINATIONS WITH MARY MARY BARRON-TRAUT
PHOTO BY MAURA WENNER Bryan Carstensen, owner of Popple Creek Fencing in Sauk Rapids, stands near his skid loader at his farm March 27 in rural Sauk Rapids.
industry.
