Country
Friday, April 17, 2020
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Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 8, Edition 3
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A yearling Katahdin Hair Sheep ewe cares for her newborn twins this spring at the Will and Becky Haffner farm near Rose City.
l e d o m d e i f i s r e v i D suits Haffners
Found “sweet spot” raising kids, crops and critters By DIANE LEUKAM Staff Writer ROSE CITY – When the Haffner kids visit their grandparents, it might involve a bike, or maybe a casual stroll with a walking stick to make things a little more interesting. Their grandparents live just a mile down the country road. Will and Becky Haffner of Rose City had a dream and they are pursuing it. They both grew up in Forada and graduated three years apart from the same school in Alexandria. The young couple married in 2003 and lived in Lowry, where Will was a factory worker and Becky was a stay-at-home mom. They were busy raising their family – Quenton, now 15, Carson 13, Graham 11, Benjamin, 8 and Greta, 6 – and homeschooling them. But, the country kept calling. “Will grew up on a farm and always wanted to farm alongside his dad,” Becky said. They talked to Will’s parents, John and Cindy Haffner, and began looking for a farm nearby. They found one just
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a mile away. “We bought our 200-acre farm north of Rose City in 2013 and went all in; we had a dream to farm as our only source of income and our lifestyle, and that’s what we are doing today,” Becky said. Today, the Haffners farm around 1,200 acres along with Will’s parents, John and Cindy Haffner, in Douglas, Otter Tail and Todd counties. They grow corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. “We are conventional, though a portion of the corn we grow is non-GMO for feed,” Becky said. That’s right. There are animals, too, and springtime is their favorite time of the year. “We just weaned lambs,” Becky said. “We lamb in mid-February and 80 percent lamb in two weeks. It’s busy but we like it that way. As long as you go out to the barn you might as well be busy.” The Haffners raise a unique collection of animals, including 38 Red Devon, British White and Black Angus beef cattle. There are Katahdin Hair Sheep, chosen for being good moms, their medium size for easier handling, and be-
This month in the
COUNTRY
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Benjamin in Haffner holds alamb at the Haffner farm near ear Rose City, where he and his siblings help outt with chores every day.
cause they do not need shearing. They maintain a flock of up to 150 ewes and their babies. Forty or so Red Wattle, Tamworth, Large Black and Berkshire pigs round out the mix of hooved animals. Poultry include 1,000 Cornish Cross meat chickens, up to 40 turkeys and 70 laying hens. Flash, a Border Collie, helps move sheep. Mostly, he is loyal, calm and always close by. Soon, a Border Collie puppy will be added into the mix to learn how to do Flash’s work. Storm is a female Great Pyrenees and is good with the poultry. She does a daily loop around the farm to watch for predators and when she needs a nap, it is with the sheep. As one might expect, the entire family is highly involved in the operation, beginning with John. “John feeds cattle at [their place] and checks for calves; he has raised cattle his whole life,” Becky said. “Any knowledge we have on cropping, he is teaching us. John also has a hired hand, Mike Boesen, who works with us.” Will does all the calving, hay production and field work with Boesen’s help. The calving is done at John and 4
Calves for a cause Albany
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Space to breathe Diane Leukam Column
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A tale of two friends Albany
Cindy’s; the cattle and calves are raised on rotationally grazed pasture throughout the summer and finished on alfalfa and grain at Will and Becky’s through the winter. Becky keeps records and does bookwork, sales and deliveries, licensing and most of the veterinary care, especially with the sheep. She helps with fieldwork, hauling manure, raking hay and moving hay bales. “I don’t do any planting or harvesting, though I did just learn how to drive the grain truck,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t grow up on a farm. I didn’t know how to drive a tractor or stick shift – it’s been a learning curve for me. I love a challenge, learning new things. I love when someone tells me I can’t do it, then I’m going to do it for sure!” The Haffners also love that their kids are working on the farm, learning skills they would not have learned living in town. All the kids, except Greta, have their own chore lists and they are paid for doing them every week. Every once in a while they go over the HAFFNER continued on page 2
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