Country
Friday, June 19, 2020
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Volume 8, Edition 8
Farming as a
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Carla and Eric Zirbes are pictured during their July 23, 2016, wedding on the Zirbes family farm, where Eric was raised. Carla grew up on a farm in Oakes, North Dakota.
FAMILY Zirbeses enjoy life on six-generation farm raising beef cattle, horses
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
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The Zirbes family – Makayla (from left), Cassidy, Cody, Carla and Eric holding Laramie on June 13 – enjoy life on their Angus beef and horse farm northwest of Melrose. Everyone pitches in to get the work done, while also enjoying fun times in the outdoors around the farm.
By CAROL MOOMAN Staff Writer
his brothers, Chad and Brian, and sister, Paula. So was pitching in with chores and milking. Eric figures back then they milked between 35 and 40 cows, with MELROSE – Laramie Zirbes roams around the around 60 cattle on the farm. His parents dairy farmed Zirbes’ family farm mid-morning on June 9. His until 1996, when Brian graduated from Melrose High parents, Carla and Eric, watch as their almost 2-year- School and “they ran out of help,” Eric said smiling. old son plays with a black kitten, holding it in his arms as sister Cassidy cautions him not to squeeze the Taking over the family farm kitten too tightly. Three years later and out of the military, Eric Six generations of Zirbeses have been raised on began the transition to take over the family farm. For this farm northwest of Melrose, where beef cattle a short time he worked part-time as a Melrose police roam the pastures, horses walk around a fenced-in area office before working nights full-time as a Stearns and chickens lay eggs. When Eric and his siblings, the County deputy, which allowed him to purchased fifth generation, were raised here, dairy cattle grazed upgraded farm machinery. in the field, bedding down in the barn at night. “I had limited time during the day to get the field A Century Farm sign greets people as they enter work done and with bigger machinery it got done the driveway. Eric’s great-great-grandparents, Anton quicker,” he said. and Frances (Pelle) Zirbes, first homesteaded the farm In the fall of 2000, Eric bought his first herd of in 1912, followed by Joe and Clara Zirbes, Hubert and Angus beef cattle and took the farm down a different Millie Zirbes, Mike and Vonnie Zirbes, and their son, path, as he raised his daughter, Makayla, here. Eric, took it over in 2001. Carla smiles when asked how she and Eric, now “From fifth or sixth grade I knew I wanted to both age 43, met in 2015. join the Marine Corps and come home and take over “Farmersonly.com,” she said, glancing at her the farm,” Eric said, sitting on the porch with Carla, husband of almost four years. Laramie now jumping around on a trampoline in She said at the time, Eric was looking for a farm the front yard with Cassidy. On this cool morning, girl. Raised on a farm in Oakes, North Dakota, she fit Laramie is warm blooded, removing his shoes, socks the profile. They started chatting and discovered they and shirt before running back to the porch. had mutual interests. Playing on the farm was a constant for Eric and “Horses were our main thing, and I lived in the
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Publications The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
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This month in the
COUNTRY
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He called her “Mother” Padua How to butcher a pig Diane Leukam Column Bringing creativity to the trail Holdingford
country,” said Carla, who at the time owned a hobby farm in North Dakota while working for an insurance company. Eric proposed on May 22, 2016, on a dock on Stub Lake, before they went on a pontoon ride. Sharing a love for the outdoors, they had a small wedding on July 23, 2016, on the Zirbes’ farm. Each rode in on their horse. Carla wore a short white dress and cowboy boots, and Eric, dressed in jeans and a vest over a blue shirt, wore a white cowboy hat and boots. Their marriage joined together a blended family – Eric’s daughter Makayla, now 14; Carla’s son Cody, now 17; and Cassidy, now 12. They became a “yours, mine and ours” family almost two years ago when Laramie was born. ZIRBES continued on page 2
13 Fishing for sport Litchfield 14 Welcome to the pond Padua 16 Country acres according to Bowlus 18 Settergren Brothers Dassel
20 What’s this? 21 Country Cooking 22 Weather Watching Herman Lensing Column 23 Animals we love 24 Deep roots Darwin
