Country Acres - June 18, 2022 by Star Publications

Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 1

Country Acres Saturday, June 18, 2022

Volume 9, Edition 41

Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment

Everything under

the barn roof

Schrupp practices veterinary medicine at home BY GRACE JEURISSEN | STAFF WRITER

DEN VALLEY – The dairy industry has been making leaps and bounds with technology over the last decade, and NexGen Dairy LLC. is leaping along with it. More significantly, Dr. Megan Schrupp D.V.M., part owner and fulltime veterinarian, is using technology and veterinary medicine to improve the future of the farm. Schrupp, her husband, Tim, her sister, Ellen Stenger, and brother-in-law, Brandon Stenger, along PHOTOS BY with her parents, GRACE JEURISSEN Vern and Mary (left) Tim Schrupp and Dr. Megan Schrupp, Kay Becker, D.V.M, stand in one of run NexGen three freestall barns Dairy LLC, on their family farm, a 1,000-cow NexGen Dairy LLC, May Jersey and 27 near Eden Valley. (top) c r o s s b r ed Cows enjoy their TMR farm in Meekfeed while observing er County near farm activities.

ST R

Publications bli ti The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.

This month in the

COUNTRY:

Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on July 16, 2022

Eden Valley. They also run 1,200 acres of cropland to provide feed for the cattle. Everything at NexGen Dairy is done in-house; even the heifer barn that is set to be built in the next year will be contracted by Tim. This helps remove added costs and keeps everyone at the farm busy. Duties on the farm are split amongst the family. Tim does the feeding, cow hauling, crops and manure pumping. Brandon does the calves and partners with Tim on crops, machine maintenance and manure hauling. Ellen does a lot of the payroll and bookwork. The milking is hired out to 13 employees, and they have a herdsperson to keep watch over the cows. “I care for everything under the barn roof,” Schrupp said. “All of the cow care management is done by me; I speak Spanish, so I do employee train-

Schrupp page 2

Thank a farmer Diane Leukam column

13 Strawberry time Avon

24 Country cooking Bertha

Animals we love

A Slovenian smokehouse St. Stephen

17 Welcoming Winners Swift Falls

25 Real estate for the martins Little Falls

21 Scapanski helps lead state fair into future

29 Forty shades of brown and green Nancy Packard Leasman column

Page 2 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

Country Acres

Diane Leukam, Editor diane@saukherald.com Grace Jeurissen Staff Writer Sarah Colburn Staff Writer Christine Behnen Freelance Writer Herman Lensing, Writer herman@melrosebeacon.com Jennifer Coyne, Writer jenn@dairystar.com Carol Moorman, Writer carol@melrosebeacon.com Natasha Barber, Writer natasha@saukherald.com

Story ideas send to: grace.j@star-pub.com SALES STAFF Kayla Hunstiger, 320-247-2728 kayla@saukherald.com Missy Traeger, 320-291-9899 missy@saukherald.com Tim Vos, 320-845-2700 tim@albanyenterprise.com Mike Schafer, 320-894-7825 mike.s@dairystar.com Warren Stone, 320-249-9182 warren@star-pub.com Jaime Ostendorf, 320-309-1988 Jaime@star-pub.com Bob Leukam, 320-260-1248 bob.l@star-pub.com

PRODUCTION STAFF Pat Turner Amanda Thooft Karen Knoblach Nancy Powell Maddy Peterson Cheyenne Carlson Annika Gunderson

Schrupp from front ing also.” Schrupp grew up on the farm her dad ran milking 100 Holsteins. She didn’t think she wanted to farm when graduating high school, so her curiosity led her to pursue a degree in meteorology. After seeing the amount of desk work involved with that occupation, she chose to go back to school to practice veterinary medicine, the career field that has brought her back to the family farm where she now spends much of her time. She has always been interested in research and has been a problem solver since day one. “I’ve always liked the cows, but at first I thought I wanted to do something else,” Schrupp said. “Sure enough, I’m right back where I started, playing with my cows every day.” Something about the curious, elegant, stubborn and goofy four-legged milking bossies drew her attention. Each cow has its own personality, and Schrupp gets to see that from day one to when they walk through the parlor. Being a vet at her own farm has many benefits, like readily available resources, familiar faces, familiar cows, great technology and the opportunity to be a watchful eye. “I’ve had some really interesting adventures as a veterinarian,” Schrupp said.

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

Tim Schrupp (from left) Megan Schrupp, Mary Kay Becker, Vern Becker, Ellen Stenger and Brandon Stenger own and operate NexGen Dairy LLC. in Eden Valley. Megan came back to the farm in 2013 to be the full-time veterinarian.

“Vets like to joke that we always work on the ‘clean’ end of a cow.” One of her favorite parts about being back on the farm is all the ideas she can try. As a vet, she could suggest new ideas to her clients, but ultimately the ﬁnal decision was theirs. Now that she is part of the farm, she can implement those ideas to improve the efﬁciency of the operation. NexGen Dairy uses collars and tags on their cows to gather data on cow activities and body functions. The

information is then sent to the computer system the farm uses to collect data and monitor herd health. Schrupp spends a segment of her day addressing concerns that can be texted to her phone from the computer system. “The programs we use really help me to maximize cow health and change our management system from reactive to proactive,” Schrupp said. Soon, NexGen Dairy will have a pair of virtual reality goggles that can lead them directly to where the cow they

need to look at is, and it will display all collected data from the ear tag and collar monitors. “Since working at the farm full time, I’ve begun wearing many hats. I’m the D.V.M, H.R., the I.T. and a whole bunch of other titles,” Schrupp said jokingly. Part of the veterinary practice is treating sick animals, but another important aspect is informing producers on how they can prevent problems and ﬁnd solutions themselves.

Schrupp page 3

Deadlines:

Country Acres will be published the first Fridays of April, May, June, September, October and November, and the third Friday of every month. Deadline for news and advertising is the Thursday before publication.

ST R

Publications bli ti “Committed to being the eyes and ears of our communities.” PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN

Dr. Megan Schrupp analyzes a cow’s data on the computer system in her office at the farm. The system monitors respiratory rates, activity, rumination, lying time, and the amount of time spent actively eating. It has been a game changer on their operation.

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PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN

These ear tags monitor different body functions and cow activities throughout the day and send information to a computer system Dr. Megan Schrupp and the herdsperson can access on their cell phones.

Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 3

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PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN

“

Calves are housed in domes for the first few weeks after birth and then are moved into group pens located in a monoslope building on the farm.

from page 2

“We are always trying

to make the farm a great place for cows to live and people to work.”

We salute you dairy farmers Dairy-liciou

- Dr. Megan Schrupp, D.V.M

they needed it, but now that she is back at the farm full time, she has a smaller client base. She currently still does work with four to six farms under her personal vet practice, Dairy Performance Service, but does less and less because she enjoys working on her family farm. Utilizing the technology on their farm and being a crusader of preventative practices has increased the longevity

of their herd’s lifespan. Currently, they have a cow named La Abuela, which means ‘The Grandma’ in Spanish. She is 13 years old. “We have always focused on keeping cows happy and healthy,” Schrupp said. NexGen Dairy uses cow brushes in the pens, sprinkler systems for heat abatement, and they bed their mattress stalls

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Schrupp page 4

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Schrupp remembers when she ﬁrst started doing veterinary work that a dystotic cow or a displaced abomasum was just another day on the job. “I felt like I was putting out ﬁres,” Schrupp said. “I didn’t like that my best business days were usually my clients’ worst.” After treating livestock for a few years, she started to favor the preventative side of the job. “I wanted to be on the front half of the battle,” Schrupp said. “I understand how expensive a vet bill is, so I always made sure I tried to teach the farms different things while I was there, like how to I.V. your own cow.” Schrupp has always enjoyed being able to help her clients when

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Page 4 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

Schrupp from page 3 with sawdust. With proper working facilities, and comfortable cows, Schrupp and her family have made a strong reputation in the community. They have hosted several community and university events at their farm site. “We are always trying to make the farm a great place for cows to live and people to work,” Schrupp said. Sometimes, Schrupp will step in and milk with employees to converse and observe the protocols that are being used in the parlor. The best way to gain respect from employees, she said, is to work alongside them. She enjoys being a part of the team on the dairy that all strive to produce

PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN

Calves are housed in domes for the first few weeks after birth, and then moved to group pens in this monoslope building. Megan Schrupp’s brother-in-law, Brandon Stenger, manages a lot of the calf care on the farm.

high-quality milk cheddar cheese. Aside from the dairy,

Schrupp and her husband are the ﬁfth generation in Tim’s family to be

Guernsey breeders. They show their Guernsey herd, “Empire Guernseys,” on national levels, and lease cattle to 10-13 4-H kids from around the area. From the ﬁve heifers they bought from Tim’s parents, they have grown the Guernsey herd to around 40 cows and have had a few different cows and heifers nominated for All-American by the American Guernsey Association. Their spring

yearling heifer, Empire Lone Star Sansa Stark, received the All-American title in 2017. “Guernseys are super chill; it’s a great breed for kids and I’m glad we get to teach them about dairy in such a fun way,” Schrupp said. Schrupp grew up showing in 4-H and made many lifelong friends doing so. Her parents always encouraged her and her sister to look at the op-

portunities dairy could provide them. Schrupp says it is a testament to her parents’ guidance that both of their daughters wanted to come back to work on the farm. With many new and exciting things happening at NexGen Dairy on a weekly basis, Schrupp is sure to always be looking for a new and innovative way to progress her family’s legacy and improve the practices on her farm.

8 : )5 ! ) $ ) " $ ) " ' " / ; + <$ " ; + 4 $ ! 5 5 0; + , / 9! " 0! " " $ ( $ ! ) " ) - ! : 0! 78 98 $ 8 ) $ ! ! $ ! $ / ) ) ! !)

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Dr. Megan Schrupp milks cows at the farm on occasion. She enjoys speaking with employees and watching the cows’ behaviors as they walk into the parlor.

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Trina, one of the Schrupps’ most successful cows is led by Dr. Megan Schrupp on the colored shavings at the World Dairy Expo in Madison Wisconsin last October. Trina took second place in the Junior 3-year old class.

Page 6 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

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Page 8 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

A Slovenian Schumers replicate traditional family building

smokehouse

BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER

ST. STEPHEN – Jim Schumer’s family farm is rich with his Slovenian heritage – it shows in the buildings on the farm, each one crafted by hand by his great-grandfather. Each one built of tamarack, basswood and white oak trees hand-harvested from the land in the 1880s, each one crafted with dovetail joints, not a single nail. “We got rocks, we got hills, we got trees and we got ponds; nothing is really conducive to making money on a farm but it’s totally beautiful,” Schumer said. One building in particular speaks to Schumer: the family smokehouse, a place where his ancestors smoked and cured meat prepared just the way they would have in their homeland, for more than a century. The building, that once balanced a-top rocks, one in each corner, blew down in a storm in the

Schumers page 9 PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM

Jim Schumer holds jars of Slovenian sausage June 8 outside the smokehouse on the Schumer farm near St. Stephen. The smokehouse, built by Schumer and his nephew, is a replica of the one used by his family, including himself, through the generations.

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Schumers from page 8 1980s and in 2007, he and his nephew began reconstructing it. Schumer, who’s the fourth generation on the farm, has strong memories of the building, and the food created there during his childhood. “There are only four ingredients in true Slovenian sausage,” he said. “Salt, pepper, garlic – or garlic juice – and pork meat.” The key, his parents and sisters have always said, is to make the sausage, link it, put it in a crock jar and let it sit on the cold porch overnight so the seasonings cure through. Then, the next morning, they’d bring it out to the smokehouse with its dirt floor and wood-shingled roof and get the fire going. They’d smoke it low and slow, using hard maple, a fairly green hard maple, to produce the best flavor. “(It produced) really strong smoke,” he said. “Smoke so thick your eyes would always water.” He remembers the family tending to the fire every hour or so, making sure it didn’t get too hot or too cold. The best smoking days, he said, were those below 32 degrees – right around 10 to 15 degrees was the best. If it was too warm, it got too warm in the smokehouse. It took 24 hours to smoke the sausages and three days to do ham and bacon. Growing up, his family would make 250 pounds of sausage at a time, a few times a year, usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He remembers sausage, hams and bacons hanging in the smokehouse. They butchered three or four hogs at a time and had six to eight 15-pound slabs of bacon and six to eight hams. “We didn’t have a freezer so the hams and bacon stayed in the smokehouse all winter, we’d go into the smokehouse and whack some off,” he said. He remembers a lot of meals that were sustaining but not the best tasting, like žganci, cooked buckwheat flour with spices and sometimes scrambled eggs. But when the smokehouse meats were done, he remembers them being paired with pastries. “A lot of real tasty stuff,” he said.

PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM

Wood harvested on the property was carefully crafted to replicate the original smokehouse. The woodshingled roof is topped by a log carved to create a ridge cap. (top) Underneath the peak of the building are the king post and ridge pole that were salvaged from the old log barn built by hand in the 1870s.

Schumers page 10

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Page 10 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

The building is held together with logs dovetailed to fit perfectly into one another.

Schumers from page 9

PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM

Jim Schumer shows where, in the original smokehouse with its dirt floor, the fire pan sat. Schumer helped with making Slovenian sausage, which was always smoked for 24 hours, while it took three days to do ham and bacon.

The breads were fried in lard. His favorite was a sweetbread called potica, dough filled with a goop consisting of cream, eggs, butter, brown sugar, peanut butter, raisins and cinnamon. It was a family tradition after midnight Mass on Christmas Eve to have potica and sausage, the same with Easter. To keep the family

“

“We didn’t have a freezer so the hams and bacon stayed in the smokehouse all winter; we’d go into the smokehouse and whack some off.” - Jim Schumer

memories alive, Schumer and his nephew took to rebuilding the original smokehouse. They took each piece of wood and traced it out on

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Schumers page 11

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Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 11

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PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM

The ridge pole, from the original barn on the property, now has a home inside the replica smokehouse. Schumer said when they cut the pole, which was originally cut 130 years prior, bled with a thick sap.

Schumers from page 10 century ago when the smokehouse was constructed. They used wood from the land, bringing it to a sawmill to have it cut off on two sides. They worked on the project the whole summer, adding another log or two each week, taking care to dovetail each piece just as it had been. They added the wood-shingled roof,

too. Unlike the original, they added electricity to the building and a cement ﬂoor. Though Schumer hasn’t smoked in the 10- by 12-foot building since it was completed, he said he still hopes to one day. For the time being, he uses it as an homage to his ancestry. The space is ﬁlled with antiques, crocks, jars and sausage makers once used by his family and artifacts of his Slovenian heritage. They have other old artifacts they’re keeping

well-preserved. He and his wife, Marilyn, still have the land deed to the property, signed by Ulysses S. Grant. They also have a letter they found in their attic about 10 years ago, written by his great-grandfather’s mother and mother-inlaw. They wrote to their adult child, living in the United States, saying they wished they could see them again but knew they never would until they were reunited in

Schumers page 12

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Page 12 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

Schumers from page 11

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Heaven. Now, those family heirloom documents are preserved in shadow boxes so the thin paper is protected. The Schumers farm the land with their son, Peter, who is set to take over the farm when it’s time. They have 77 cows and 75 heifers; they raise all their own replacements. They have about 180 acres of land, 80 of which is tillable, and they rent some from a neighboring farm. Schumer said he’s grateful to be able to follow in the same line of work as his ancestors. “It’s probably the highlight of my life to be able to still be an active dairy farm,” he said. “I’ve been here 65 years and 8 months, never a different address, never a different house. We’re happy, we live modest-

PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM

Light shows through between logs in the Schumers’ smokehouse. Jim Schumer remembers his grandfather saying that to have a good Slovenian smokehouse, the spaces need to be “big enough to throw a cat through them.”

ly and within our means. I’ve been here all my life and there is no other place that makes me feel like this.”

This axe is one of a number of antiques in the smokehouse, and was used by Jim Schumer’s greatgrandfather to hew most of the logs on the farm.

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Once-defunct Swift Falls 4-H program thriving with 57 members BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER

SWIFT FALLS – Jim and Laura Ostlie have rebuilt the Swift Falls Winners 4-H Club – the organization Laura was a part of as a child. The club, initially founded in 1944, had been defunct for about five years and they were driving their daughter Lilly, now 16, to meet-

ings 25 minutes away. In 2011, they started talking with younger families in the community and there were quite a few in their rural area who had kids similar in age to theirs. “A lot of it had to do with nostalgia,” Jim Ostlie said. “It was a good opportunity to have

Kids from the Swift Falls Winners 4-H Club gather together to install bird houses at Swift Falls County Park.

something close, and bring back a youth organization in this part of the county that had been non-existent for the last few years.” Though they started with fewer than 20 members, the organization has grown to 57 members and is now one of the largest in the county. That was part of the goal the couple set for itself when they relaunched the chapter, which they lead along with Jason and Betsy Anderson. The projects they do, and the connections they continue to make with families in the area, drive membership. “We don’t even have to advertise,” Jim said. “Because we are so active and we do so much, that has really spurred interest. We have attracted new membership of first-generation 4-H families.” Jim was in 4-H in Dakota County growing up. “It was a huge positive experience in my life,” he said. “The lead-

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

Officers of the Swift Falls Winners 4-H Club include Katie Bendickson, Cloverbud leader (front, from left); Maddie Anderson, president; Logan Hight, reporter; Back: Lilly Ronholdt, secretary; Shelbie Anderson, vice president; Paige Anderson, historian; and Lilly Ostlie, treasurer.

ership skills and the friendships are invaluable and they really got me to where I am today. I hope every child, whether it’s 4-H or a similar organization, has an opportunity to participate in something like that.” The club’s first major project was to raise $30,000 to update the playground equipment at Swift Falls County Park. The group raised local

donations, wrote grants and installed the equipment themselves with oversight from the supplier. Over time, they’ve added another $10,000’ worth of improvements to the community park. The group brainstormed the idea together after families got to know one another and understand the purpose of 4-H. The idea came up in early 2012 and, by

2015, they were able to do the installation. “Community service plays a huge role in the 4-H program as a whole,” Jim said. The club participates in a backpack program where volunteers stuff backpacks with food for kids to take home to get through the weekend. They’ve also worked

4-H page 18

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Page 18 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

4-H from page 17 with Swift County Human Services to put together duffle bags, aka “Sweet Bags,” with comfort items and blankets inside, to be given to children who are re-

moved from a home and often leave with only a black garbage bag of belongings. Because the county fair is a huge part of the 4-H program, the club

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

Cadence Larson, with the help of Brooke Anderson, walks on eggs for a 4-H science experiment.

has also done a number of upgrades and updates to county fair buildings. Their services cover everything from removing rotten areas of a livestock barn to adding siding, new signage and renovating the livestock wash area. The club has done so much community service work that they have twice – once in 2015 and again in 2022 – received the 4-H Community Youth Leadership Award granted by the Association of Minnesota Counties which applauds clubs for their efforts and also includes a $500 prize to put toward future service projects. Jim stresses 4-H isn’t just for farm kids, it’s for all kids. “Whatever a child is interested in, 4-H either has, or will make, a project area specific to that,” Jim said. “Kids learn to expand their knowledge and capabilities and showcase what they’ve learned.” He said the program offers project areas in everything from photography, gardening, wildlife and biology to robotics, geology and public

Kids from the Swift Falls Winners 4-H Club build birdhouses to install at Swift Falls County Park.

speaking. For him, knowing that a project in public speaking may lead that student to eventually have a career in theater, is fulfilling. The things kids work on now, he said, can have an impact on their trajectory.

“I just want them to take a chance and try something new, become an expert in their own right,” he said. In addition to a focus on volunteering in the community and personal development through project areas, the Swift

Falls Winners 4-H Club also provides time for its members to learn about the community they live in. The club hosts tours of agricultural facilities, organizes fishing demonstrations and goes

4-H page 19

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Tell us about your FFA program and your involvement in it: I am involved in our FFA program in many ways. I am the chapter vice-president, a member of our state crops team, and I volunteer at many of our events. What new skills have you learned in the last year in FFA? I learned a lot about leadership in the last year because as a senior member and vice president, there are many times when you have to be a leader, making decisions and directing people to move your chapter in the right direction. Overall, what is the greatest benefit you have received from being involved in FFA? The greatest benefit I have received from being in FFA are the life skills I have acquired that I can put to use in my future. I have learned many things about leadership, service and other important life skills in my years of FFA membership. What other hobbies and interests do you have outside of FFA? I do a lot of hunting and fishing as well as being in three sports. What are your plans for the future? I plan on going to NDSU for Mechanical Engineering.

Members of the Swift Falls Winners 4-H club celebrate the organization’s 70th anniversary.

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Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 19

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Swift Falls Winners 4-H club members hold up an example of the shrimp they saw on their tour of Simply Shrimp near Willmar.

4-H from page 18 to see places behind the scenes, including a shrimp farm and a creamery. “There are so many different things out in our rural community that most kids aren’t aware of,” he said. The club not only writes grants and holds fundraisers to get funds to fuel its

efforts, they operate a recycling trailer and have been given dollars from the local community through pull tabs and other donations. “The entire goal is not only to continue the 4-H program with families who have experience with it and are multi-generational families,” Jim said, “but to welcome families who haven’t been a part of 4-H before.”

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Saturday, June 18, 2022

Volume 9, Edition 41

Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 21

cres A

Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Byron Anderson (left) shares a laugh with Joe Scapanski in front of Compeer Show Arena at the Minnesota State Fair. Scapanski is the newly elected president of the Minnesota State Ag Society, and Anderson helped establish the Purple Ribbon Auction.

Scapanski helps lead

state fair into future

Named president of Minnesota State Ag Society BY SARAH COLBURN | STAFF WRITER

s the newly-elected president of the Minnesota State Ag Society, Joe Scapanski and his board are working to find a balance of nostalgia and innovation for the Minnesota State Fair. The society provides oversight of the fair, approves the operating and capital budgets, and oversees major transactions and large-scale decisions like canceling in 2020 due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Scapanski is the senior-most member of the board he has served on for 13 years and said it is managers on the ground who take the oversight and make the day-to-day decisions. As the fair moves into the future, he said, leaders of the society are tasked with weighing how the fair remains true to its agricultural roots while welcom-

ing in new ideas, new arts and new culture. “Some people would like to keep it the same,” Scapanski said. “We know our lives are not the same; our culture is changing. We have a lot more diversity and, as an ag society, people are being removed from what they knew of the farm with their great-grandparents and parents. That connection is lost.” For him, the fair is about bringing all aspects of Minnesota life together in one place, from agriculture to the arts to technology. Fair-goers, he said, can have experiences in the education building, see baking and art and glass blowing, and go into the agriculture side and see an animal being born in the CHS Miracle of Birth Center. “They have a place to go where they can explore their niche and explore something else as they’re walking around the grounds,” he said. Jerry Hammer has been the general manager of the fair for 25 years, and he credits Scapanski with helping retain the fair’s core mission of providing agricultural education to the public while staying on trend. “An area that’s been really important to Joe, and

central to the fair’s mission, is agriculture and where our food comes from,” Hammer said. Hammer said today’s consumers are asking more questions about husbandry and farm processes and that changes how the fair approaches agriculture. “Our role is not just displaying it, that was the case for a long time, but now we’re also interpreting it for people,” Hammer said. Hammer said thousands of people help others understand agriculture through the competitor exhibits. While people used to visit the fair to learn more efficient ways of farming, the focus is now on explaining animal welfare and how food is handled and produced. The fair today can not only give visitors that information but connect them with experts too. “You can talk to some real rockstar scientists and professors who live in this world and have amazing credentials,” Hammer said. “Again, it’s this face-toface contact you absolutely can’t get anywhere else.

Scapanski page 22

Page 22 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

from page 21

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUPER COOPER MEDIA

Joe Scapanski and his wife, Denise, (center) are surrounded by their children Amanda Effertz (from left), Chelsea Scapanski, Christian Scapanski, Sara Scapanski-Schindele, Michael Scapanski, Jenna Scapanski and Tracy ScapanskiSchuman. Joe, of Sauk Rapids, is leading the Minnesota State Ag Society board as their newly elected president. PHOTO SUBMITTED

Minnesota State Ag Commissioner Thom Peterson (left) and Joe Scapanski share fair ideas. Scapanski has been involved with the Minnesota State Ag Society board for 13 years.

the grounds. People can take in music, rest their feet and people watch, and it creates an overall feel of enjoyment of the fair, Scapanski said. The fair covers the cost of that free entertainment

as part of its budget. The Minnesota State Fair is a $63 million self-sufficient entity that has not received funding from the state since 1954. Though Scapanski’s work on the society is

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years. He has been part of the board through events like the re-vamping of the West End Market, the snowfall that destroyed part of the cattle barn and the gradual change on machinery hill from farm equipment to lawnmowers and watercraft that appeal to all. “In the future, it’s going to keep changing and evolving and it

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In a couple hours you can talk to people in every aspect of food production.” Hammer said the fair offers an opportunity to stand in a building like the Progress Center, built in 1907, and learn about the latest and greatest in technology, in climate study and the impact people can have on the environment. Topics like that ensure the fair moves forward into the future and remains relevant to visitors. Scapanski said it is important to remain current in other aspects of interest for visitors as well. Offering a variety of experiences and opportunities to learn is key, he said. One area Scapanski sees potential for growth is in robotics. Not only are robotics something today’s youth are involved in through various clubs and groups, robotics are also being used in various aspects of farming, including the milking of dairy cows. Entertainment is another driving factor. The staff works hard to bring in national acts and coordinate acts on the free stages throughout

CAJan15-tfnB-BL

should,” he said. “We don’t want to become stagnant.” Scapanski has been involved in fairs since he was in elementary school. Once he turned 12, he exhibited at the Minnesota State Fair. He was raised on a cattle and crop farm and exhibited corn and oat. He was a high school FFA officer and state officer and went on a People-to-People goodwill tour right after high school with the FFA. He joined his local fair board and went so far in his fair experience to eventually graduate from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions management course. His work on the society has been a continuation of his upbringing. “I have a deep attachment to the land and the animals,” he said. “This was an avenue to stay involved yet show some leadership.” He counts the Minnesota State Fair as a holiday in terms of celebration. “It’s like a staple – Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and the state fair,” he said. “It’s a place for people to actually go on vacation, forget their worries and yet don’t have to leave home too far.” The fair, he said, is a community onto itself. “It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, able-bodied or in a wheelchair, it doesn’t matter your creed or culture, everybody is equal,” he said. “If you’re sixth in line to get that caramel apple you’re sixth in line; it’s a place where equality is at its best.” Hammer said Scapanski truly understands the importance of planning for the future. “If you want to know where you’re heading, you need to know exactly where you are,” Hammer said. “If you want to know where you are, you have to know where you’ve been. Joe really gets that. If the fair wasn’t adapting and changing and looking ahead, we very quickly become a museum.” Hammer said Scapanski understands that better than anyone. “Joe is a big-time fair geek,” he said. “And around here, that’s the highest compliment we can give.”

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Scapanski

Page 24 • Country Acres | Saturday, June 18, 2022

Country Cooking

RECIPES SUBMITTED BY MARILEE WEGNER | Bertha, Todd County

Want your favorite recipes to be featured in Country Acres? Contact Grace at grace.j@star-pub.com

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Grease 9x13-inch baking pan, add rhubarb and bread. In large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over bread. Cover and let rest for 1 hour or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 F; bake 50-60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. In small bowl, mix vanilla custard ingredients and spread over bread. Serve.

Rhubarb Custard Pie • • • • • •

Base: 2 eggs 1-1/2 cups sugar 3 tablespoons flour Pinch of salt 1 tablespoon butter, melted • Pinch of nutmeg

• 3 cups fresh rhubarb, diced Topping: • 1/2 cup flour • 1/4 cup brown sugar • 1/4 cup butter, softened

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Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients together, adding the rhubarb last. Pour in a 9-inch pie pan; add topping Spread evenly over pie. Bake 1 hour. Let cool and serve.

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Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 25

Realforestate the martins

PHOTOS BY GRACE JEURISSEN

Birdhouses line the horizon at Jeremy Helmin’s home June 9 near Little Falls. There are currently five purple martin houses on his property.

Helmin provides bird sanctuary in backyard BY GRACE JEURISSEN | STAFF WRITER

ITTLE FALLS – Swooping, twirling, singing and flight are the sights and sounds from the back deck of Jeremy Helmin’s home in Morrison County. Though this may invoke images of a circus, or maybe extreme acrobatics, it is far smaller and no peanuts are sold. “I could sit back here and watch them for hours,” Helmin said. “The mornings are my favorite because of the chorus they put on.” When Helmin would sit on his grandmother’s dock while fishing as a young boy, he would listen to the activity that surrounded the lake. Sounds like frogs, crickets, boat motors and a sweet rolling chirp from the quick shadow that hovered along the lake, filled the air. Eventually, curiosity got the best of him and he found out that the rolling chirps were from the purple martins that were in residence at a neighbor’s home. He knew he had to add that wildlife to his home in the country. Between the months of April and August, Helmin’s backyard is plentiful, with around 100 purple martins that formed a colony among his five extravagant birdhouses. Every winter, the martins navigate themselves nearly 5,000 miles to southeastern Brazil to spend their “vacation” before the nesting and breeding season the next

Helmin page 27

Jeremy Helmin builds purple martin houses in his free time. This design would take him about a week to assemble from beginning to end.

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Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 27

Helmin

from page 25

spring. Scientists believe that the species of bird originated as a Brazilian swallow and, over time, adapted a northern migratory pattern to take advantage of the longer summer days during the nesting period. Now a colony makes Helmin’s backyard their summer home. This makes him a martin landlord. “You can watch the migration from Brazil on the internet, so when my neighbors get a purple martin, I can see that and know my colony will be here soon,” said Helmin. Male purple martins are usually the first to arrive at the nesting site. They choose a spot and when the females arrive, they each choose a mate based on the nesting site and secondly, the male himself. Purple martins are monogamous during the

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PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN

Jeremy Helmin stands between his purple martin birdhouses June 9 at his home near Little Falls. He put his first house up 14 years ago.

mating and nesting season, but rarely repeat their partners the following

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Purple martins perch together on a cool day in May. They huddle like this to keep warm.

PHOTO BY GRACE JEURISSEN

Jeremy Helmin lowers a birdhouse by a crank and cable, making the nest easier to access for cleaning and checking.

year. It took Helmin nine years to get his first pair of purple martins to nest in one of his houses. “It was a little discouraging, but I put the house up, so why bother taking it down,” said Helmin. His persistence paid off and, sure enough, after nine unsuccessful years of trying to get a purple martin pair to nest in his backyard, he saw a pair finally accept his houses as a home. He was officially a martin landlord. The year after the pair established themselves in that house, a few more followed and the colony grew. Though Helmin isn’t positive why it took so long for his houses to become attractive places for the birds, he is glad he held out. Now, he gets to listen to his favorite sound every summer morning. “I really think that my favorite part about them is the sounds they make,” Helmin said. “When they leave in the late summer, it’s so quiet it’s almost creepy.” Not only do purple martins sing a beautiful song, they are also very civil with humans. Most martin landlords can go into the houses and check nests. Sometimes, intervention is encouraged if a nest gets mites, or if there are unwanted visitors trying to make their homes in the houses. Helmin designed the entrances to his houses to fit a purple martin perfectly. Occasionally, sparrows will try to make the houses their homes, which can cause an upset within the colony. The holes on the houses are small enough that European starlings,

Helmin page 28

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PHOTOS BY GRACE JEURISSEN

This house rotates on a pole as it is lowered to the ground. This design was developed by purple martin enthusiast Vern Vernig.

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from page 28 ers.

This is one of the more extravagant birdhouses in Helmin’s yard. The roof has cedar shingles.

“If I take the [hummingbird] feeders down and hold a small one in my hand, I can get a hummingbird or two to perch and eat out of my hand,” said Helmin. The hummingbirds began to increase in number around Helmin’s property when he put up a few more feeders. Now, he can sit on his back porch and hear them fly by him; the buzzing their wings make is very similar to the

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Helmin page 31

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Purple martins perch on fiberglass rods June 9 at Jeremy Helmin’s home near Little Falls. The poles are 12 feet high to allow the birds a chance to fly away from predators.

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Saturday, June 18, 2022 | Country Acres • Page 31

Haul home more quality and comfort with this great deal. PHOTOS BY GRACE JEURISSEN

Jeremy Helmin talks about how he cleans the nests out each fall after the purple martins head south. Latches on the side make for easy access into the birdhouse.

Helmin

from page 30

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sound of a bumble bee. The male hummingbirds have red throats and the females are less flashy with a mostly brown color. Helmin enjoys his avian hobby, and adores the amount of life it brings to a person’s home. Considering almost all of the housing that purple martins live in is manmade and maintained, he encourages people to start their own colony. He says more people are learning about martins. They become intrigued by their song and behaviors, which puts more opportunities out there for martins to have a safe haven to raise their young in Minnesota.

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One Tough Animal

Country Acres - June 18, 2022

Articles inside

Real estate for the martins