Country Acres - October 16 edition

ountry C Friday, October 16, 2020

cres A Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment

Volume 8, Edition 14

A trip through the

pumpkin patch Hanson embraces traditions of fall

BY KAYLA ALBERS | STAFF WRITER

PHOTO BY KAYLA ALBERS

Dick Hanson sits at the designated photo spot created by his wife, Elaine, at Grandpa’s Pumpkin Patch on Oct. 2 on their farm in St. Joseph.

ST. JOSEPH – The crisp chill of fall is in the air, and on Oct. 2, the leaves are almost at their peak for changing to the bright hues of oranges, yellows and reds, and pumpkin season is here.

Right outside of St. Joseph

is a destination that screams fall – Grandpa’s Pumpkin Patch, run by local farmer Dick Hanson on his 40-acre farm. It was originally started by his son, Chris Hanson, in 1987 and was later taken over by his younger son, Eric

Grandpa’s page 6

Raising a family on 10 acres

Donnays use diversified model to make living on small farm

BY DIANE LEUKAM | STAFF WRITER

KIMBALL – As many farms have grown larger, one near Kimball has grown smaller. Brad and Leanne Donnay have been raising their family of five children off a small plot of land the two purchased from Brad’s parents in 2002.

Sons Joseph (21, majoring in dairy production) and Michael (19, dairy production and dairy manufacturing) are studying at South Dakota State University; Katheryn, 16, is currently hybrid learning at Kimball High School; Thomas, 6, is in first grade at Holy Cross and Charlie, 4, is at home.

“We’re sustainable on 10 acres, that’s what’s crazy,” Brad PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM Brad and Leanne Donnay are raising their family of five children on a 10-acre family farm near Kimball. said Sept. 22 at the farm. “For 14 years, we made a living on 10 In the background is the land where Brad grew up and beyond that, the neighbors’ red barn where the acres, and Leanne is a stay-at-home mom. two milked 28 cows when they were first married.

ST R

Publications The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.

This month in the

COUNTRY

Donnays page 2 6

Grandpa’s pumpkin patch 10 When the sun rises Willmar St. Joseph

8

Booyah!

Diane Leukam Column

9

Who’s this?

14 Animals we love 15 Together in sickness and in health Atwater

18 Bonded in farming, friendship Evansville 20 Country cooking 25 Stonybrook Evansville

Page 2 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020

Country Acres

Published by Star Publications Copyright 2014 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378 Phone: 320-352-6577 Fax: 320-352-5647 NEWS STAFF

Diane Leukam, Editor diane@saukherald.com Ben Sonnek, Writer ben.s@saukherald.com Herman Lensing, Writer herman@melrosebeacon.com Jennifer Coyne, Writer jenn@dairystar.com Evan Michealson, Writer evan.m@star-pub.com Carol Moorman, Writer carol@melrosebeacon.com Natasha Barber, Writer natasha@saukherald.com Kayla Albers kayla.a@star-pub.com Sarah Colburn, Freelance Writer

Story ideas send to: diane@saukherald.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 Nancy Powell Maddy Peterson Cheyenne Carlson

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.

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PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM

Saanen milking goats play on a hill of bedding Sept. 22 outside their barn at the Brad and Leanne Donnay farm near Kimball.

ary, a welcome respite from milking and time for the family to pursue other interests.

“I can’t wait for the goats to dry up and I really can’t wait for them to come in,” Brad said.

“We sometimes have a hundred goats kid in 10 days.”

The goats are milked in a parlor constructed by Brad at a cost of less than $500. A ramp is let down and the goats enter the parlor where 16 are milked at a time, having a snack of oats to keep them occupied. When they are finished, they are released back into their barn.

About a hundred goats can be milked in an hour’s time.

None of the milk from the Brad Donnay built this milking goat parlor at a cost of less than $500. goats is sold, as it all goes into Sixteen goats are milked at a time at a rate of 100 per hour. another aspect of the farm opneed to stay home and I was per goat per day. Typically, the eration: cheesemaking. The bucky about it. It was really goats are all dried up in JanuDonnays page 3 hard, but it wasn’t working here either. It wasn’t the family life we wanted.”

Together, the Donnay family works on their very small, very diversified farm.

They milk 140 Saanen goats, though in a non-COVID year they at are about 160. The goats have their kids beginning the last week of March each year, and average twins, with a 1:1 ratio of males and females.

Chevre cheese is made The buck kids are sold at 5-10 in the on-farm cheese days of age, and the females plant and sold wholesale raised by the Donnays. Milkto restaurants in the fiveing is done twice a day, with an state area. average of 5.5 pounds of milk

Donnays from front

Everybody thought we needed more.”

From their farm on a hill, Brad looked out over the picturesque countryside and pointed to the home place nearby where he grew up. A red barn at the neighbors’ beyond is where he and Leanne milked 28 cows when they were first married.

Though it was bare land when the Donnays purchased it, there is now a house built in 2002, a barn built in 2004, a shop, another barn and a shed that was moved onto the place.

All of these buildings in some way reflect Brad’s many summers working construction while in college.

Leanne was an elementary school teacher before her life plans changed to being a stayat-home mom, doing daycare part-time for a family friend and teaching them preschool along with their own children, doing farm work and working in the cheese plant.

“I was in my dream job teaching third grade in a parochial school and that’s where I was going to be for life,” she said. “But, God had different plans – He kept telling me I

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Friday, October 16, 2020 - Country Acres • Page 3

HARDEST WORKING. SMOOTHEST RIDING.

PHOTO BY DIANE LEUKAM

A compost screening and bagging system was constructed using a retrofitted 1,000-gallon fuel barrel and an elevated, home-built hopper.

Donnays from page 2

Donnays have been making and selling cheese wholesale from their on-farm cheese plant since 2004. Two kinds of cheeses are made, one a fresh Chevre and the other an aged cheese similar to a brie.

While studying at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Brad worked two jobs, one of them at the cheese plant, where he learned the ins and outs of the craft, including developing recipes. There was more to learn.

“I knew the goats and cheesemaking aspects of it, but the food service part of it was new,” Brad said. “I went down to the cities with samples of the goat cheese, started knocking on doors and handing out cheese samples. We picked up 20 restaurants in two months.”

They were off to the races. Now, they are featured on menus across the five-state area along with cheese shops

and co-ops. The cheese is delivered primarily through four distributers and is packaged in two- to four-pound packs per case.

The Donnays’ Granite Ridge and chevre cheeses find way onto restaurant plates in everything from appetizers and main courses to desserts and cheese trays. Their buyers love the quality product, which was the Donnays’ goal from the outset.

“We wanted to do the best quality job and make the best quality product and the rest would take care of itself,” Brad said. “That’s what we focused on and it has been good. We’ve been blessed.”

Back on the farm, there is another question: What do farmers on 10 acres do with the manure from 140-plus goats? They sell it, of course.

Goats have a dry, pelleted manure, and when composted along with their straw bedding, it creates a rich compost product that the family packages and sells.

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Donnays page 4

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For the Donnays, family is the most important part of their lives together on their tiny farm.

Leanne is one of 14 siblings, and Brad, one of 10.

Now with their own family, they work together. Joseph and Michael help out when they can; Katheryn helps milk the goats every morning, with Brad assuring her he would be doing her an injustice by letting her sleep in; Thomas has his own chores and even Charlie helps pick eggs.

Each has their own jobs.

“It’s just us, it’s family,” Leanne said. “We told the older boys that we’d like them to go off to college and see what’s out there, and if they decide they want to come back, we’ll figure it out and it sounds like they would like to.”

When that day comes, there will be new plans made.

“I told them, ‘if you come back, you tell me how you’re going to grow the business; I’m not going to grow it – we’ll grow it together,’” Brad said. “We don’t need them to come back, but we would like them to come back. Let’s figure this out together.”

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The Donnays’ goat compost is sold at five area retail stores with all proceeds going into the children’s college funds.

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One thing is certain: They will figure it all out as they continue to farm.

“There’s a million ways to farm,” Brad said.

“You just have to figure out your way.”

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Page 6 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020 PHOTOS BY KAYLA ALBERS

Grandpa’s from page 1

it in the yard, but I did it, and I have loved it,” said Hanson. “Now I get to meet my customers. We probably get a couple

ers w o l F em t S e me! u i t Bl t s o alm It’s

ot S p ru c e P in H o li d ay ps star t Wo r k s h o a ll wo rkr, N o ve m b e in o u r fe s re s h o p s a h o u s e . We en t ive g re e r v in g s o c ia l s b o e in g w il l b a n d li m it g in c n a d is t . c la s s s ize 6-7 pm

offer on the farm, but what most people go for is a journey through the pumpkin patch to get outside in the cool air and pick their very own Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins for the season.

Hanson plants his hybrid pumpkins with a four-row John Deere planter and later cultivates them. When they start to vine out, they are on their own.

“You can’t do anything after that because there are pumpkins everywhere,” Hanson said.

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A variety of gourds are grown on the farm, shown here on Oct. 2 in St. Joseph.

Grandpa’s page 7

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“On a good year, you won’t even be able to Patch has four acres of kins, pie pumpkins, see the ground.”

Grandpa’s Pumpkin Jack O’ Lantern pump- gourds, squash, straw bales, corn shocks and fresh honey from Hanson’s own bees. In addition, his wife, Elaine, has set up a space to take family photos, and there are seven different breeds of chickens for the kids to feed. He also prints and distributes recipes for turning pie pumpkins into actual pies, because Hanson believes that using real pumpkins is noticeably better.

“Fall is absolutely my favorite season,” Hanson said. “I was a

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Hanson. When the boys went away to college, Hanson made the decision to keep the pumpkin patch going, and he has loved it.

thousand people coming Multi-colored Indian corn hangs from a stand in Dick Hanson’s yard through here now.”

2 in St. Hanson has a lot to Oct. “I really didn’t want Joseph.

Friday, October 16, 2020 - Country Acres • Page 7

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PHOTOS BY KAYLA ALBERS

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Pie pumpkins are piled up at Grandpa’s Pumpkin Patch on Oct. 2 in St. Joseph, where owner Dick Hanson prints and distributes recipes for pumpkin pie.

Dick Hanson feeds his seven different breeds of chickens, Oct. 2 in St. Joseph. A favorite activity for children visiting the farm is feeding the chickens.

Grandpa’s from page 6

Large Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins will be sold and later carved for Halloween.

CA-Oct16-1B-MT

farm boy, and fall always kind of meant the haying was done, so you could settle down and relax a little bit.”

That is what Grandpa’s Pumpkin Patch is all about; getting outside, enjoying the fresh air and enjoying the traditions of fall.

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Page 12 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020

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Jennifer Klaphake Vice President Lending

Lance Peterson and his daughter, Ellary, pose with their geese and wood ducks as well as dogs Rugar (left) and Storm, on Youth Waterfowl Day.

Peterson

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from page 11

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and squawking away.”

It’s about sharing stories, he said, and sharing what’s going on in their lives when there are no barriers and they’re in the natural environment.

“I am who I am and they are who they are,” he said. “When the sun rises, I tell my kids, ‘See how pretty this is? When Dad’s dead and gone, close your eyes and think of one of these great memories and I’ll always be here for you kids.’ It’s memories I want to pass on to my kids.”

Over the years, Peterson’s kids have grown their stockpiles of supplies – receiving warm gear that allows them to hunt and fish and enjoy the outdoors no matter the season or the temperature. Each of them

has their own fishing pole as well as a .245 Winchester rifle; the gun is a small-caliber youth rifle without a lot of recoil.

Peterson is a big proponent of gun safety courses for his kids as well. He said those courses are valuable even to those who don’t hunt, so kids know exactly what safety precautions to use if they ever encounter a gun.

“It’s gun safety 101,” he said.

His kids frequent the gun range with him and practice their accuracy.

More than it’s about bringing home fish, ducks or deer, Peterson said it’s about the pro-

Peterson page 13

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Blake Peterson (left) and his dad, Lance Peterson, pose with their dogs, Ruger (left) and Storm, along with the pheasants they shot on a youth pheasant hunt in South Dakota.

Page 14 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020

Animals we SEND US PHOTOS of the animals YOU love, and we will share them here for all our readers to enjoy! Be sure to include your name, town and a description of the photo. Email to diane@saukherald.com, or text to 320-260-0013.

SUBMITTED BY NATAUSHA SIMON, Albany This is Boots and she loves to play ball!

SUBMITTED BY JANE AND JOHN COURT, Avon Our Goldendoodle, Stanley, is full of energy, snuggles and love.

ON, Starbuck YCE BLAIR ANDERS SUBMITTED BY JO rry, in a parade being pulled by n, Ba idee in ld rid ter would . Blair, and myy son This is my dad, J.E dad and his seven brothers and sisbuggy is very old. these ponies. My l. My dad was born in 1917, so thein their shop; there this buggy to schooop in Alexandria has it on display Blairview Saddle Shin this buggy! is so much history

SUBMITTED BY JOYCE BLAIR ANDERSON, Starbuck My girlfriend and I wore these costumes in a parade with our dogs, Sophie, a Standard Poodle, and Harry, a Westie; it was so fun!

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Andersons from page 15

Laura, 12, Heidi, 9 and Peter, 5, in an out while he is working.

VaLoris is between jobs at the moment, but has worked in agriculture in the past, and for six years ran the grain elevator in Atwater.

“For years I worked in the ag industry, but with Tony having his own business and the kids getting older, I decided last year that it was time for one of us to get out,” VaLoris said.

The Andersons bought their eight-acre plot of land in 2000. In 2004, they built the house and two years ago, the shop. Prior to owning his own business, Anderson studied diesel mechanics at Alexandria

PHOTO SUBMITTED

VaLoris and Tony Anderson are pictured in December 2016, shortly before surgery when Tony received a donor kidney from VaLoris.

Technical College with a he started on lawnmowers focus on truck repair. Lat- and worked his way up to er, he worked for Haug Implement in Willmar, where Andersons page 17

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Peter Anderson often spends time in the shop with his dad, Tony. He is too small to help much, but Tony sees it as a learning experience for him nonetheless.

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Friday, October 16, 2020 - Country Acres • Page 17

Andersons from page 16

Sometimes, he does investigative work to figure out odd things that are not working. He makes farm stops for less serious problems, but most are worked on in the shop.

The variety is something he enjoys; there are never two days the same. On Sept. 28, he was working on a JD 4230 that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. A shed had fallen on it, damaging the radiator.

All in all, he loves working in his new shop – even the days that he takes time to clean it. After a busy summer of combines, he enjoyed doing this recently. Each day, he gets up between 3 and 5 a.m. and goes out to the shop to tinker or do paperwork.

“It’s nice to have a couple hours to yourself every morning; I start repairing after breakfast,” he said.

Sometimes, the girls will help out and Peter often hangs around.

“He’s only 5 years old and can’t do much, but he’s out here and it’s a learning experience regardless,” Anderson said.

Peter loves to play at his very own workbench.

It was handed down to him from his dad, who got it as a gift from his own father when he was about Peter’s age. Anderson’s father made it, and it remains the

combines. Another 15plus years working in an independent repair shop culminated in a decision to branch out on his own.

He felt it was time, but, it was also a time of significant health problems for Anderson. In 2013, he was diagnosed with Wegener’s Vasculitis, an auto immune disorder that causes inflammation of vessels of the nose, sinuses, lungs and kidneys.

A kind of chemo PHOTOS BY DIANE LEUKAM treatment helped him go Laura Anderson (front) occasionally lends a hand to her dad, Tony Anderson, as he repairs tractors and combines. into remission, but not before his kidneys failed permanently. After a period of time on two kinds same except for a portion of dialysis, it was time to on the top. In addition to find a match for a kidney the bench, Peter’s favorite transplant. His match was thing is to go along with found and it was the ulDad on service calls. timate gift a wife could Meanwhile, the fall give. VaLoris donated one harvest will continue and of her kidneys to her husfarmers will be in the band in a transplant surfields. gery that took place at the “The harvest time of Mayo Clinic in Rochester the year is what I’ve alin December 2016. ways enjoyed,” Anderson Today, Anderson is said. “When I was young, doing well, enjoying life I didn’t mind going out to and working in his own plant, but when it was harbusiness. In addition to vest I would plant myself repairs, he makes hydrauin the combine and stay lic hoses up to a half inch, there all fall. I don’t get to cuts bulk chain up to 50 do that anymore and I kind 320-836-2284 • 1-888-276-1751 and 60 heavy and has a of miss it.”

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During the winters, he has a tractor check-over program, and during the summers, a combine checkover program that keeps him busy.

“I go through a combine a week, sometimes two; once in a while you get one that takes three weeks,” he said.

His combine checklist includes items such as the feederhouse, separator, belts, bearings, wornout parts, batteries, alternator and shaft speeds.

Basically, he makes sure everything is working Tony Anderson works on a John Deere 4230 tractor, Sept. correctly.

28 in his Anderson Repair shop near Atwater.

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Tony Anderson stands outside his repair shop Sept. 28 near Atwater. He began his independent business in 2016, coinciding with the transplant of a kidney he received from his wife, VaLoris.

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Haseman, Elliot each provide unique talents in cropping operation

BY SARAH COLBURN STAFF WRITER

EVANSVILLE – Russ Elliott and Craig Haseman have forged a relationship that spans property lines and blood lines. The two farmers have come together to farm their lands as one property, more than a combined 4,000 acres.

They do corn and soybeans, working the land side-by-side, rowby-row, paying little attention to who owns what – they farm with shared equipment and equipment they each own

themselves.

It’s a solution that works for Haseman, who turned 60 in May, and Elliott, who’s 38. The benefits of the relationship are mutual as Haseman, whose adult children have chosen other careers, gets an added hand with the day-to-day labor and a leg up on farm technology while Elliott soaks up the benefit of Haseman’s management style and people skills. They both benefit from the sharing of equipment.

“You build a lot of trust in each other,” Elliott said.

The men keep their financials separate based on their respective percentages of land but, when it’s time to plant or harvest they attack whichever chunk of land makes the most sense for the operation. Together, they decide when to plant, which type of seeds to plant, who to purchase

seeds from and when and how to fertilize.

Haseman is the communicator in the relationship and handles the day-to-day management and working with people – Elliott prides Haseman on his ability to listen, take in information and respond. He has really good people skills and management skills, Elliott said.

Haseman credits Elliott with taking charge of the technology side of things, keeping up to date on changes that could impact the farm and taking the lead on computer modeling that allows them to layer year after year of yield data so they can be more efficient at planting seeds and fertilizing exactly where it’s needed.

“I’d have to take a three-year sabbatical to get where he’s at (with

Farming page 19

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Friday, October 16, 2020 - Country Acres • Page 19 Bins and equipment used

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from page 18 computer modeling),” Haseman said.

Though each man has his own strengths and does his own research for the farm, they come together to make decisions.

Their bond first formed in 2003 when Elliott was working at Titan Machinery and Haseman came in for repairs. A few years later Elliott asked to borrowed equipment from Haseman to work up some corn stalks left over the winter. It was the beginning of a friendship where the two began to help one another. They started by sharing equipment and then, in the fall of 2012, Haseman’s need for help grew. His father, Don Haseman, his friend and the person he worked side-by-side with for years, died of cancer. Not only did the loss leave a huge emotional hole in

Haseman’s life, it also left him in need of dependable help, though his mother Shirley Haseman still helps on the farm today, sending food for those working and providing rides to help move people and equipment between the farms.

“We threw around the idea,” Elliott said.

Elliott had taken over his parents’ farm in 2008 and had been working at Titan Machinery for a few years. He farmed his land with his wife, Rachel Elliott, but wasn’t achieving what he wanted to with the farm. The experience of being on his own on the farm at 28, though his parents had prepared him well and taught him a strong work ethic, was eye-opening.

The Haseman and Elliott families have known each other since 1987.

Craig and Julie Haseman’s oldest son is three years younger than Elliott and the same age as Elliott’s younger brother.

Haseman knew about Elliott’s mechanical skills from his time at Titan and knew he eventually wanted to invest more time into farming.

“Russ has a passion to farm and because of that passion, and his intellect for doing this, his hunger to learn, he puts the time in,” Haseman said. “It’s a breath of fresh air to be around, it’s like being around a younger version of my father. He has a God-given talent, he’s very mechanical and on a farm this size that’s a necessity.”

Elliott, who grew up on a dairy farm, started selling seed on the side in case their venture tanked, but they moved forward with a plan to work together.

“He’d help me with equipment needs and I’d help him drive tractor,” Elliott said.

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As it begins to rain, Russ Elliot combines a field of soybeans on Oct. 1 near Evansville.

Page 20 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020

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• 8-10 medium potatoes • 1 cup sour cream (boiled with 1 tsp. salt added, and • 1/2 cup grated onion mashed) • 1 cup milk • Add and mix with mixer: • 1 tsp. garlic salt • 1 (8 ounce) pkg. cream cheese vPlace in 9x13 inch casserole. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight or bake right away. Top with paprika and 4 Tbsp. butter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.

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Page 22 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020

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Wesley Siira

Grade: Junior Parents: Andy and Emily Siira Brandon-Evansville FFA Tell us about your FFA program and your involvement in it: I’ve been a member of Brandon-Evansville FFA since I was in seventh grade. I joined the crops team that year thinking it was something that interested me. We made it to state along with several other of our teams. The convention was great and I had a lot of fun. I’m still on the crops team and hope to keep growing my knowledge. Our chapter is like a family. We all know each other and we all strive to make each other better. Being in FFA has really benefited my leadership skills and has really helped me be who I am today. I was our chapter historian for two years then I moved up to Vice President as a sophomore and now my junior year I am the President.

My sheep project has been another big part of my experience in FFA. This winter I will be lambing 26 ewes, which is more than twice as many as last year. In the past, I have had a crossbred flock of mostly Polypay genetics. However, this winter I received a $1,000 National FFA grant to improve my project. I thought about how I could best use the money and decided to enter the purebred spectrum. I did my research and found a nice Polypay ram from Iowa. After I purchased him, I needed to find a ewe lamb. With most of the top-tier ewes being sold already, I struggled to find a good match. I eventually found a good one in Northern Minnesota. I plan to save my lambs and slowly switch from being a commercial crossbred flock to being mostly purebred and start selling my own breeding stock to other FFA members and 4-H members who want to get bigger into the sheep industry.

What is the greatest benefit you have received from being involved in FFA? The greatest benefit I have received in FFA is being able to be a leader both inside and outside of FFA. My ability to communicate with others is another skill that FFA has taught me that I use every day.

What other hobbies and interests do you have outside of FFA? I’m a runner in both cross country and track and team captain in cross country.

I help on the family farm, raising beef, corn and soybeans. I am also an active member of 4-H and have had multiple state fair trips with my breeding ewes.

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they, in turn, did the same for Craig.

“There are so many opportunities that come, that people present for you,” he said.

For him, farming has become an extended family and his relationship with Elliott is one of the ways to pass forward the kinds of opportunities his father once had.

Haseman and Elliott rent land from a combined total of 12 area land owners and Haseman said those people have become an important part of their lives. Without them, he said, they wouldn’t be able to do what they do.

Haseman knows the life stories of some of the land owners he works with. One went to the country school house at the end of his driveway, and walked across his field to attend classes;

three served in WWII. Haseman has watched as some of his landowner partners have passed away, and the land has been passed on to their children or others. He’s gone on to develop relationships with the new caretakers of the land and said he’ll always value the friendships he’s created through the years.

“It’s that relationship, it’s the wisdom they carry,” he said. “We feel blessed by these relationships.”

Haseman and Elliott also take care to point out their relationship, and their success, wouldn’t be possible without their wives. Both men began their farming careers with their wives by their side in the field and both women went on to other professional careers that provided for the family in different ways and allowed Haseman and Elliott to farm. They both talk about the important role their wives have

played in supporting them in the field and at home, giving them balance and stability.

As they look to the future, Elliott and Haseman said they’re open to the bond they’ve forged continuing in some form or another. Elliott has a daughter of his own and Haseman has grandchildren that are beginning to take interest in the farm – neither are leading the next generation into farming, it’s simply not their style. Instead, they’re giving the kids opportunities to see if they have interest in farming and if they don’t, they said, the relationship can continue in a different form – blood lines aren’t a necessity.

“I think it takes a lot to put this kind of operation together and it takes a lot to take it apart, and it takes a lot to pass it along,” Elliott said. “It takes the right person to take it on and manage it, it takes years to build it.”

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Friday, October 16, 2020 - Country Acres • Page 25

Winter is right around the corner.

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Stonybrook page 26

(above right) Megan Vikesland, owner and founder of Stonybrook Equine, has always dreamed of opening an optimal performance and fitness facility. She’s been dreaming of horses swimming since she was a child.

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Page 26 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020

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Stonybrook from page 25

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open on site to provide a full circle of care. Dr. Ashley Anderson, with Triple A Equine, provides veterinary care at the facility.

Though Vikesland completes all the services with her equine clients, the edicts for care come directly from veterinarians. She not only works with Anderson in-house, she works with referring vets as well. Her business attracts customers from as far away as Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Iowa, some driving as many as eight hours to seek out her care.

Some horses come in for day services while others, with injuries, may stay for weeks or months.

“I like working with a horse that is injured, and not everybody thinks they’ll make it back into the arena, regain their strength,” she said.

“Bringing them back and seeing them compete again….I’ve cried, it’s exciting, I get goosebumps, it’s fun to be part of the journey.”

When she was a child, her mom worked for a veterinary office and Vikesland spent her time reading every horse book she could possibly find.

At the age of 17, she took an online equine massage course and then attended the Northwest School of Animal Massage in Washington state. She returned and opened her own business working on horses, travelling from barn to barn providing equine massage with nothing but her own two hands.

Vikesland knew she

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

Alyssa Gabrielson (left) and Megan Vikesland, of Stonybrook Equine in Evansville, care for a horse as it receives an AquaTred session.

wanted to pursue equine optimal performance as a career and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in equine science from North Dakota State University. She did an internship at KESMARC, a renowned equine facility in Kentucky, working with horses receiving water services. Her immediate goal was to return to the Midwest and provide those services locally. She attended the University of Minnesota-Crookston for pre-veterinary school.

In 2017, she began building her equine optimal performance and fitness facility. She broke ground in August of 2019 on her new building and the swimming lane will be completed in the spring of 2021.

Vikesland works with

each horse individually, knowing some aren’t big fans of water. Sometimes, she said, it can take as many as two or three handlers to ease them into the water but once they’re in, they love it.

“I have horses that start playing in the water,” she said. “They come to really enjoy it, it’s a workout but it’s therapeutic mentally as well as physically.”

She stands about eye level with the horses on dry land while the horse is in the water, never leaving their side. She often sends videos and photos to owners who can’t stay on site while their horse is conditioning.

The water provides the horses with a concus-

Stonybrook page 27

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A horse spends time in the rejuvenating salt water spa at Stonybrook Equine in Evansville. The spa can be used to soothe a horse’s legs, depending on recommendations from a veterinarian.

Friday, October 16, 2020 - Country Acres • Page 27

Stonybrook from page 26

sion-less workout, she said, as they become 60 to 80 percent buoyant.

With the AquaTred, horses walk in on one end, stand in about four to five feet of water and then walk out the other end after their workout.

She increases the time increments each day under the direction of a veterinarian.

The saltwater spa fills as the horse waits in a glorified tub, the water, depending on a veterinary recommendation, can range from 36 degrees on the cold end to 112 degrees on the hot end.

The temperature is determined by the vet and the goal for the horse – performance horses use the spa for cooling down and bringing down heat or inflammation in their legs.

Warmer water can aid with the effects of arthritis and increase blood circulation, Vikesland said.

When complete, the swimming pool will span 100 feet and reach to a depth of 12 feet. There’s a ramp on either end of the lane. This allows horses to free swim, entering on one end and exiting on the other, Vikesland said.

Most of Vikesland’s patients come via word of mouth; horse circles are tightknit and word travels.

Once Vikesland’s facility is complete in the spring, with the swimming pool and full veterinary office up and running on site, she said she’d like to begin work on a mobile unit. Her dream is to be able to travel to the big shows across the country providing above-ground AquaTred, Saltwater Spa and on-site veterinary services.

Vikesland credits

PHOTOS SUBMITTED

Dr. Ashley Anderson with Triple A Equine administers joint injections on a horse receiving services at Stonybrook Equine in Evansville.

A horse receives a MagnaWave session at Stonybrook Equine in Evansville.

owners and veterinarians with giving her the ability to do what she truly loves, she said it’s a group effort to get a horse functioning at optimal condition or returned to the arena after an injury.

“It’s not just me, it’s

vets, having an owner who also believes in the horse and wants to put the time and money and effort in,” she said. “Even with performance horses, you can’t do one without the (backing of) the other.”

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Page 28 • Country Acres - October 16, 2020

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