Pasture opportunities
BY AMY KYLLO STAFF WRITER
GOODHUE — When Jon and Jared Luhman see pasture, they see opportunity.
The Luhmans grow premium products produced in a low-input, low-labor, focused-management environment.
view pasture land as the land that you can’t farm,” Jared
The father-son duo, with encouragement and
“Most people in this area
AMY KYLLO
Jared Luhman reels up fence Nov. 15, 2024, at Dry Creek Red Angus farm near Goodhue. Besides farming, Luhman is also the podcast host of “Ranching Returns,” which garners over 5,000 listens a week.
and Valerie, own D
Luhmans operate low-input cow-calf operation, raise sustainable crops
help from their wives, Terri and Valerie, own Dry Creek Red Angus Farm, where they graze 225 Red Angus cowcalf pairs and grow crops on 900 owned and rented acres. Jared is also a podcast host.
through breeding and herd management.
Thinking about his local area, Jared said he has fun pushing the limits and finding ways to make a cow-calf operation in the region more profitable. Jon agreed.
225 Red An gro r po abo h ways to make in i ropr Joon “P “ ngdoin ngthin e s th and n e s phi th t w c w th c s
“People keep doing the same thing, farming the same way, and just getting bigger,” he said. “Our philosophy is that maybe we need to change the way we do things and come up with some systems that fit the times.”
The Luhmans’ cows weigh about 1,150 pounds. The animals are bred for low maintenance energy, which makes them more efficient.
Each year, they sell about 60 bulls to Pharo Cattle Company based in Colorado as cooperative producers. This winter, the Luhmans are also expanding with 80 Black Angus on a permanent rental agreement from the company because the animals’ original farm was struck by drought.
Pharo Cattle Company requires their bulls to come from cows who have never had an assisted calving or failed to breed back. This requirement drives the Luhmans’ culling decisions.
the first 45 days — which is the first two heat cycles. The rest are sold as feeders.
The Luhmans use first breeding time to further cull heifers. If heifers do not come up pregnant quickly, the Luhmans can still profitably sell them as feeders because they are young.
The Luhmans’ herd is intentionally youthful. Jared said depreciation is the second-largest cost they face after feed. Jared estimates a beef cow’s value will go from $2,500 to $1,500 over 10 years. However, the depreciation is not linear. Value remains strong until about 4-5 years of age, which is when they sell many of their cows.
“Their philosophy is raising cattle that survive and thrive on the environment that they have,” Jon said.
“You’re not writing a check for depreciation like you write a check for hay, but it’s still real,” Jared said.
The Luhmans rotationally graze. n , that you can’t farm,” Jared said “We can create more value off of it than most people expect.”
The Luhmans focus on profitability
This month in the
The Luhmans put a bull with their herd for 60 days a year. They keep replacements resulting from pregnancies in
Luhmans page 2
PHOTO BY
Duck, duck, delicacy Caledonia
m nmenent ural Enviro o
522 Sinclair Lewis Ave Sauk Centre MN
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH CARROLL, GREENER PASTURES (Left) Sunshine brightens the backs of Red Angus beef cattle at Dry Creek Red Angus farm near Goodhue. The Luhmans use first pregnancy as one of their tools to sort heifers into replacements and feeders.
PHOTO BY AMY KYLLO (Above inset) The Luhman family — Colton (front); (back, from left) Jon, Jared and Valerie holding Briley — gather Nov. 15, 2024, at Dry Creek Red Angus farm near Goodhue. The Luhmans have a cow-calf operation and raise crops.
SOUTH
Published by Star Publications
Copyright 2025 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave. Sauk Centre, MN 56378
Phone: 320-352-6577 | Fax: 320-352-5647
NEWS STAFF
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Luhmans from front
“I just love green grass, green forage and animals on the land,” Jon said. “Grazing, to me, that’s the most beautiful scene that’s out there.”
moving calving into April and May, so calves are weaned during the cold months, and the cows’ energy needs are lowered.
The Luhmans have grazed corn stalks the last five years into late January and beyond. Last year, they baled grazed corn stalks. This year, they hope to swath graze sorghum-sudangrass. To swath graze, they will cut the forage into 3-foot swaths as close to the first big snow of the year as possible.
Luhmans page 3
ST R
Publications bli ti
“The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.”
Using minimal stored feeds is the Luhmans’ goal. Their cows overwinter on pasture. Part of their overwintering strategy includes
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SARAH CARROLL, GREENER PASTURES
Red Angus beef cattle stand in pasture at Dry Creek Red Angus farm near Goodhue. The Luhmans have a youthful herd, with many cows being culled at 4-5 years of age.
Red Angus beef cattle dot the pasture at Dry Creek Red Angus farm near Goodhue. The Luhmans rotationally graze.
Luhmans
from page 2
With their management, the Luhmans are trying to create an accessible beef farm model with low overhead and minimal equipment. Since beef cows create limited income, the Luhmans said the more work the cow does for itself, the better the profit.
The Luhmans also raise row crops. This past year, they grew 300 acres, a portion of which were organic. Next year, they plan to fully transition from organic to conventional crops and lower row crop acres to 150.
Several frustrations have caused the switch. Jon said in spite of using cover crops, his organic matter has been stagnant due to tillage for weed control erasing soil structure built by soil organisms and earthworms.
“When you till it every year, you destroy it,” Jon said. “You’re constantly tearing down everything you built up.”
He also said the tillage has caused erosion. Finally, organic-to-conventional price differentials have become less attractive.
With conventional production, the Luhmans plan to eventually become 100% no till, something they have already done on some of their land.
Besides farming, for the last three and a half years, Jared has hosted a weekly podcast, “Ranching Returns.” The podcast, which has more than 200 episodes, gar-
ners over 5,000 listens a week.
He said the podcast has given him access to expert farmers and ranchers he would not otherwise have visited with.
Jared applies the concept that people are the average of the five people they spend the most time with to the value of podcasts.
“A lot of times, the people that you want to become are not people that you can surround yourself with physically,” Jared said. “By listening to enough podcasts … that’s the same thing. … Surrounding (yourself) with the ideas instead of the actual people.”
Jared said one of the things he finds most valuable in listening
to podcasts is not the ideas, but the likeminded community affirming and reinforcing what he is already doing.
Beyond their management practices, family is an important aspect of farming for Jon and Jared. They both said they enjoy that farming allows them to spend more time with Jared and Valerie’s children and to be together working.
“I have a relationship with my dad that very, very, very few children will ever have,” Jared said.
Looking to the future, the Luhmans see potential that Jared’s children may someday farm.
“It gives more purpose to what you do when you know that the next generation might get to enjoy it,” Jared said.
MONDAY
8:00 am Overnight market cows/bulls 10:00 am Fed cattle, followed by day-delivered market cows & bulls
1:00 pm Dairy cattle, stock cows & breeding bulls followed by feeder cattle
4:00 pm Baby calves, arena 2
TUESDAY
8:00 am Sheep and goats
11:00 am Feeder pigs
WEDNESDAY
10:00 am Hog/Sow/Boar Auction 2:00 pm Fed cattle, followed by market cows and bulls
THURSDAY
10:00 am Special feeder cattle auctions, September - April
FRIDAY
Closed Office open 8:00 am – Noon
YARD HOURS
Sunday Noon – 10pm
Monday 6am – 10pm
Tuesday 6am – 10pm
Wednesday 6am – 4pm
(Open until 10pm, preceding special Thursday sales ONLY)
Thursday 6am – 4pm
Friday 6am – Noon
Saturday By Appointment
Red Angus beef cattle fill their allotted area of dry sorghum-sudangrass Nov. 15, 2024, at Dry Creek Red Angus farm near Goodhue. The Luhmans’ goal is to use as little stored feed as possible.
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Jon Luhman reels fence Nov. 15, 2024, at Dry Creek Red Angus farm near Goodhue. Luhman said he likes seeing animals on the land grazing.
Anything nything on wheels
Frederickson fulfills clients’ dreams through Northwind Trailer Group
BY BEN SONNEK | STAFF WRITER
BLOOMING PRAIRIE — When it comes to building trailers, Eric Frederickson, founder and owner of Northwind Trailer Group out of Blooming Prairie, has seen the high and low points of the industry while creating all kinds of trailers, from fish houses and horse trailers to mobile salons and banks on wheels.
“I can’t see myself doing anything else,” Frederickson said. “I’ve been offered many jobs in the past that paid really well, but at the end of the day, I like what I do.”
Northwind Trailer Group traces its founding
back to 1995, when Frederickson started making horse trailers with living quarters. He and his father, Jim Frederickson, rode horses together, and when they met someone with a camper inside his horse trailer, Frederickson wanted one of his own.
“When I turned 18, I got something called credit, so I bought my first one,” Frederickson said. “Then, I finished it out myself, and somebody wanted to buy it from me. I made a thousand dollars, and I said, ‘Sixteen more to go, and I have one paid for.’ It started with horse trailers, and then it just grew and grew and grew.” to er of po tra icks that
Northwind Trailer Group page 8
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
(Left) Blue colored lights illuminate the interior of a completed trailer Dec. 20, 2024, at Northwind Trailer Group near Blooming Prairie. Most Northwind Trailer Group trailers have built-in living quarters.
(Below) Eric Frederickson smiles Dec. 20, 2024, at his shop near Blooming Prairie. Frederickson has been making trailers since 1995.
Tim Hobbs bends a piece of metal Dec. 20, 2024, at Northwind Trailer Group near Blooming Prairie. About half of Northwind Trailer Group’s trailer output is fish houses, a quarter is horse trailers and the rest are specialty trailers.
“Your
INSURANCE OF ALL KINDS
Northwind Trailer Group from page
7
Frederickson had also been selling insurance, and when he had to choose between careers, he decided to go fulltime on trailers and had about 20 employees at one point. However, in 2008, the market crashed.
“It was terrible,” Frederickson said. “I lost everything and drove truck for a while, and then I decided that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I called up a couple of my trailer dealers I did business with in the past, … and then I started doing horse trailers again, very low-key this time (with) two or three (employees).”
Then, one of Frederickson’s dealers bought the Firebrand Fish House franchise and had him finish their trailers.
“I did my first one, and I failed miserably at it,” Frederickson said. “I got paid for it, but it still cost me thousands of dollars in comebacks and reworks. It took me two or three to figure it out. … It took off from there, and we started doing other manufacturers’ trailers.”
After his successes in that area, it was suggested to Frederickson that he
start building his own trailers, so he started Northwind Trailer Group. After trying to settle the business in Indiana, Frederickson brought it back to Minnesota and commissioned some welding shops to help.
Today, Frederickson does trailer finishing work on his farm with his son, Gage Frederickson, who is interested in taking over the business when Frederickson retires.
Half of Northwind Trailer Group’s trailer output is fish houses, a quarter is horse trailers and the rest are specialty trailers — including fire department trailers, bathroom trailers, food trucks, mammogram units, dog washes, hair salons and more; he has even made one for someone who makes custom baseball bats.
About 90-99% of Northwind Trailer Group trailers have living quarters built in, which can feature bathrooms, heat and air conditioning, hot and cold water, refrigerators, sinks, showers, multiple TVs, sound systems, solar power and holding tanks.
Northwind Trailer Group page 10
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Adam Hobbs installs a door on a trailer Dec. 20, 2024, at Northwind Trailer Group near Blooming Prairie. Northwind Trailer Group’s specialty trailers have included fire department trailers, bathroom trailers, food trucks, mammogram units, dog washes and a hair salon.
Eric Frederickson moves a trailer with a skid loader Dec. 20 at Northwind Trailer Group near Blooming Prairie. Frederickson encourages trailer owners to test their trailers’ functions every
Duck, duck, delicacy
BY AMY KYLLO | STAFF WRITER
CALEDONIA — For 91 days each fall, Troy King is hand feeding his ducks individually twice a day.
King is the owner of Au Bon Canard, a foie gras company operated on his farm near Caledonia. There, King processes and sells around 660 ducks each year.
Foie gras is fattened duck liver, which can be fried, made into mousse or served other ways. Being
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Gavage-fed ducks stand in the corner of their pen Nov. 13, 2024, at Troy King’s farm near Caledonia. To produce foie gras, ducks are control-fed corn to finish them the last two weeks before processing.
Foie gras processer relies on detail-oriented approach
a small-scale operation, King said he focuses on quality.
“I really hope that some of the chefs share … the story,” King said. “We care about what we raise. We care about our ducks, about our product, and we want to raise the best quality foie gras — and duck, for that matter — as we can. Without them having a good experience, we’re not in business.”
King page 13
Troy King holds a pan of partially-processed foie gras Nov. 13, 2024, inside the processing facility on his farm near Caledonia. King processes about 660 ducks a year.
Houston Co. - 60 Acres - $300,000 - Sold
Houston Co. - 78 Acres w/Home - $675,000 - Sold
Houston Co. - 160 Acres Farm w/Home - $1,250,000 - Sold
Houston Co.
Olmsted Co. - 88 Acres - $825,000
- $599,000 - Sold
King from page 11
About 75% of King’s foie gras is sold to restaurants, with his livers averaging 1.4 pounds. King’s main customers are in Minneapolis and Chicago, Illinois; as well as Omaha, Nebraska; and La Crosse and Madison, Wisconsin. King produces enough foie gras to last his customers through about May.
King, who does the main work of feeding and caring for the ducks, said one of his favorite parts of having the farm is his young children’s company as they play in the barn or lose his tools. Outside the farm, King works as a dairy and beef consultant specializing in calves for Farmers Win Cooperative.
To produce foie gras, the duck’s liver is specially fattened using gavage feeding. During the last two weeks before processing, ducks are control-fed corn twice daily through a tube inserted into their crop. Ducks receive about 250 grams of corn twice a day at the beginning of the two weeks and 400 grams twice a day at the end of the time.
“The goal is to start them at an attainable amount,” King said. “You just really have to treat every duck as an individual. The goal is tiny little stair steps every day. Never big jumps, never big falls, just consistently increase a little tiny bit.”
To feed, King sits in their pen on a chair, holds each duck and administers their corn. While feeding, he massages their crops to gauge the correct amount of feed for that duck. Intakes vary.
“It really is way more art than science,” King said.
Because of the uniqueness of each duck, King himself must do all the gavage feeding every day.
King page 14
Troy King holds pressure-cooked corn ready for feeding Nov. 13, 2024, on his farm near Caledonia. The softened corn allows the duck to need less grit, leaving more space in their system for the fattening corn.
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Troy King holds a fully-processed foie gras Nov. 13, 2024, inside the processing facility on his farm near Caledonia. Troy King took over Au Bon Canard in June 2023.
Troy King sifts fines out of whole corn Nov. 13, 2024, at his farm near Caledonia. The corn will then have any debris manually removed and be pressure cooked before it is gavage-fed to the ducks.
Auto Body Mechanic Retirement Auction; Selling tool chests, Snap-On, Mac, Matco and Blue Point hand and power tools, auto body speciality tools, 2008 Chevy 2500 pickup, 2019 American Hauler 16’ V-nose enclosed trailer, paint spray booth, antique wood planes, molding planes, marking gauges, scopes, tape measures and rulers. Bidding starts opening Saturday, January 25th at 8 am and bidding starts closing Monday, February 3rd at 4 pm. (Maring)
Tuesday, March 11th (online only) Spring Area Farmers Consignment Auction; Call now to consign your clean farm and construction equipment. Accepting consignments at lot Thursday, February 20th through Friday, February 28th from 8 am to 5 pm. Bidding starts opening Saturday, March 1st at 8 am and bidding starts closing Tuesday, March 11th at 10 am. (Maring)
Thursday, March 20th (live and online) Farm Retirement Auction for Wayne and Nancy Peterson at Northfield; Selling John Deere and New Holland tractors, New Holland balers, International combine and heads, John Deere loader, New Holland discbine, planting and tillage equipment, spraying and livestock equipment. Very clean equipment. Live auction begins Thursday, March 20th at 10 am. (Maring)
Thursday, April 3rd (live and online) Farm Estate Auction for Barnett Bros Inc. & Loss Lake Farms Inc. at Kilkenny; Selling John Deere tractors, Cat dozer, Terex scrapers, Cat motor grader, clean farm grain trucks, haying equipment, tillage machinery, pickup, antique car and livestock machinery. Live auction begins Thursday, April 3rd at 9:30 am. (Maring)
Tuesday, April 29th (online only) Farm Equipment Estate
Auction for The Doug Pirkl Estate; Selling John Deere tractors, Chevy and Ford pickups, New Holland discine, Ford grain truck, Case skid loader, John Deere round baler, snowblower, Midsota gooseneck trailer, farm support equipment, power and hand tools, firearms, collector farm toys and shop supplies. Bidding starts opening Saturday, April 19th at 8 am and bidding starts closing Tuesday, April 29th at 4 pm. (Maring)
Sunday, May 11th (online only) Collector Car, Parts and Tool Auction for the Doug Pedersen Estate; 1963 Volvo PV544, 1967 Wards Riverside 125CC motorcycle, Ford Flathead V8, air compressor, mig welder, solar plasma cutter, tool box, metal band saw, Snap-On and Matco hand tools, wood working equipment, shop tools. shop supplies, wood chipper/shredder, yard drag, AgriFab seeder, yard equipment and much more. Bidding starts opening Saturday, May 3rd at 8 am and bidding starts closing Sunday, May 11th at 3 pm. (Maring)
SCHEDULE
Tuesday, June 3rd (online only) Early Summer Area Farmers Consignment Auction; Call now to consign your clean farm and construction equipment. Accepting consignments at lot Thursday, May 15th through Friday, May 23rd from 8 am to 5 pm. Bidding starts opening Saturday, May 24th at 8 am and bidding starts closing Tuesday, June 3rd at 10 am. (Maring)
Sunday, June 22nd (online only) Moving Auction for Joe and Monica Boehmer; Ford Golden Jubilee restored trailer, John Deere L & LA restored tractors, Allis Chalmers tractors, Ford 650 parts tractor, tractor parts, 1988 Chevy 3500 pickup, tractor implements, tool box, Snap-On hand tools, power tools, Harley Davidson golf cart, steel wheels, lawn and garden items, clean furniture and household items. Bidding starts opening Saturday, June 14th at 8 am and bidding starts closing Sunday, June 22nd at 3 pm. (Maring)
Tuesday, July 15th (online only) Clean Farm Retirement Auction for Michael and Dana Timmers; Case IH tractors, Sterling Tandem Axle grain truck, John Deere combine and heads, Demo 365 gravity flow wagons, Mandako Twister 12’ vertical tillage tool, John Deere no-till drill, Hardy crop sprayer, John Deeere chisel plow, Westfield grain auger and farm support equipment. Bidding starts opening Saturday, July 5th at 8 am and bidding starts closing Tuesday, July 15th at 10am. (Maring)
Friday, August 1st (live and online) Exceptionally Clean Farm Retirement Auction for Terry and Cindy Vaith and Bob and Karen Vaith of Ellendale; John Deere tractors, John Deere combine and heads, John Deere planter, John Deere stalk chopper, nice tandem axle diesel grain trucks, DMI New Holland field cultivator, DMI ripper, LanD crop sprayer, fertilizer tender, dry fertilizer spreader, Westfield grain augers, farm support equipment. Very clean and well cared for line of farm machinery. Live auction begins Friday, August 1st at 10 am. (Maring)
Saturday, August 9th (live and online) Pre-Harvest Area Farmers Consignment Auction; Call now to consign your clean farm and construction equipment.; Accepting consignments at lot Wednesday, July 30th through Wednesday, August 6th. Live auction begins Saturday, August 9th at 8:30 am. (Maring)
Saturday, August 23rd (live and online) Clean Farm Retirement Auction for Michael Wojahn; John Deere tractors, Case IH combine and heads, John Deere planter, Demo grain cart, Westfield grain augers, International grain truck, tillage and planting equipment, antique collector tractors and farm support equipment. Live auction begins Saturday, August 23rd at 9:30 am. (Maring)
• Jetting clogged or
• Jetting clogged or frozen pump and gravity manure lines
• Vacuuming out large settling tanks
• Clearing trench drains
• Hydro excavation
• Televising of sewer lines
We
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