Country Acres South - October 15, 2022

a legacyLiving to leave

Larsen Farms honored as Olmsted County Farm Family of the Year

BY TAYLOR JERDE STAFF WRITER

BYRON

– Martin Larsen has worked as a part-time conservation specialist for nearly a decade. He’s also a farmer.

He balances his work as a farmer with educating other farmers about the importance of ground water and nitrate management.

Larsen Farms has always been diverse, and this has helped Larsen look at the farm as a system, rather than as individual parts.

From chickens to hogs to dairy cattle to what

they currently have now, the Larsen homestead has seen it all.

Larsen Farms currently consists of corn, soybeans, food-grade oats, alfalfa, meat goats, and beef cattle. Their beef cattle have been converted overtime from his uncle Tom’s dairy herd.

Those efforts have earned the Larsens the honor of being named the Olmsted County farm family of the year.

As a conservationist, Larsen encourages other farmers to stay connected and be proactive with how they can assist in reducing nitrates.

“The most important asset that we have

as farmers is our land, and if we treat it poorly and we erode it, it’s not going to be as productive,” he said.

Larsen takes extreme pride in his work and enjoys sharing his findings with fellow farmers. He has been active in conservation since 2013, and he travels to different areas to present his research.

“We want to do the best we can, so future generations can enjoy the land,” Larsen said. “It can be extremely rewarding seeing the changes and seeing people be successful.”

PHOTO BY MARTIN LARSEN

(Above) Martin Larsen combines one of his fields on Oct. 3 near Byron. Parts of the Larsen farm have been in their family for eight generations.

PHOTO BY TAYLOR JERDE

(Below) Glen (from left), Rudy, Tom and Martin Larsenstandbytheir8050AllisChalmers Larsen stand by their 8050 Allis-Chalmers tractor on Oct. 5 near Byron. The four have been working together to get harvest done.

NEWS STAFF

Mark Klaphake, Editor, mark.k@dairystar.com

Grace Jeurissen, Editor, grace.j@star-pub.com

Diane Leukam, Writer, diane@saukherald.com

Taylor Jerde, Writer, taylor.j@star-pub.com

Tiffany Klaphake, Writer, tiffany.k@dairystar.com

Sarah Colburn, Staff Writer

Story ideas send to:

grace.j@star-pub.com, mark.k@dairystar.com

SALES STAFF

Laura Seljan, 507-350-2217, laura.s@dairystar.com

Julia Mullenbach, 507-438-7739, julia.m@star-pub.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 Karen Knoblach | Annika Gunderson

Larsen

Larsen

Publications bli ti

“Committed to being the eyes

ears of our communities.”

Larsen

It takes a great crew at Larsen Farms to keep up on all the work. From field work, to feeding the animals, to getting 11-year-old son Rudy to sports, the family is always there to lend a helping hand.

Larsen’s father, Glen, and his uncle, Tom, assist with field work and in any other aspects of the farm where help is needed. Larsen’s mother, Kay, helps get Rudy to practices and helps with a number of other farm-related tasks. Rudy is beginning to earn more responsibility with the field work and daily chores.

In his spare time, Larsen has taken up caving, and while it’s a personal hobby of his, he does it to better understand the movement of groundwater, which he can use for his research on nitrates. His son began caving with him when he was just 4 years old.

Larsen currently serves as the vice president for the Minnesota Caving Club and was previously the president.

Larsen has other hobbies as well such as photography and logging. In fact, he has his own saw mill. He and his son log together and have used their skills to benefit the community. Oxbow Park, a zoo in Byron, was in need of a new nature center, so Larsen donated his time with his sawmill to create a natural atmosphere for the center.

The Larsen family has a long history in the area. Parts of their farm have been in their family for eight generations.

The family came to the United States from Norway in 1857, during the homesteading. They stayed in a sod house for a season, before acquiring the land. On this land, there stood a tall oak tree that Larsen refers to as the witness tree.

“It was there when my family came here, so it has seen it all,” he said.

The tree eventually died, but Larsen was able to preserve the tree by logging it. He is figuring out what could be its perfect use.

Along with farming, logging and caving, Larsen also is an active supporter for rural mental health. He has presented on resilience to advocate for those suffering, which is extremely important to him.

Larsen wants to live to leave a legacy, so he said he’s teaching by example.

“There’s a drive

to teach our peers in agriculture to see conservation in agriculture in a different light,” he said.

He has continuously developed his passions to try and make a difference in the agriculture world.

“Agriculture is us, our livelihood and who we identify as,” Larsen said.

He is always looking for the next place to improve and enjoys farming with a purpose to help be the change and influence others.

“What else can we do better? What else can we discover and research?” Larsen said.

“I enjoy taking what I am doing here, teaching others with it, but also studying it.”

He also wants to enhance the land, so his son can farm as the sixth generation.

“I want Rudy to see who we are as a family farm,” he said.

PHOTO BY MARTIN LARSEN

The Larsens use a Gleaner combine to harvet beans.

Martin Larsen’s saw mill that he used to donate his time to help create a new nature center for Oxbow Park.

PHOTO BY TAYLOR JERDE

Martin Larsen checks corn with his trusty sidekick, Bingo, near Byron. Martin has been able to make a large impact in conservation while implementing specific practices on his farm.

PHOTO BY MARTIN LARSEN

Martin Larsen checks his combine to ensure it is working properly on Oct. 4 near Byron. They harvest corn, soybeans, and food-grade oats.

Farm

CALENDAR OF SALES

Tuesday, November 15th:

Larry & Sandy Yunker Farm Retirement Auction (Offsite, Online Only)

Thursday, Dec. 1st: Bruce & Nancy Mix Olmsted Co. Farmland Auction (Offsite, Live & Online)

Tuesday, Dec. 6th:

After Harvest Consignment Auction (Online)

*Advertising Deadline is Wed. Nov. 9th*

Tuesday, Dec. 13th: Ron & Gary Vogt Farm Retirement Auction (Offsite, Live & Online)

MONDAY

8:00 am Overnight market cows/bulls

am Fed cattle, followed

market

pm Dairy cattle,

pm Baby calves,

8:00 am Sheep

am

10:00 am

pm

RAKES

MOWERS

It was there, as their father brokered a deal that helped re-establish trade relations with Cuba, that the brothers realized the importance of the next generation of farmers.

“It was a life-changing experience that didn’t affect me until now, when I had my own kids.” Seth said. “We make the deals with the older generation but it’s the younger generation that we’re dealing with.”

The brothers watched as their father introduced American farming techniques to Castro and other representatives. They discussed things like the importance of milk replacer.

Today, Seth said, they use that experience to help kids in their own community. When today’s youth show an interest in farming, he said, he’s willing to help them get engaged in agriculture and work with animals. It could be a life-changing experience for a child, he said.

“It gives a whole new meaning to life watching crops grow, or a calf being born and it grows into something great or watching my kids grow up on the farm.” Seth said.

K-LER Cattle is the prime example of history running deep with tradition. For many years, the Kaehler family has built up their family’s now sixth generation family farm, along with their solar company. K-LER Cattle, located near St. Charles, consists of 150 cows and crop operations.

Ralph and Mena Kaehler raised their two children, Seth and Cliff on the farm.

“We feel blessed that the sixth generation is here, and we were able to grow both the farm and solar company.” Mena said. “They were able to leverage each other.”

Seth is currently living on the farm with his wife, Shelby, and their two children Creed and Colt. Cliff and his wife, Bailee also have two children, Phenix and Devereux, who keep active with the solar company and helping on the family farm from time to time.

With the sixth generation now growing up on the farm, there is no doubt their philosophy runs true: Built on tradition, focused on the future.

The farm was originally homesteaded by wagon-makers from Winona. When the Kaehler’s

Creed (from left) Seth, Shelby, Colt, and Mena Kaehler stand in front of grazing heifers on Sept. 9 near St. Charles. The Kaehler’s have had a lot of success with their breeding program.

bought the farm, they had hogs, draft horses and cattle. Ralph’s father, Don and uncle Rudy made it through the depression by using their Belgians as studs. Don won the stud colt class at the Minnesota State Fair with one of their Belgian studs, which he was extremely proud of. Another proud accomplishment the Kaehler family holds was having the largest Duroc herd in Minnesota, with 40 sows, 55 years ago.

“We feel blessed that the sixth generation is here, and we were able to grow both the farm and solar company.”

- Mena Kaehler

PHOTO BY TAYLOR JERDE

Ralph and Mena purchased the farm in 1992, using the Beginning Farmer Loan Program which can be used for farmers when they first purchase a farm. Seth and Shelby then used that same program to purchase the farm.

“We had always told the boys, if one of them wanted to raise their kids on the farm, they can.” Mena said.

As time went on, their primary focus became cattle. Shorthorns were their breed of choice. Ralph imported a few Shorthorns from Europe and one of the main Shorthorn sires from Ireland.

In 1996, Ralph exported Shorthorns and a few Simmentals to China after a Chinese delegation came to the United States to decide which producers they wanted to work with.

“We felt very fortunate that they picked us, so we put together a plane-load of Shorthorns working with other Shorthorn breeders in the Midwest.” Mena recalled. “Ralph went to China later that spring to consult and because of that trip, Ralph got selected to go on the delegation with Jesse Ventura.”

Serving on the delegation in China opened up many opportunities for Ralph and his family. They were then able to go to Cuba when Ventura opened the trade agreement. Ralph and his family pulled together two breeding beef, two dairy heifers, two sheep, two bison, two hogs, and two lambs to send to Cuba. They created many relationships and even introduced some important agricultural products

to farmers in Cuba.

As Cliff and Seth got older, they became heavily involved in showing and the Simmental Association.

This began their transition from Shorthorn cattle to Simmental and Sim-Angus. “We really enjoyed the Simmental Junior Nationals, and the connections we made in the Simmental industry.” Seth said.

“We really started focusing on breeding the show heifers with AI and doing some embryo transfers, but it was the junior association that really drove us into the Simmental industry.”

K-LER Cattle is focused on the future, they strive to produce elite cattle with a specific look who are also productive.

“They have to have phenotype and EPD’s to go along with it.” Seth said.

The Kaehlers were able to turn their dreams

into realities in the showring. They recalled their favorite show heifer, K-LER Sweetness, as she won many shows for them and was a pasture favorite. Some of her biggest successes are winning the 4-H show along with the Junior and Open show in Denver. Her legacy continues to live on through generations of offspring all around the country.

“She was a breed-changer.” Seth said.

Family is at the core of K-LER farms and it takes a lot of people to continue the family farm.

“When we were younger, my brother and I would help calve out cows, and my mom would take us to all the junior shows,” he said. “After college, my dad and I would work back and forth with chores, making sure everything got done. Shelby does all the bookwork, tracking, and expenses going in and out on the farm.”

Seth continues to place importance on that family partnership today.

“Family is growing up with your siblings, the relationships you have and work-

Snowmobile Season is Coming!

ing together,” he said. “Family means everything, without family we wouldn’t be where we’re at today.”

Without family, he said, the farm would never be raising the sixth generation.

Shelby agrees.

“Blood, sweat, tears, and smiles.” Shelby said.

Through the years, Shelby said, people have had to give up something to allow the next generation to farm.

Seth agreed.

“You have to learn to give up a little bit.” Shelby said. “The ribbons and banners will fade but being able to have the farm is key.” Seth said.

They have also hired a full-time manager, Ryan Ihrke, on the farm to help minimize the stress on the family.

“It’s a major relief having Ryan.” Seth said.

“There’s too many ways of getting spread out too thin, so now we can do a lot of stuff better.”

Shelby agreed.

“Our kids are young yet, so having help allows us to enjoy it.” she said.

Many family farm

leaders agree communication and trust are important factors in successfully running a farm. The Kaehler family says it has helped them achieve what they have been able to do.

“You are always developing; you’re always wanting to do the best,” Seth said. “Before, we weren’t breeding off numbers, and now we’re using the DNA to decide breeding styles. If you don’t change, you get left behind.”

Each generation of Kaelers has relied on the ones before them, grateful for the openness and opportunity the predecessors have shown them. For Mena, it’s been important to keep the farm going.

“Ralph and I feel really blessed that we have the opportunity to be able to pass the farm on and how our family dynamics are with the choices we made,” she said. “With the two businesses, it has been able to help both of them grow. Both boys picked their passions and were able to work together.”

PHOTO BY EMMA LOU PHOTOGRAPHY

Simmental and Simmental influenced cattle are the preferred breed of the Kaehler family.

PHOTO BY TAYLOR JERDE

Mena (from left) Shelby, Colt, Seth and Creed Kaehler pose Creed’s heifer, Frankie, in front of their farm sign on Sept. 9 near St. Charles.

Seth (from left) Creed, Colt and Shelby walk the pasture, checking the cattle on September 9th. The farm contains 150 Simmental and Sim-Angus cattle.

BREED

Loppnow family breeds, sells Yorshire pigs

BY MAGGIE MOLITOR | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

LAKE CITY –

Known as the “Mother Breed” in the swine industry, Yorkshires characteristically are acknowledged for their abilities to farrow and raise piglets. These maternal instincts are desirable among many

swine breeders. And for Rann Loppnow, those characteristics are why Yorkshire is his breed of choice.

“Having farrowed other breeds like Durocs and crossbreds, I’ve always had a better experience with the Yorks,”

Loppnow said. “Yorkshires farrow better, milk more, have large litter sizes and are calmer. I really enjoy working with them.”

Loppnow and his wife, Valarie, farm near Lake City. Their business, Valley Yorkshires, stemmed from a once 4-H project with their kids, Zach and Katie. Now the

family continues to breed pigs to show and sell around the United States.

Since the age of 13, Loppnow has had experience raising pigs. His passion for swine and the industry led him back to his family’s farm with his wife and kids. They ran a farrow-to-feeder operation with a few show pigs. However, in the late nineties, the family stopped farming pigs commercially because of the poor market.

But that did stop Loppnow from continuing his passion. While working off the farm, Loppnow and his family began solely raising high genetic type pigs for show. They became a credible breeder and seller, marketing their pigs for primarily show use.

“It is really a family business,” Loppnow said. “The kids continue to help out at shows or help with picking out pigs and sorting whenever they are home.”

Zach and Katie showed pigs through their childhood at various local, state and national shows. When they aged out, the family continued to show and sell Yorkshires around the nation.

Despite no longer having his kids in youth programs like 4-H, FFA and Junior Breed Associations, Loppnow remains active in these organizations by selling 50-60 pigs annually for youth to show. He also volunteers at many jackpot youth shows and often supports

Piglets drink from their sow in a farrowing stall on the Loppnow’s farm near Lake City. The stall is designed to protect the piglets from being laid on and smothered by their sow.

his customers by attending shows the kids are exhibiting in.

“One thing that has driven me to continue in this business, other than my love for pigs, is that I love to watch the kids show” Lappnow said. “It

is incredible to see how much they grow and gain in knowledge, responsibility and confidence. Their success is what it’s all about.”

the United States.