Farm Families of the Year honored at Farmfest the farm, including the addition of a free stall barn to hold 200 cows, the remodeling of the old barn to a parlor with a holding area, and the addition of five robots, which milk 300 cows daily. In addition to the cows, the Kieffers farm alfalfa and corn on 600 acres. They have three children and have been involved with the Winona County Dairy Showcase, Winona County Open Dairy Show, Winona County Dairy Judging, and the Minnesota Holstein Association. In addition, they have been hosts for the Precision Dairy Conference, and participated in many domestic and international tours. The full list of farm families is here: http://mnfarmfamilies.cfans.umn.edu/ families-by-year/2014-farm-families/. Complete list of 2014 Farm Families Aitkin County — R & R Hanson Turkey Farm, Inc. Anoka County — Swanson Farm Becker County — Nelsons-Barry, Jamie, Taytum, Kendra, and Macey Beltrami County — Martonklin Family
Benton County — Kaschmitter Family Farm Big Stone County — Jorgenson Family Blue Earth County — LeRoy Rahn Family Brown County — Dan and Lisa Steffl Family Farm & Michael Steffl Carlton County — The Butkiewicz Family Carver County — Buetow Farms Inc. Cass County — Chuck and Barb Norman- “Norman Hay Farm” Chippewa County — Richard Handeen and Audrey Arner Chisago County — Petersen Farms Clay County — Wesley and Etta Mae Christensen Clearwater County — Alroy and Debbie Lewis Cottownwood County — Brent and Jane Imker Family See FAMILIES, pg. 30F
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corn and soybean organizations in West Central Minnesota. Paul Red Elk — Ramsey County Paul, a master herbalist and Extension Master Naturalist, has multiple projects in Ramsey County and other locations, in an effort to preserve seeds and native plants. Paul has partnered with museums and local archeologists to collect seeds. He has collected seeds for squash, beans, and corn plants, all of which have been used by native communities for over 2,000 years. He also is developing two herbal gardens, including one at the American Indian Magnet School in St. Paul, where he teaches. In addition, Paul has coordinated with 73 different wild rice producers throughout Minnesota to offer and sell rice at the Farmer’s Market in Minneapolis. Kiefland Holsteins LLC — Winona County Raising Holstein cows has been a tradition for the Kieffer family since 1952 when Gary’s father, Leon purchased the original farm. In 1988, Gary and Linda purchased the farm from Leon and his wife Fern. Over the years, Gary and Linda have made improvements to
THE LAND — 2014 FARMFEST ANNUAL
FAMILIES, from pg. 28F farm, but changed in 1959 when Frank started a tree nursery. In the nursery, dwarf trees were raised from stock imported from Holland. In 1994, Van Lin Orchards was passed down to Frank’s sons Dan and Rick. Varieties they grow include Haralson, Regent, Fireside Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious and Zestar. Van Lin Orchards has been a member of the Minnesota Apple Growers Association for more than 30 years, as well as a member of the La Crescent Chamber of Commerce. Richard and Vicki Syverson — Pope County Richard and Vicki Syverson are the fourth generation on their family farm. The Syversons use precision agriculture practices such as grid sampling and making sure all fertilizer is variable-rate applied. In addition to the corn and soybean crops, Richard and Vicki feed out 80 dairy steers per year. They also have a solar power project, which they added in 2013. They have three grown children. Vicki is executive director of the Swift County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Richard is involved with Minnesota Corn Growers Association and in nine
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“Where Farm and Family Meet”