The Farming Families of Plymouth County, IA-August 2020 by AGE Media and Promotion

August 2020 | www.AgeMedia.pub

Faith / Family / Friends / Farming

Meet the

JOHNSON Family Janelle and Ben Johnson and their son, Noah. Story on page 6.

of Plymouth County

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of Sioux County PUBLISHERS Garrett and Mindy Gross, AGE Media EDITOR & IOWA MANAGER Bob Fitch, AGE Media Direct advertising inquiries, story submissions and other correspondence to: 712-551-4123 bob@agemedia.pub © The Farming Families, Age Media & Promotion The Farming Families is distributed free exclusively to the farmers, ranchers and producers in rural Sioux, Plymouth and Lyon Counties. All rights reserved. Content in this magazine should not be copied in any way without the written permission of the publisher. The Farming Families assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Content in articles, editorial and advertisements are not necessarily endorsed by The Farming Families and Age Media & Promotion.

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August 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

PLYMOUTH COUNTY FAMILY

ADVOCATES FOR AGRICULTURE

by Bob Fitch

Being a voice for agriculture is an important part of their jobs as farmers, according to Ben and Janelle Johnson, who farm west of Craig. Ben said, “It’s pretty important to stay active with farm groups like that to help keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on the industry. I’ve done trips to D.C. to lobby for both Farm Bureau and pork producers. We want to make sure our legislators know what we’re working on out here.” Janelle agreed. “It’s important we’re a voice for agriculture, making sure the right information is being portrayed. Also, networking with other people in the same industry, you learn different ways to market your product. It’s important to be part of groups or boards, locally, state or nationally. If you don’t advocate for yourself, agriculture as we know it is going to be lost.” Ben said, “I’ve been involved with the Plymouth County Pork Producers pretty much since I came back to farm. I’ve done the grandstand pork at the Plymouth County Fair and been serving as the treasurer.” They’ve been recognized by the Iowa Pork Producers Association as both Master Pork Producers and Pork All Americans. For a number of years, the couple served on the northwest Iowa advisory committee for the Iowa Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer Program. At one point, Ben served as chairman and Janelle was secretary and historian. Janelle said, “We really enjoyed that just because we got to know people from across the state.” Ben is the current president of the Plymouth County Farm Bureau. Janelle said, “We’re also part of the Outstanding Farmers of America. You get to meet people from all over the country.” Ben said, “Even though farmers from other parts of the country might have different commodities they produce, there’s a pretty good common denominator of issues that we fight.”

Ben and Janelle Johnson and their son, Noah, on their farm southwest of Craig. 6

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

For the past 11 or 12 years, the Johnsons have been custom finishing pigs for Wakefield Pork. “If I owned my own livestock the last three or

Four generations of a Plymouth County farming family: Norm Barker, Jim Barker, Ben and Noah Johnson, and Carl Johnson. Carl is married to Norm’s daughter Joann; and Jim is Norm’s son.

four months during this COVID thing, I’m not sure we could have survived a hit like that,” he said. Ben said the scale of the farm’s hog operation has increased substantially since he was young. “As I was getting close to graduating from college, if I was going to come back to the farm and wanted a way to support myself and my family, I knew we were going to have to do some things differently than how my dad was doing it. We made the investment in the two hog barns that launched my farming career and provided a good living for us, despite the market ups and downs. The custom-feeding was a little safer. It’s still rewarding and I really enjoy taking care of the pigs.

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“Grandpa was a little more diversified. He fed some cattle here in addition to the hogs. My dad and my uncle farmed together for a while until the early ‘90s. At that time, Dad focused on the hog production and a little bit of crop ground, while my uncle was focused on the crop ground. But we still work together today at harvest.” His parents are Carl and Joann Johnson. His grandparents are Norm and Ruth Barker. They share labor and equipment at harvest time with his uncle, Jim Barker. Norm Barker is 99 years old and was still helping in the combine at harvest three or four years ago. Norm is a local icon in soil conservation. “Grandpa Norm was and still is a very big proponent of soil conservation,” Ben said. “All of the ground he owns and the majority of the ground we farm is terraced and most of it is contour-farmed. He’s taken great pride in that. We’re trying to continue on that tradition. He

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The quilt on the 99-year-old Barker-Johnson barn is called “State Fair.” The colors represent where Norm and Ruth Barker’s grandchildren attended college: University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University, South Dakota State University and St. Olaf College.

wanted to save the soil so it’s here for the next generation and for generations to come.” Ruth Barker was one of the leaders who helped to get the barn quilt movement going in Plymouth County. Their barn will be 100 years old in 2021. Ben is the fifth generation on the Barker-Johnson farm. He and Janelle live in the farm house which is 98 years old. In addition to hogs, corn and soybeans, Ben also does custom manure hauling. “We had the equipment anyway, so we do custom manure handling for a few neighbors around. It keeps me busy in the fall. We have some extra help around. The fall harvest is a busy time of the year, but we seem to get it all done.” All of the manure coming out of their hog barns goes onto their own crop ground. “It’s really a very self-sustaining program. We don’t have to purchase much commercial fertilizer.

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“The custom feeding route and custom manure hauling helps us survive the lean years when commodity prices are down,” Ben said. “We’ve also had a good relationship with our bank. American Bank helps make sure everybody stays on the same page and there are no big surprises. We’ll live to farm another year.” Ben and Janelle met while students at South Dakota State University, where he majored in ag business and she majored in horticulture. She is from Heron Lake in southwestern Minnesota. “I also grew up in a farming family – corn,

in northwest Iowa. The program has brought young producers together for education and networking, including tours of meat processing plants and ethanol production facilities. She said one of Extension’s biggest challenges is adapting to how people are receiving their information. The last 10 years, the older generation which knew what Extension could provide has been retiring from farming. “We need to make sure we’re not hidden – we don’t want to be the best kept secret. We need to adapt our delivery methods and partner with groups or agencies to get the word out” she said. Extension is increasingly using social media, blogs, websites, and real time online classes.

Noah is the newest addition to the Johnson-Barker farming clan.

soybeans and finishing hogs as well.” Janelle started working for Iowa State University Extension – Plymouth County not long after they were married in 2007. She’s a program coordinator helping to bring research-based information to the farmers and residents of Plymouth County. She’s also been a part of coordinating Extension’s young farmer program

After 13 years of marriage, Ben and Janelle are spending a little less time these days worrying about the weather and markets. Those are taking a back seat to the impending adoption of Noah. Janelle said, “It’s an adjustment, that’s for sure – but a very good one. He’s quite a blessing. It’s been a good change.” And, Ben said, “It’s been a change we’ve been ready for for a while. It puts things in a little different perspective. Our priorities are a little different now than a few years ago.” Ben plans to instill adherence to the golden rule into young Noah. “Treat others as you’d like to be treated yourself. If you stick to that, God will reward you and provide everything you need.” Janelle said, “We hope that generations even far past Noah are here to farm the land and be a part of feeding the population.”

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FINANCIAL FOCUS

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT By Andy Schmidt, Vice President / Agriculture Lending American Bank

As a youngster growing up on the family farm, I put a lot of time and effort into being the best carpet farmer I could be. Countless hours of back and forth across the living room floor in the winter months turned into spring and summer afternoons making sure my brothers and I had the ground in the sandbox prepped just right. All this preparation paled to the excitement I would have when Dad would stop by the house and ask if one of us wanted to jump in the tractor for fieldwork or to feed the cattle. Those are days I will cherish forever. Many young farmers’ passion for agriculture starts much this same way and continues to years of helping with the operation and eventually taking over the farm. I have found through the years that many young farm operators are also developing a zeal for the business element of their farm operations. This, among other factors, leads me to a great realization: The future of northwest Iowa agriculture is in great hands. For this reason, we at American Bank continue to strive to be the leader in all things “beginning farmer.” We participate with the Farm Service Agency in pairing our loan services with their beginning farmer and other direct loan programs, as well as utilize the Farm Service Agency Guarantee program extensively. We also work with the Iowa Agricultural Development Division of the Iowa Finance Authority with their Beginning Farmer Loan Program and Loan Participation Program. Each of these programs can provide needed capital and low interest loans to the good, hardworking young producers that we have in the area. The Iowa Finance Authority also provides a Beginning Farmer Tax Credit program for young producers; a program that we have aided many producers in utilizing.

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

Andy Schmidt

In meeting with numerous young farmers throughout the years, three items stick out to me to start your farmer/ lender relationship on the right foot: •

Be Professional: Remember that as you take over the farm your job description shifts. You are no longer just a tractor operator, chore help, or mechanic; you are now a business owner. Your lender’s office is a great place to prove that you are thinking like a proprietor.

•

Be Polite: Your lender is looking to develop a long-term work relationship with you. I like to think of the application for many of the programs above as a type of job interview. Banks do not want to work with careless customers much like businesses do not want to deal with ill-mannered employees.

•

Be Prepared: Your lender is going to want you to be prepared with all financial information to aid in their decision. This includes your present-day assets and liabilities, historical balance sheet and income and expense information if available, and your financial projections for your farm going forward. A business plan showing how you plan to operate your farm is also a great first step in this process.

There is no better place to live, raise a family, and farm than in northwest Iowa. I feel blessed to have played a part in the area’s ag production for the past 15 years, and I look forward to being a part of many more. Volatility and unpredictability seem to be in the forefront in agriculture in recent years, but the future of northwest Iowa agriculture is bright. Our area is in great hands with the young farmers of today, and I look forward to what our ‘new crop’ of carpet farmers has in store in years to come.

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KEEPING LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE

Looking south from the Iowa side towards the Klondike bridge. For a view looking north from the South Dakota side, see the photo on pages 16-17.

STORIES OF THE GHOST TOWN OF KLONDIKE By Bob Fitch

“For those who seek to float the various types of Iowa streams, the unique scenery and historical character of the upper Big Sioux can no longer be overlooked.” So wrote Jon Gibson of the Iowa Conservation Commission in an article for the Iowa Conservationist in 1972 about the Big Sioux River from Gitchie Manitou (southeast of Sioux Falls/west of Larchwood) south to Highway 18 east of Canton. Gibson wrote glowingly that the Big Sioux featured “silver maples so large that their branches form an arch over the water and douse it in shade much of the time. Yellow12

billed cuckoos, wood ducks, great blue herons, green herons, and belted kingfishers are occasionally seen among the branches.” Also on this stretch of the Big Sioux at the site of the former village of Klondike, Iowa, there was even gold mining. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy state the tiny town was home to commercial placer mining in the early 1900s. It is Iowa’s only known commercial gold mining venture. The DNR Geological Survey Bureau says gold is present in the veneer of glacially deposited materials which cover most of the state. The glaciers

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

eroded these gold-rich rocks and mixed them with other rock debris before depositing them in Iowa. At Klondike, gold was recovered from the alluvial gravel in the river. The river below Klondike “was well known for clamming at the turn of the century,” said the Iowa Conservationist article. “The clams, or freshwater mussels, were dug off the stream bottom with potato forks and boiled in large troughs over open fires to open the shells. The meat was fed to livestock, the shells were shipped to Muscatine to be made into mother-of-pearl buttons, and

A photo of the mill, dam and the earlier bridge in 1905. From “The History of Lincoln County, South Dakota.”

The remnants of the mill still stood in 1973. Photo by Don Graham published on www.commons.wikipedia.org.

All that remains of the mill today are a few old turbines and some stone and cement foundations.

the pearls that were sometimes found sold for as much as $1,800.” Klondike was begun by a German-born immigrant named Christian Krueger. Using native field stones, he constructed a rock dam on the Big Sioux River in 1883. On the Iowa side of the river, Krueger built a grist mill to grind wheat for South Dakota and Iowa farmers who came from as far away as 50 miles, said a 2002 story in the Lyon County Reporter, adapted from “The Klondike Story” by Omar Peterson. The imported millstones were powered by turbines, not a vertical water wheel. Krueger also sold house lots along the road north of his mill. Today, four houses remain. Krueger’s youngest son, August, sold the mill to J.H. Rowe of Canton in 1922. Rowe modernized the mill and, subsequently, turbines powered an electric generator which in turn powered a new attrition mill to grind cattle feed, said the book The History of Lincoln, County, South Dakota. From 1883 until the early 1900s, Klondike grew to about 50 people. Even with this small population, the town boasted a number of businesses including a grocery store, an ice house, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop and gas station, and a tavern. There was a post office there from 1897 until 1902. The blacksmith shop/gas station was last operated by Harold Foss and closed in 1957. The tavern closed in the 1960s and was last known as Kenny’s Place, operated by Kenny Monen.

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websites “ghostsofnorthamerica. com” and “bridgehunter.com”, in 1913, Lyon County contracted with Western Bridge & Construction Company of Omaha to build the new bridge. It was constructed in 1914 and opened in January 1915. Today, it’s only open to recreational traffic, but it carried cars and trucks from Iowa to South Dakota and back again until 1977.

A view of the rock arch rapids which replaced the dam.

Earlier in the century, the Krueger home was remodeled into Klondike Hall (also known as Rowe Hall). It was used for roller skating, wedding receptions, debates, auctions and religious services. It burned down in 1963. Other social activities enjoyed in the town included ice skating, sledding, horseshoes, kittenball, horseracing and fishing. Most local residents attended services at nearby Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. The Klondike grade school was located north and east of town and boasted as many as 40 students.

Klondike is located northeast of Canton and five miles directly west of West Lyon Schools between Inwood and Larchwood. The only signage at the corner to the former townsite points north to Stensland Dairy. Go the opposite direction – south on the dead end road. On the South Dakota side, there is a sign that says “Big Sioux Access.” The town long ago vanished and today only a few remnants remain. A bridge across the Big Sioux was first built at Klondike in 1901, but it proved inadequate to handle the traffic. So, according to the

Bridgehunter.com says because it was built using both standard and non-standard designs, the Klondike Bridge is historically significant for its representation of a brief transitional period in Iowa highway bridge construction. In wellpreserved condition, the Klondike Bridge is an important resource from the formative period of Iowa's highway system. While the bridge still stands and is used by foot traffic, Krueger’s oft-repaired dam at Klondike was removed for good in 2013. The dam was the largest barrier to fish passage on the Big Sioux River, according to South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks and the Iowa DNR. A study found nine species of fish below the dam that were not found upstream, including the blue sucker and silver chub, which are identified as species of greatest

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find essential habitat and breeding grounds. This has had a positive impact on fishing. The rapids also reliably maintain levels for the rural water system and provide safe passage for canoeists and kayakers. Steep banks were sloped back and replaced to minimize erosion and improve river access.

The Klondike bridge today is used by hikers, bikers, fishers and sight-seers.

conservation need. In the early 2000s, the deteriorating condition of the dam was also of concern to the Lyon & Sioux Rural Water System which relied on the dam to maintain water elevations upstream for six alluvial wells. While canoeists and kayakers wanted the dam completely removed, the upstream

pool of water was also important for the local drinking water supply. Consequently, conversion to rock arch rapids was chosen to accommodate all needs. The Iowa DNR says that following the dam’s conversion to rock arch rapids, fish have access to 38 more miles of the Big Sioux River and 1,840 miles of tributary streams to

The Lyon County Conservation Board made bank improvements to the Iowa side of the Big Sioux River. The life-safety hazard of the dam is gone as is the risk and cost of structural failures by the dam. Sources Facebook page of Lyon County Historical Society Lyon County Reporter, 2002 The History of Lincoln County, South Dakota, 1984 Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, www.mindat.org Iowa Department of Natural Resources Iowa Conservationist publication, 1972 www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMBM5K www.ghostsofnorthamerica.com/klondike-bridge/ www.bridgehunter.com/ia/lyon/klondike/ www.commons.wikipedia.org

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KLONDIKE BRIDGE PHOTO BY BRETT DAVELAAR. BD PHOTOGRAPHY

August 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

SIOUX COUNTY FAMILY

FARMING IS IN THEIR SOUL by Bob Fitch

Dan and Laurie Buyert have made a good team for 39 years on their farm located north of Sioux Center and west of Hull.

Laurie and Dan Buyert. The pickup is frequently used as a backdrop for wedding photos at The North Place. 18

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

“Laurie and I really complement each other on the farming part,” Dan said. “I love the spring work, getting the crop in and started. I did my job and now it’s up to the Lord. When fall comes around, she loves the combine, she loves the harvest part of it.” Laurie agreed. “He likes to work early in the morning. I like to work late at night. How do you stay married for almost 40 years? I always say you have to want the same things in life. Our faith is important to us. We have that in common.” And, Dan said, “Our kids and family are important to us.” But operating a small farm becomes tougher every year, Laurie said. “When you farm less than 500 acres, I think the small farmer is on the way out. We can’t afford to invest that kind of money in machinery. We should go to no-till, but we can’t really afford to make that change if we’re not in it for the long haul. It’s hard to stick your neck out and make certain investments in equipment and other things.” Their four children – Kate, Jenna, Daniel and David – all live close, but have found success outside of farming. “We’ve had a good life. But we’re at a crossroads. When you can’t pass it on to a family member, you face some tough choices,” Dan said. Laurie added, “We don’t farm nearly the land compared to what we used to and our pens are filled with my brother-in-law’s cows.” Buyerts used to raise pigs and also farmed more ground. However, when land was over $16,000 an acre, the owners of some of the ground they had rented for over 30 years wanted to sell. But Dan and Laurie didn’t want to buy at that price. They’re not ready to hang it up though. They love farming too much. “I will always be a farmer.

The North Place includes the bed and breakfast guest quarters of the house on the left and the Buyert’s living area on the right. Photos courtesy Laurie Buyert.

her father died seven years ago. “I begged to go along to do chores; to check sows and count new little baby pigs just born in the straw; to feed hay to the cattle with a Age Media Qtr Page Color 1-8-20.pdf 11:21:34 AM pitchfork; to go 1to1/8/2020 the sale barn; lean on the fence and listen to all Laurie said, “A couple of times a day, I take the Gator out and check on the cows, check for new calves. The cows in our pasture came from Kansas and they were in pretty tough shape. I take a lot of pride in taking good care of them. I guess that’s what I want the next couple of years to look like – we don’t need fancy vacations and all that kind of stuff. We want to enjoy this.” Farming is in your soul – it is for me,” Laurie said. “We both have that love for the land and the smell of the dirt.” Or, Dan said, “… the smell of cutting hay.”

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the men talk about prices and good western calves. We would check the corn or see if the alfalfa was ready to cut or bale; or if the oats were ripe enough to combine. I still miss him today, but I have the comfort of being surrounded by him." When her parents were first married, they bought the quarter section farm immediately north of her grandparents’ home place. From the beginning, the family referred to it as “the north place.” “I lived here when I was a little girl. When Grandpa and Grandma moved to town, we moved to the home place.” But her parents kept the little house on the north place. “They rented it out. It ended up we got really neat people to live here. My mom and dad just used that little house to bless other people. My mom always had an open door and open heart. “Dan lived just a couple miles away and, when we got married, we lived in that little house on the north place. We lived there seven years. At that point, the house wasn’t really fixable anymore. We had an opportunity to buy a place just a mile to the east of here – Sam’s place, an old Dutch guy. My dad had kind of helped him his whole life.” William and Joyce moved to town when his health started to fail. After 23 years at “Sam’s place,” Laurie and Dan moved to the home place and their daughter, Jenna, and her family moved to Sam’s place – which is what everyone still calls it. But her original home site – the north place – continued to hold a special place in Laurie’s heart. “It was my mom’s favorite place to live, too. It wasn’t the busy farm. We had a gestation building and always had chores here, but there wasn’t the traffic with the shop and different things like that.

“And it was always a peaceful and special place to be – a place where I came to cry and to pray. I brought my kids here and they played in the haymow. Mom always wanted to do a bed and breakfast, but Dad always said it didn’t pencil out.” But six years ago, Laurie and Dan took a leap of faith and built a small house on the property and opened a bed and breakfast which they call “The North Place.” “We said we were going to bless other people like Mom and Dad did with the little house that used to be here. And we have been so blessed in return, it’s so unbelievable. The people that we meet, the stories, the connections. It’s just been awesome. “It was a family project, my mom helped us and our four grown kids helped us and the older grandkids helped. It was a labor of love. The boys thought I was crazy once in a while with some of my ideas. But they all pitched in. The joke was, if you build it, they will come,” she said. Dan said, “We’ve taken more risks the last five or six years than we took when we were younger.”

Laurie’s parents, William and Joyce Heynen.

out, his heart is in the project as well. “I think of him so often because he would say ‘What kind of people are you going to get there?’ Well, he would love the people who come here. He would have been here all the time, sitting by the counter in my catering kitchen and tasting my food. He would have loved it.

Laurie said, “Mom got to help me for about a year, then she had a stroke. But I can still say she played an active role in The North Place. She lives in assisted living now, but she calls me every day and asks me ‘What are you making?’ and reminds me ‘Do this, don’t forget to do that.’ Her heart is just a big part of what it is here.”

“There was a 60-year-old class reunion that met here. There was an old guy who came loping up to the house and said, ‘Who’s the owner here? I didn’t know where I was coming, but I turned that corner and I knew this was my old threshing road. I would come up this road with my threshing crew. The little house that was on this corner, that lady made the best fried chicken.’ That old guy was telling me stories from things I remembered because we lived in that house to start with. He was telling us about the barn. He went down the road naming the neighbors. He knew my dad. It’s just immensely rewarding.”

Even though her father didn’t think a bed and breakfast would pencil

Situated on the spot where a corn crib was, they’ve added a living

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

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August 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

Between the two Gator photos, all of Dan and Laurie’s grandchildren are pictured. Kwynlee, Kolton, Juddson, Klaire, daughter Jenna Vanden Bosch, Brayton, daughter Kate Boersma, Laurie and Kycie.

space of their own on to The North Place. (Their son, David, moved onto the home place.) Between their own living space and the guest area, they’ve included decorative touches that include memories such as the glass doorknobs from the old house, wood from an old barn which was torn down, light fixtures made from old barn pulleys, the dining room table from Dan’s grandparents,

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and an old crank phone from her mom’s childhood home. “They see that phone and then you get the stories from our guests who are 65 and older – everybody remembers their ring: ‘Oh, our ring was two shorts and a long.’” In the past year, Dan and Laurie, with help from their family, also finished the greater part of a restoration of the barn. While others would have probably just bulldozed it, Laurie had too many memories she wanted to share with her grandchildren. “Every child deserves to know what it’s like to play in hay mow,” she said. They have 11 grandchildren, ranging in age from 1 to 15.

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Laurie Buyert with her grandchildren Danika, Kwynlee, Olivia, Christian, and Patience.

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The North Place has hosted a wide range of events including weddings, anniversaries, birthday parties, co-op board meetings, bachelorette parties, quilters, scrapbookers, an FFA officers retreat, youth retreats, sports team retreats, church leadership retreats, and more.

“But I’m not going to say it’s not a lot of work. Any job of service is a lot of work,” said Laurie. The work is that much harder because she has an aggressive form of rheumatoid arthritis. Then one week this March threw them a double curveball – Dan lost his long-time, full-time, off-the-farm job at Trans Ova Genetics when the company laid off more than 30 employees; and then the COVID-19 crisis caused an unforeseen loss in bookings at The North Place. In the midst of these challenges, Laurie said their pastor, Mike Pitsenberger at Carmel Reformed Church shared the message that God has already provided the answers for troubled times like these. In the Psalms, God has said “Stop, look up, fear not, I am with you. Trust Me.” Since those dark days just a few months ago, Dan secured new employment with Van Zee Enterprises and bookings have started to rebound. Laurie said, “Life has taught me many lessons … the most important being trust. Sometimes God brings us to our knees and brings us to a place where all that is left is trust. My heart feels at peace knowing I have a God who is greater than all of our circumstances.”

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August 2020 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

FARM SAFETY

COULD COVID-19 CONTRIBUTE TO HOG BARN EXPLOSIONS OR FIRES? By Dennis Von Arb, Von Arb Ag

Could COVID-19 contribute to hog barn explosions or fires? Far-fetched? Maybe not. The pandemic has caused concerns with many of our area hog producers in an unexpected way. The manure in the pits is where the problem is brewing. First, the large meat processors are dealing with reduced capacity due to COVID-19 shutdowns and reduced workforce. They cannot handle their normal numbers of market-ready livestock. Smithfield in Sioux Falls, because of its size, was causing the greatest impact in this area. In response, producers are trying to slow the growth rate in their livestock to delay market readiness until the meat processors can handle the demand again. They are slowing the growth

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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

by changing the hog rations. This, in turn, is affecting the manure. Many feed ingredients such as soybean meal, corn, dried distillerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grain, calcium carbonate and antibiotics make up a hog ration. Normally this is broken down by an aerobic process involving oxygen-using bacteria that produces carbon dioxide as one of the byproducts. This carbon dioxide bubbles through the manure and helps to keep it stirred and liquified. To change the rations, producers are feeding high-fiber ingredients like soybean hulls, and grains with glyphosate residues. These residues kill the aerobic bacteria. These ingredients also cause acidosis (high stomach acid) in hogs, which is treated by feeding more calcium carbonate. This can be compared to people taking Tums for acid reflux. The calcium carbonate also raises the pH of the manure, completing the conditions for methane production. Anaerobic bacteria then dominate the mix, producing hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen gas from the breakdown of proteins and methane from the break-down of carbohydrates at the high pH levels. Foaming at the surface is the first tell-tale sign of the dangerous gas methane. Then the manure crusts over, trapping the methane and other gases beneath the surface. Any disturbance to the surface such as power washing barns can then release these concentrated gases and possibly suffocate livestock and workers or ignite into a fire or explosion. We are fortunate that at this time of the year barn curtains are open and fans are running, reducing the concentration of the gases which reduces the chances of a tragedy. Perhaps if we had more food processors on a smaller scale, this might not have developed as a COVID-19 related issue that affects agricultural producers.

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LYON COUNTY FAMILY

TO PLANT IS TO BELIEVE IN THE FUTURE by Bob Fitch

Back when he was 10 or 12 years old, Ryan Funk remembers a day when he was grumbling about having to pull nails out of boards with his grandfather. “Grandpa said to me, ‘You’ve got to work to eat, kid.’ That’s always stuck in my mind, I guess. If you’re having a bad day or whatever, you got to just keep going. There have been plenty of bad days over the years. “My folks had some struggles during the farm crisis of the ‘80s,” Ryan said. “My dad drove truck to help make ends meet. When I was 12, he wanted to stop driving truck, so he bought sows again and we started farrowing. Sooner or later, somebody would call who had a driver quit, so he’d go and truck a little bit. I would take care of hogs. Looking back on it, that was all part of the master plan, I guess. It introduced me to hogs.”

Khristy and Ryan Funk, their dog Bitsi, and children Cullen, Keaton, Khoryn and Elliott.

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

Coming out of college in 1998, Ryan bought some iso-wean pigs to finish. “If you remember ’98 very well, I bought iso-wean pigs for

$35 a head and I sold fat hogs for $35 a head too. Like Jeff Foxworthy said, I started with nothing and I had most of it left.” As tough as 1998 was for pork producers, today’s market may be as bad or worse for some producers, he said. “After I had that tough first year – you know, grain prices weren’t that good at that time either – I asked myself several times if that’s what I wanted to do.” But he adapted and became a custom finisher. He built his first custom finishing barn in 2001, the same year he met his future wife, Khristy, who is a native of Rock Rapids. Through the bad days, the Funk family, who farm just south of the village of Edna, has continued to “work to eat” as Grandpa advised – and the good times have outweighed the bad. Even in the beginning when times were tight, he felt fortunate to be farming. His parents had encouraged him to go to college and, during his senior year at South Dakota State University, he had some good luck. “I always wanted to farm, but didn’t know if that was going to happen right away. To be able to do it full-time I think is the dream of most farm boys. “My dad had called me one night and he had been visiting with a widow who goes to our church who had a farm that was coming up for rent. I was coming home for Thanksgiving and I visited with her, and she had already decided to rent to me,” Ryan said. “In between my final exams, I planted my first corn crop. I was fortunate enough to have rented a farm my senior year.” He started with outside facilities where he fed about 500 pigs. Three years later when he was ready to grow, he thinks his degree in ag business helped convince the bank to offer him a loan – as did the reputation his parents, Lawrence and Norene Funk, had at Security Savings Bank. “I was 25 years old when I built a 4,000 head hog barn. I stopped at our local bank. I didn’t want my parents to have to co-sign. I about fell out of my chair when the banker said yes. That’s part of what I like about a small town bank – it’s not always only about the numbers, but it’s about the person you are, too. My parents had always been at that bank and they didn’t just walk away from their debt, they paid it back. I was probably too young and naive at the time to understand how big a deal it was what the bank was doing for just a kid.” He expanded one barn and added another finisher in 2003, the year he and Khristy got married. “What we did on our honeymoon was build a hog barn,” he joked. Khristy said, “The family that works together stays together.” Ryan added: “We’ve loaded hogs together and we’ve stayed together, so that says something.”

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Cullen, Khoryn, Keaton and Elliott Funk.

In 2012, Ryan and Khristy built a new house on the farm site. They were also looking to expand their finishing operation. “A couple different times we thought we had some existing barns bought, but then the deal fell through. We got to the point where we thought ‘That’s enough, we’re not going to think about barns anymore,’” he said.

Today, Ryan has an up-and-coming crew who helps him do the hog loading – their older two sons, Keaton, 15, and Elliott, 12. “The last time, it was just the two boys and I who loaded them. That was kind of neat to go out and do it, and not have to line up help. You don’t have to worry about them showing up in the morning because you know where they’re sleeping.”

“Then, a few days later, Khristy came across a Facebook post saying our neighbors were moving. We went and talked to them on a Saturday and, by Monday night, we had the acreage bought. We sold the house and the machine shed, which were moved from that site, and we tore down the rest. We can look out our kitchen window and see it and it’s right by our land base. You can’t put on a value on that at times,” he said.

Both Keaton and Elliott said they enjoy working with the livestock and driving tractor. “I like all of it,” Keaton said. “There’s always something new every day that you need to get done. I just find everything about farming fun – working with family especially.”

“We’ve discovered over the years that what we thought at the time were disappointments were really all part of the good Lord’s plan. The right thing came along and was better than what we missed out on.”

Having the livestock chores and field work to do helped make the Covid quarantine bearable. “There’s always been something to do. No matter what, you’re not going to be sitting on the couch watching TV all day. There’s more things to be done outside,” Keaton said. Elliott added: “You’re never really bored, that’s the main thing.” Ryan is helping his sons get started

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | August 2020

just as his dad did. “The first pigs I owned, my brother and sister and I bought some feeder pigs when I was just 7 or 8 years. Dad gave us the corn. As a farmer, that was how you’re able to help your kids – give them a little and that multiplies into more. I remember one time selling hogs for $60 – that was the first time they hit $60. My parents told me, ‘You remember this, you won’t see it for a long time again.’ Heck, when you’re getting free corn and hog prices are that high, you wonder ‘How is the farming thing not easy?’” Keaton has been farming five acres for a few years. His parents give him the inputs and he pays the rent. Elliott is getting started on the same arrangement. Khristy said, “That’s a nice way to get them started. You teach them work and teach them the rewards of work, too.” Both Keaton and Elliott had significant health issues at birth and both of them were airlifted to Sioux Falls’ Sanford Hospital. Keaton was born with pulmonary hypertension and pneumonia and

Elliott had spinal meningitis. “When the twins came, we figured we’d save the airflight and we just had the birth in Sioux Falls,” Ryan said. The twins are 10 years old now – son Cullen also had health issues at birth, but daughter Khoryn was healthy. “Keaton beat pretty significant odds to be here actually. He was in the NICU for a month. It’s tough to see your baby go through that,” Ryan said. Khristy added, “There’s a reason he made it – he’s just so determined.” Khristy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2009. Where the MS settled, it puts pressure on the optic nerve and affects her depth perception, which has limited her ability to help with farm work. In a pinch, she’ll help by driving a grain cart.

Ryan said, “Between Khristy and the kids, we’ve had several occasions of health issues. During each event, there was a day that was the lowest point. Every time that happened, as we were driving to or from the hospital, out of nowhere, we would notice the words ‘Trust Jesus’ on something.” That visual reinforcement of their faith helped them persevere. Keaton summarized the family’s attitude to agriculture. “There’s something fun about farming – about watching something you’ve worked hard on and see it progress and grow through the year and then benefit from the rewards at harvest – if the markets are in favor of that. It’s neat to have something to call your own and be proud of.” Khristy said, “It’s like that shirt we got you for Christmas which says ‘To plant is to believe in the future.’”

Khristy and Ryan Funk of Edna.

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5. Bake: Bake at 350°F on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 20-30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick or a thin bamboo skewer to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

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