The Great Christmas “GRAND” PRIZE
GIVEAWAY
See pages 24 and 25 of this section for details!
DAIRY ST R
November 13, 2021
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 23, No. 18
Serving proudly Minnesota dairyman back home after deployment in Middle East By Jerry Nelson
jerry.n@dairystar.com
JASPER, Minn. – Serving in our nation’s armed forces can be a life-changing experience. Few people know this better than Matt Raak. Matt and his parents, Philip and Theresa, milk 450 cows on their farm near Jasper. Matt is the eldest of ve brothers, which includes Andrew, Joshua, Jacob and Caleb. Matt joined the South Dakota Air National Guard in the fall of 2016, a few months after graduating from Ridgewater College, of Willmar, with a degree in dairy management. The SDANG 114th Fighter Wing is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “I was sent to San Antonio, Texas, for basic training,” Matt said. “After that I attended maintenance school in Port Hueneme, California. I’ve always liked working with machinery and doing repairs.” Matt was continuing a family tradition when he joined the military. Philip served in the Coast Guard, Matt’s maternal grandfather served in Vietnam, and his
maternal great-grandfather served in the Korean conict. Matt also has a rst cousin who is serving in the Army National Guard. Following his advanced training, Matt was assigned to the 114th Fighter Wing’s Vehicle Mechanics unit. On Jan. 5, Matt was deployed to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. “I was 100 percent behind him when he joined,” Philip said. “I knew that serving would enable him to see new places and meet new people. We are proud of him, but it was still a kick in the gut when he left.” Before Matt left, he was promoted to staff sergeant. “I was responsible for managing people along with performing vehicle repairs,” Matt said. “While in Jordan, I mostly worked on pay loaders and skid loaders. It all felt pretty familiar.” The climate and the landscape in Jordan stood out in stark contrast to southwestern Minnesota. “The weather there was exactly the same every day: no clouds, the sun blasting down and a high of 105,” Matt said. “There was always a light breeze, but it dried you right out; you had to drink water nonstop. The temperature would drop to 85 at night, which felt cool enough to wear a jacket. It rained once during the seven months I was there, just a few hundredths of an inch.” His agricultural background made Matt a keen obTurn to RAAK | Page 8
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Ma�hew Raak is a South Dakota Air Na�onal Guard Staff Sergeant for the SDANG 114th Fighter Wing. Raak and his parents, Philip and Theresa, milk 450 cows near Jasper, Minnesota.
Nathes farm in present but reect on past Stearns County dairy commemorates over 150 years in operation By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
The Nathe family – (from le�) John, Payton, Ginny, Jeron and Brenda – look through framed farm photos Oct. 27 at the dairy near Melrose, Minnesota. The Nathes have dairy farmed in central Minnesota for 153 years.
MELROSE, Minn. – Over the course of six generations, there has been one common goal that the Nathe family has looked to in farming: to succeed in the current market conditions. And with forward-thinking minds, a willingness to learn and a strong support system, the Nathe Family Farm was recognized as a sesquicentennial farm by Catholic Charities and the Diocese of St. Cloud. “Us, my parents, my grandparents, we all have farmed with the goal of succeeding,” Jeron Nathe said. “There are things each generation has done to sustain the farm and be competitive in the industry.”
Jeron and his wife, Brenda, and their children – Payton, Kaylee, Tyler and Mya – milk 350 cows on their Stearns County dairy farm near Melrose. Jeron’s parents, John and Ginny, remain active on the farm, routinely helping with calves and eldwork. The farm has been a part of the Nathe family for 153 years with John’s ancestors emigrating from Germany and settling on 260 acres in central Minnesota in 1868. Like many farms in those earlier years, the Nathes’ was diversied with cattle, hogs and chickens, and vegetables were grown for the farm to sustain the family’s needs. As time went on, John’s parents developed the dairy Turn to NATHE | Page 6