So Minn Century Strong

October 2018

C E N T U R Y

STRONG Southern Minnesota farms celebrate 100 years and counting in Goodhue, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Rice, Steele and Waseca Counties

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October 2018

CENTURY FARMS

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Goodhue County Family heritage from Norway to Zumbrota on Lomen Farm .................................................................1 Jacobsons find the farm a great place to raise a family ............................................................................7 Rice County The end seemingly near, Vollbrechts take pride in 100-year family farm ................................................9 Bauers improve and improvise to stay strong 100 years later ................................................................12 Steele County Trotman family still on the farm after 130 years ..................................................................................17 Krause family land honored as Century Farm ......................................................................................20 Le Sueur County Bauleke’s Seldom Seen Farm reaches 100-year mark ............................................................................23 Quiram family honored as Le Sueur County Farm Family of the Year .................................................26 Nicollet County Rubie Farm soon eligible for Sesquicentennial status ...........................................................................28 Hayes family honored as 2018 Nicollet County Farm Family of the Year ............................................29

C E N T U R Y

STRONG

SO MINN CENTURY STRONG A special publication of the Faribault Daily News, Owatonna People’s Press, Northfield News, Kenyon Leader, Waseca County News, Le Sueur County News and St. Peter Herald Publisher Chad Hjellming

Publisher Tom Murray

SoMinn Century Strong is distributed to subscribers and readers of the Faribault Daily News, Owatonna People’s Press, Northfield News, Waseca County News, Kenyon Leader, Le Sueur County News and St. Peter Herald at no additional charge. All rights reserved. ©2018 All advertising contained herein is the responsibility of the advertiser.

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CENTURY FARMS

October 2018

Family heritage from Norway to Zumbrota on Lomen Farm

By TERRI WASHBURN twashburn@thekenyonleader When Eric Lomen submitted his application for a Century Farm, he had a rich family history to draw from. What he learned later on added 34 additional years and so much more to the story.

The 180-acre Lomen Farm, at 16919 Hwy. 60 Boulevard, Zumbrota, still has the original home and dairy barn. It was used as a working dairy operation until the 1980s.

wife Marit, purchasing a farm in gaps in the family history fell who stayed was his oldest broth1884 from Joseph Thatcher for into place. When his grandfa- er Nils, who had inherited the family homestead in Norway,” Lomen said.

He worked for his uncle on the farm, then rented the farm and eventually bought it in 1900 for $6,000. That works out to $37.50 per acre, almost unimaginable by 21st century farmland prices.

Uncle John died three years later, and Aunt Marit lived with Erik and Hilda until she died in 1916.

Erik wanted to improve the farm with new buildings, so he added the dairy barn in 1918 and a granary several years later.

Somehow with all the farm work there was always a lot to do and no time for a wife. Erik never married.

His sister Hilda died in 1945 and by that time, Erik’s sister Gertrude was living there to help care for him. He died just over a year later. Who would take over the farm?

Being a Norwegian bachelor farmer with no children, Erik had done what he could, and willed the farm to Einar Lomen, the eldest son of his eldest brother, Nils. Only trouble was, Einar Lomen lived in Norway.

Heart of the farm Around 2011, at a time in history when many of the old dairy barns were failing and falling into disrepair, Eric put money into restoring the 1918 barn built by his ancestors. Its post and beam construction was strong, and he thought it worth using and preserving.

It’s a traditional “bank barn” style, built into the side of a slope for greater insulation and easy access to the haymow upper level. After the barn work was completed, Eric read a news article about Friends of Minnesota Barns.

Since he had just fixed up the barn, he decided to apply for the organization’s 2012 Barn of the Year award, and won. The The intricate detail of this cupola on the Lomen Farm barn near cozy dairy barn that had been Zumbrota shows the pride in craftsmanship and ownership exhis childhood refuge from win- hibited by Norwegian settlers in the area. (Terri Washburn photo) ter’s cold, filled with warm cows and calves, is still in use. the sum of $1,145. ther, Erik H. Lomen, emigrated Eric Lomen said he hadn’t from Norway in 1889, he lived Family names, family lines The surname of Lomen initially known that John Fylken with the Fylkens. His sister comes from the town of Lomen was an ancestor. This news dated Hilda lived there as well, havin the Valdres region of Norway. family ownership of the farm ing emigrated with an aunt and John Fylken emigrated from more than three decades earlier uncle.

“Erik H. Lomen was one of Norway in 1880. He lived in than he thought.

When he learned that John eight children, seven of whom Manitowoc, Wisconsin, before moving to Zumbrota with his Fylken’s mother was a Lomen, came to America. The only one

To stay or to go?

Following the right of primogeniture, Einar had an interesting dilemma, one that other young men only wished for. As the eldest son, he had inherited the family farm in Norway as well as being named first in line for Erik’s farm.

Einar had a difficult decision: Stay in Norway or move to America?

It was a hard life in Norway. It was World War II and the country had been through four

October 2018

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Four generations of the Lomen family have owned this farm over 135 years, and many of the original buildings from 1918 are still in use. It is located west of Zumbrota on Highway 60. (Terri Washburn photo) my mother, Elisabeth and my sister Marit, “ said Eric Lomen, who was born in America in 1950.

The Lomen family tree maintained its roots in Minnesota and the fourth — and current — generation was next in line.

The world moved along.

Eric and Marit were farm kids, doing their chores and going to school. Elizabeth continued the Norwegian traditions of spinning wool and weaving in the new country.

She would wear her bunad —the ceremonial dress of Norway —at special occasions and shared her heritage through spinning and weaving demonstrations at county fairs. Elizabeth also had a talent for rosemaling, painting the traditional Norwegian decorative floral designs.

These skills she taught to Marit, who carries on the art of Home in America “After 18 months he sent for weaving in the traditional ways

years of German occupation from 1940 through May of 1945.

Einar and his wife Elizabeth were both part of the Norwegian underground, fighting for the local resistance in a dangerous cat and mouse game against the Nazis during the war.

Food and resources were scarce in the homeland. Would a new place be better, safer? Also weighing heavily in his thoughts was their new baby girl, Marit.

He decided to journey ahead to America by himself.

Einar went ahead alone and spent time making much-needed improvements on the farm in Zumbrota, which had been neglected during his uncle’s long illness.

The farm in Norway — currently operated by Eric Lomen’s first cousin, Nils Einar Lomen — was forfeited to his youngest brother, Knut.

and other crafts.

Einar and Elizabeth continued to operate the dairy farm until he retired in the 1980s, and he died in 2003. Elizabeth, born in 1918, died just four years later.

Eric decided to purchase his sister’s interest in the farm and took ownership in 2007. Marit stayed close by, and lives right across the highway from Lands Lutheran Church, on land that

was once part of the original farm.

The Lomen Farm with its house, granary and barn is still in use today, 134 years from the days when John and Marit Fylkin purchased and farmed it.

Eric said he appreciates the sense of history he gets, knowing that his ancestors lived there,

LOMEN

Continued on page 6

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October 2018

The original 1918 barn built by Erik Lomen was restored from 2009-2011. In 2012 it was named as a Minnesota Barn of the Year

by Minnesota Friends of Barns. The Lomen Century Farm is just west of Zumbrota on Highway 60. (Terri Washburn photo)

This granary building on the Lomen Farm near Zumbrota is still in use and dates back to 1918. (Terri Washburn photo)

October 2018

CENTURY FARMS

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CENTURY FARMS

October 2018

Many of the Lomen family are buried in the cemetery at Lands Lutheran Church, quite close to the original farm which has been in the family for 135 years. (photo courtesy of Eric Lomen. (Terri Washburn photo)

LOMEN

Continued from page 3 walked the same footsteps and did the same kind of things.

Nearby in the hilltop cemetery at Lands Church, Erik H. Lomen and three of his sisters are buried. The tombstone of Einar and Elisabeth Lomen stands among the monuments there as well.

Below their names, dates and a bright red, blue and white Norwegian flag is a fitting inscription: “They came from Valdres, Norway, in 1947 to start a new life in Zumbrota.�

The original 1918 barn built by Erik Lomen was restored from 2009-2011. In 2012 it was named a Minnesota Barn of the Year by Minnesota Friends of Barns. The Lomen Century Farm is just west of Zumbrota on Highway 60. (Terri Washburn photo)

October 2018

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Jacobsons find the farm a great place to raise a family

By NICK GERHARDT ngerhardt@northfieldnews.com Life on the farm means a unique set of experiences for those who grow up there and it’s been a fine place to raise a family for three generations of Jacobsons.

The Jacobsons were recognized this year as a Century Farm by the state, though the family farm actually dates back to 1913 when Joseph Jacobson purchased 61 acres in the Sogn Valley region of Goodhue County.

“I think that has been one of the best things for the kids, they learned more,” said Terry Jacobson, Joseph’s grandson, who raised three of his children on

the family farm. “They learned about life and death a long time ago. They told me that was big.

I think it was good to grow up here rather than in town.”

Joseph ran the farm until 1950 when he handed over the reins to his son Wally. Wally was one of 10 Jacobson children raised on the farm and the second youngest. Farming stuck with him and he attended ag school in St. Paul before taking on the farm.

“When I came back home I had all this new stuff in my mind,” Wally said. “Dad finally did rent the farm out to me. He was kind of amazed because he got more money than he ever did. Dad had shorthorns because they didn’t eat as much

but they didn’t milk as well, then I got holsteins, then he starts questioning me because I’m this smart kid from the ag school. I started adding some nutrients to the feed.”

But Wally’s time running the farm started in a spurt. Joseph died in 1952 and then Wally got drafted to the Army two years later at the age of 26.

“I got down there and one of the guys asked me what I was doing there and I said, you’ll have to go ask the draft board,” Wally said of his time in the Army. He knew I was too old to be there. I didn’t have to carry any weapons, I carried a typewriter.”

Wally’s brother Alan took care of the farm until Wally re-

turned from the service.

He attended Urland Church just down the road and served as the choir director there. It was in church where Wally met Kathy and the two married after an abbreviated courtship.

The first date was a trip to Rochester to listen to a choir performance. Wally had two tickets and said there was extra incentive for him to find a date.

“I wonder what number I was on that list,” Kathy joked.

The November date went well and it was April when the two eloped to a degree. Their families knew they planned to marry but Wally asked that the

JACOBSON Continued on page 8

Members of the Jacobson family receive their recognition as a century farm at the Goodhue County Fair. They are, from left, Terry, Laurie, Kathy and Wally. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Jacobson)

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October 2018

JACOBSON Continued from page 7

license bureau bury the marriage license so it wouldn’t appear in the paper until about the time they arrived back from their honeymoon in Bemidji.

After their marriage in 1970 they raised four children and now have seven grandchildren.

Wally sold the farm to son Terry and his wife Laurie in 1995.

Terry previously lived in Hutchinson and Prior Lake but he and Laurie decided a move to the country might suit them better.

“We were just looking for a place in the country to move to,” Terry said. “...We slowly started to get some animals. Had emus.

Had llamas and goats, horses.

It’s always been kind of hard to work on the farm.”

Terry served as a 4-H leader and got the kids into doing projects. Now his son grows vegetables in a garden about an acre

An aerial photo of the Jacobson farm located just west of Hwy. 52 in Goodhue County.

The family has had the farm since 1913.

(Photo courtesy of Jacobson Family) in size. He sells the produces Terry still raises some cows to raise a family,” Wally said. through community supported and does hay, but rents out much “You get out here and there’s agriculture groups and at the of the land these days. great soil.”

Dennison Farmers Market.

“The country is a great place

October 2018

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The end seemingly near, Vollbrechts take pride in 100-year family farm

Dan and Becky Vollbrecht are the current caretakers of Vollbrecht Farms in Rice County, which just earned Century Farms status.

They may be the last in the family, as their four children are now grown and unlikely to farm. (Philip Weyhe/Northfield News)

By PHILIP WEYHE pweyhe@northfieldnews.com The Vollbrechts couldn’t really tell you the key to keeping their family farm running for over a century; honestly, they’ve been too busy working to think about it.

“It’s a challenge every day, because you really don’t have enough time in a day to keep everything going. You never run out of things to do,” said

Dan Vollbrecht. “The people around you are what make it easier.”

Dan, 63, and his wife, Becky, 60, are the current operators of Vollbrecht Farms; Dan is the son of Carl and Violet Vollbrecht, who previously ran the farm; and Carl is the son of Fred and Emma Vollbrecht, who started the farm.

Through three generations, the property has stayed in the family — that now equates to

101 years. As recognition of their longevity, the Minnesota Farm Bureau and State Fair honored the Vollbrechts with a Century Farms designation in 2018.

The family got a ribbon and a certificate and a reminder that hard work pays off.

“I’m proud,” Carl said. “My dad (Fred) taught me how to farm and I taught my son (Dan) how to farm.”

Family history

Farming was already in the family by the time Fred and Emma took over a 120-acre location in rural Rice County in 1917. The couple was just looking for a place to start their own operation, not likely thinking about what it would look like 100 years later.

“My dad’s parents lived in Warsaw,” said Carl, who is now

VOLLBRECHTS Continued on page 10

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October 2018

Dan Vollbrecht, right, helps his dad, Carl Vollbrecht, get into the house at the Vollbrecht family farm. The family was honored with a 2018 Century Farms designation from the Minnesota State Fair and the Minnesota Farm Bureau. The designation honors farms that have been in continuous family ownership for 100 years and are 50 acres or more. (Philip Weyhe/Northfield News)

Cats and kittens, among other animals, wander the Vollbrecht Farms property. (Philip Weyhe/Northfield News)

VOLLBRECHTS Continued from page 9

89 and only recently retired from farming. “They were in the area and they farmed already.”

At the time, the 120 acres purchased by Fred and Emma, outside Waterville on the edge of Rice County, was already farmland. But when Fred and Emma purchased the deed, it became Vollbrecht Farms.

They raised corn, oats,

cows, pigs, chickens — and a family.

Carl was born on the kitchen table in the same house that resides on the property today.

The youngest of his siblings, he was helping on the farm at a young age.

“When I was, I was milking cows by hand,” he said with a laugh. “That didn’t bother me.”

By the time he was a teenager, his siblings had moved on, and so the farm was Carl’s to take. He dropped out of school

Buildings of many different ages are spread throughout the Vollbrecht Farms property. (Philip Weyhe/Northfield News) in eighth grade to help out. By the time he was in his mid-20s, he had married Violet and taken over operations.

They started their own family, including Dan, who was the youngest. Dan recalls a similar childhood to that of his father, working from a young age. He attended school and eventually graduated, but even that was secondary to the farm.

“When I was younger, you had canned milk, so you’d milk the cow and put in a can,” Dan

said. “Then you had to take the milk to the creamery before going to school.”

After graduating high school, Dan headed to college into the cities. But it was hardly two months before he realized it wasn’t for him and headed back to the farm. Soon, he was running it.

“This was home, so I just helped out and gradually took over,” he said.

Dan officially purchased the land in 1981, two years after

October 2018 marrying Becky. She had grown up on a farm herself, and promised she would never marry a farmer.

“We told our dad no one was going to marry us because our arms are too long from carrying 5-gallon buckets,” she said.

“But lo and behold, I married a farmer. They welcomed me.”

Changes Over 10 decades, the family farm has remained remarkably similar to its roots. It started at 120 acres and still is; the primary crop has always been corn; and buildings from the early 1900s still litter the grounds.

But not to change at all would be impossible. By the time Dan was a kid, the pigs were gone. And 20 years ago, he and Becky sold the cows. Some chickens remain, and Becky brought some sheep with her when she moved in. Meanwhile, a very friendly pup and numerous cats and kittens roam the

CENTURY FARMS area near the house.

Throughout the different buildings on the property, one could likely find a piece of machinery from just about every decade since the 1920s. Farming practices have changed extensively over the years, and the Vollbrechts have done their best to keep up.

Even the land has changed with time and tilling, but one detail remains the same — it’s beautiful. At the end of a long gravel driveway, the farm buildings — old and new — rest in a central location. From there, in just about every direction a scenic view awaits.

The property is hilly; the landscape is diverse, whether pastures in the back, corn fields in the front or trees to the side.

“We love it,” Becky said.

Dan and Becky went on to have four kids — Joshua, Nathan, Stephanie and Megan — and now grandkids. But despite the lineage, they see a potential

PAGE 11

Carl Vollbrecht started helping on the family farm as a child and helped run it by the time he was a teenager, alongside his dad, Fred, who established the farm. Carl went on to take over the property, raising his kids there, and eventually handed it off to son Dan. (Philip Weyhe/Northfield News) end to the farm. The kids are fully grown and not likely to jump into farming for part two of their lives.

There is the possibility that one of the kids will take over the property, but regardless, Vollbrecht Farms’ days may be numbered. It’s been 100 years,

though, and that’s enough to bring tears to the eyes of father Carl, and his son, Dan. “It means a lot,” Dan said “It makes you feel proud to stay together and keep farming tha long, especially when you know it’s probably not going to happen another century.”

e

k

t Old equipment can be found stashed away throughout the Vollbrecht family farm, including this 1990s tractor.

(Philip Weyhe/Northfield News)

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October 2018

Bauers improve and improvise to stay strong 100 years later

Randy Bauer, Kathy Bauer, Glen Bauer and Daisy stand outside their dairy farm outside of Faribault.

The Bauers are celebrating having a century farm this year. (Nick Gerhardt/Daily News)

By NICK GERHARDT ngerhardt@northfieldnews.com

mination − it’s helped to allow the family to pass their farm down through generations for The Bauers know some- the past 100 years. thing about patience and deterRandy Bauer, his wife

Kathy, and son, Glen run the land and works in dairy. now 350-acre farm along with two part-time workers. Their son Josh lives in Tennessee and Continued on page 14 daughter, Melisa lives in Pine Is-

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October 2018

CENTURY FARMS

PAGE 13

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CENTURY FARMS

October 2018

The Bauer Farm pictured in 1947 outside of Faribault. (Photo courtesy of Bauer Family)

BAUERS

Continued from page 12 Randy is the third generation of Bauers to run the farm since his great-grandfather purchased the original 40 acres Sept. 19, 1918.

The Bauers raised many things on the farm: dairy cows, chickens, sheep and hogs before settling on dairy and building the herd.

Randy and Kathy started with around 20-25 cows but now they milk 115 and have 135 total cows, including dry cows.

They’ve built the herd from within and slowly, utilizing the information they pick up and the advice of a nutritionist. In 2013 they received a National Milk Quality platinum award, one of just six in the country that year.

The Bauers were nominated for the award by dairy producers and were selected by a panel of judges.

“Everything Randy and I

have improved has just been from reinvesting into the farm to make it more productive,” Kathy said. “We would still be here but we wouldn’t have anything to go on if we hadn’t expanded the dairy.”

There wasn’t much of a transition into taking over the farm for Randy. His father, Harlan, died in a car collision in 1979 and Randy, just 20 years old and two years out of high school, was thrust into taking over the farm.

He, of course, had some help.

Randy’s grandfather, Herb, stepped in to help with the chores. Herb had been retired for a few years but helped Randy and Kathy keep things going.

Randy says he learned a lot from his grandparents, who helped raise him. Randy’s mother died when he was 10 months old so he spent plenty of time soaking up stories and lessons from his grandparents who grew up during the Depression. The lessons they imparted served him well during times when the econom-

ics of farming became challenging.

“That Depression was instinctually stuck into my head,” Randy said. “I heard everyday how you got by the Depression.

My thinking is always a generation earlier.”

Randy rented the farm initially until he could purchase it in 1988.

“We never built up debt,” Randy said. “It was always growth from within. A lot of people were buying cattle. We’ve never done that.”

The Bauers begin milking at 7 in the morning, get done around 10 a.m. before they go back out to milk again at 6:30 p.m.

The decision to build the herd internally came in part because they saw good results from the cows the already had.

“Part of it is, we were doing a good job raising calves and you know what you’ve got,” said Kathy, who grew up on a dairy farm in Faribault and whose

brother is an agronomist. “If you go out and buy something, you don’t know if it’s going to be T able to produce as much as the a animals within your herd. You’re p taking a big chance, so it just made sense to keep doing a good job of raising the calves and heifers.”

The Bauers have embraced innovation as well. Though sometimes seeing changes look strange at the start, they can pay dividends.

“When we first started it was dry square bales, we moved to doing round bales and wrapping them in plastic,” Randy said. “Before we used to individually feed the cows, now we put everything in the TMR (Total Mixed Ration) mixer, which is a big blender. Put all your feed ingredients in there and mix it up.”

The children have helped fuel new approaches, too. Kathy told “The Dairy Star” back in 2014 that their daughter, Melisa, got them to focus more on the somatic cell count of the cows,

October 2018

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PAGE 15

The Bauer Farm was featured in a weekly contest by the Faribault Daily News where readers had to guess whose farm was photographed. (Photo courtesy of the Bauer Family) after she thought they could do better with it after she took a dairy management class at college.

At the time, the Bauers had an SCC averaging around 200,000, “The Dairy Star” story said. Although they decided to change their protocols, the Bauers were also in the process of building a freestall barn and updating their milking facilities, the article said.

One of the biggest factors to keeping a low SCC is being consistent with the proper technique, the Bauers told “The Dairy Star.” In the parlor, this means doing the same milking prep procedure by the same people, the article said.

The Bauers have felt educating children about agriculture is

important. Their children participated in 4-H and the family leases cows to students now.

Both Randy and Kathy have the American Farmer Degree from the FFA and are thought to be the first couple to both have the degree in the state. The family has hosted ag days for thirdgraders for around 15 years, too, something she says is a constant source of amazement.

“It’s interesting because you realize how little anybody has any interaction with agriculture these days,” Kathy said.

(Photo Metro Creative)

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October 2018

Trotman family still on the farm after 130 years

By JEFFREY JACKSON jjackson@owatonna.com As the crow flies, Tom and Elaine Trotman live about ¾ of a mile from the house he grew up in and the house that has been in his family for well over a hundred years, but in many ways they are even much closer than that.

The family farm, named one of two century farms in Steele County in 2018, sits on 300 acres in the Aurora Township, close to Bixby and about halfway between Blooming Prairie and Owatonna.

The size easily exceeds the 50-acre requirement to earn the century farm designation.

And it also easily exceeds the other major requirement — to have been in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years.

The farm, in fact, has been in the Trotman family for 140 years, having originally been purchased in 1888 by Tom Trotman’s great-grandparents, William and Jane Trotman.

“When he was 18 years old,

he came west, we think from England, though we’re not positive,” Tom Trotman said of his great-grandfather William.

“Gloucester, England,” added Elaine.

And, indeed, the family history bears her out.

“William Trotman was born December 11, 1852, in Gloucester, England,” the history reads. “Jane Farrell was born June 6, 1861, in Newry Township.”

In a history of the county, William Trotman is listed as a “liquor dealer” rather than a farmer, and it tells the route by which he came to Steele County.

“At the age of eighteen he came to New York City and for one year was in the employ of Kelly, once the Democratic leader of that city,” the county history reads. “After remaining in New York, a year he came farther west, and for some time was engaged upon the lakes, sailing out of Buffalo. After this he came to Detroit, Mich., where he made his home for

October 2018

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Elaine and Tom Trotman stand next to a field of corn next to their rural Steele County home. The Trotman family farm is more than 300 acres and has been in the family since 1888. This year it was named a Century Farm. (Jeffrey Jackson/People’s Press)

three years. In 1877 he came to Blooming Prairie, Steele County, Minn. Here he has since resided, having been engaged in the liquor business. In 1884 Mr. Trotman was married to Jane Farrell.

By this marriage they have two children.”

Exactly what brought either William or Jane to Blooming Prairie is absent from the family history and the county history.

And those histories have scant information about the early years of their marriage other than their marriage date — June 22, 1884 — and the fact that while William owned two liquor stores — the one in Blooming Prairie and another in Kenyon — Jane owned a hat shop in Blooming Prairie.

“The story goes that since liquor could not be sold on Sunday, a bottle would be put under

a hat at Jane’s shop, and the customer would be told what color hat it was under,” the family history says.

William Trotman was quite the entrepreneur, even beyond the liquor stores he owned, said Tom, owning several farms around Blooming Prairie and Kenyon.

Among the property that he purchased was 160 acres north of Blooming Prairie in 1888 — the land that would become the nucleus for the Trotman family farm — for Edwin, their older son, and another 160 acres for George, their younger son.

According to the family history, the house that sat on Edwin’s land was moved off its foundation and “set to the south.” The Trotmans then built a new house on the original foundation.

Of course, Edwin didn’t immediately move onto the land that his parents had purchased for him in 1888. He would’ve been a bit young since he was born in 1885, meaning he would have been just 3 years old when he became a landowner.

Instead, his parents rented out the land — as they did with George’s land south of town as well — with the idea that renters could stay there until the boys were out of college.

In addition to the 160 acres that William and Jane Trotman had purchased for Edwin, there was an additional 141 acres that sat directly adjacent to that land — between Edwin’s farm and the railroad — that was owned by Jane. That land together formed what is now the Trotman family’s century farm.

BACK ON THE FARM There’s a little confusion in the Trotman family history about Ed Trotman, Tom Trotman’s grandfather. “Ed” — is it short for “Edwin” or “Edward”?

The answer, it seems, depends on where you look.

The earliest photos and documents list him as “Edwin,” but later documents — including the newspaper accounts of his gruesome death — call him “Edward” or in some cases just “Ed.” After Ed Trotman graduated from high school, he went on to college — specifically, what was then St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he studied accounting and busi-

TROTMAN

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October 2018

The Trotman family farm near Bixby in Steele County has been part of the family since 1888. (Submitted photo)

TROTMAN

Continued from page 17 ness. He excelled in his studies and received an appointment to West Point.

His mother had other ideas, “Grandma Jane was a rigid lady,” said Tom Trotman. “She said, ‘You’re on the farm.’”

And so, heeding his mother’s directive, Ed Trotman came home to farm. As for his brother George, who was barely a year younger than Ed, Tom Trotman just shrugs, not knowing exactly what happened to his great-uncle.

“He took off for the city,” Tom said.

After Ed’s and George’s father, William Trotman, died of a heart attack in September 1909, his wife, Jane, moved onto Ed’s farm. She stayed there until Ed

married Margaret Tierney in 1913.

Though Edwin — or Edward — had wanted to attend West Point, his life on the farm and in the Steele County community was a successful one.

In addition to his work on the farm, he served as secretary of the Oak Glen Creamery Association of Bixby for 15 years and as the manager of the Bixby Cooperative Livestock Selling Association for eight years. He also was involved with the Steele County Guernsey Breeders Association and the Steele County Association for Tax Justice.

He died tragically in 1935 after being gored and trampled by an enraged bull on his farm.

The newspaper accounts of the day say that he had just gone into the barn after putting up a load of hay when the bull attacked.

His son James, who was just 16

at the time, heard the commotion inside the barn, went inside and saw the bull attacking his father. James — who would later become Tom Trotman’s father — grabbed an iron bar, hit the bull on the head and drove the bull out.

Although medical personnel came to the scene, they discovered his right lung and his diaphragm had been pierced by the bull. He also had chest wounds, the newspapers reported.

According to Tom Trotman, his grandfather’s last words — spoken to his sons, James and William — were, “It looks like you boys will have to make the harvest this year.”

He was transported to the Owatonna Hospital where he died the next morning.

Six years later, when he was 22, James Trotman, Tom’s

father, married Blanche Seykora. In 1949, they bought the farm, where they raised their four sons — Thomas, James Jr., Timothy and Terrance. James and Blanche Trotman, who had purchased the farm from James’ mother in 1949, stayed on the farm until they retired in 1989.

By 1982, the farm business was about to enter one of its most difficult eras.

“It was not pleasant,” said Tom Trotman. “You didn’t know from day to day how it was going to be.”

His brothers — Jim, Tim and Terry — decided it was time and got out of the business that year. But Tom, the oldest brother, stuck around, thankful that they had a “good herd of dairy cows” to see them through.

Tom and Elaine Trotman kept the dairy until 1988 when they sold the cows.

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CENTURY FARMS

William and Jane Trotman and their two sons, George and Edwin, pose for a photo circa 1889, a year after William and Jane purchased the land that would become the Trotman family farm in rural Steele County. (Submitted photo)

“With the price of milk, it was ridiculous to keep,” Tom said of the dairy business at that time.

The prices were dropping, the help was disappearing and it was becoming increasingly difficult. But it made them wonder what was next.

“Is there life after cows?”

Elaine asked.

“Yes, there is,” Tom answered.

“A better life,” she echoed.

In 1989, just a bit more than a century after the Trotman family first purchased the land north of Blooming Prairie, Tom and Elaine purchased it and began a new life as crop farmers.

“Corn, soybeans, some oats, occasionally wheat, but no hay,” said Tom. “I’m so tired of making hay.”

They continued on the farm — with Elaine also work-

ing as the director of therapeutic recreation at Prairie Manor in Blooming Prairie — until 2008 when they retired after purchasing the farm 20 years before.

None of their children — they have three boys — have ever expressed interest in the life of a farmer, so for the time being they rent the land out.

“As of now, there’s no reason to sell it,” Tom Trotman said.

“We plan on keeping it in the family, but things change. I’m not one to rule from the grave. I wouldn’t do that.”

PAGE 19

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CENTURY FARMS

October 2018

Krause family land honored as Century Farm

By RYAN ANDERSON randerson@owatonna.com While the Krause family farm was recognized by the Minnesota Farm Bureau as a Century Farm this year, that honor actually undersells its longevity, since the land has actually been in the family since 1854 — which is why it was also commended as a sesquicentennial farm this year.

Though that “seems like a long time,” each individual owner is merely a link in a longer chain, and no one is irreplaceable, said David Krause, one of the farm’s current owners. Farmers tend to believe, “Nobody can do it better than I can, but there’s always somebody who does it better than you.”

Christian Mathwig owned the farm from 1854 to 1890, and it eventually passed to Milton and Pearl Krause, then to their sons, David and Warren. Following Warren’s death, his wife, Louise — who was always adamant about keeping the farm in the family — claimed his half, splitting ownership with David.

David and Warren were raised on the farm, which rests a few miles south of Owatonna, David explained. Eventually, the demands of operation grew too onerous, and so they’ve rented the land out to individuals for the past 23 years.

“They are good renters and kind people,” said David’s wife of over 50 years, Jean. Following

the transfer, David “found out decades ago, he said. Then, they there was life after cows,” and elected to leave the operation to he certainly didn’t miss making renters, retaining ownership.

“Farming is a technical hay.

“You make hay when it’s hot business, and if you’re not into it and dry,” so “you drink a lot of big, you better get out of it, periwater,” he said with character- od,” he said. He also has a laissez istic understatement. “I was al- faire approach to his renters. ways in the barn.”

“When you have cows, you “I don’t tell them anything,” he have to be there morning, noon, and night, seven days a week,” he added. He’d rise at 4:30 a.m. daily and not return to his home until 9 or 9:30 p.m.

Though official ownership of the plot didn’t formally transfer to Warren and David until 1991, they managed dayto-day operations since 1960, he said.

While the renters now focus on corn David will, on occasion, drive over to the and soybeans, in farm, just to examine the crop—however earlier days, the briefly—said Jean. “He likes seeing a good Krause brothers crop, and they have a (terrific) crop for corn had 500-600 hogs, this year.” roughly 40 cows— (Ryan Anderson/People’s Press) predominantly Holsteins—chickens, and various crops, most of said. “It’s theirs to run” as they which stayed on the farm to feed see fit, as “I just own it.” animals.

He will, on occasion, drive However, as farming be- over to the farm, just to examcame a large-scale corporate ine the crop — however briefly enterprise, they cut back, elimi- — said Jean. “He likes seeing a nating animals roughly three good crop, and they have a (ter-

rific) crop for corn this year.”

In the renting stage, Warren and David split their partnership down the middle so “everything is equal,” he said. After Louise died in late-August, her children took her portion of the farm.

A BYGONE ERA Both David and Jean marvel at how much money is now involved in farming.

When David started in the business, he could procure a bushel of corn for $7 or $8, he said. Now, that same bushel “goes for $350.”

When David and Jean visited the Steele County Free Fair this summer, they alighted upon a mammoth tractor with a $600,000 price tag, she recalled.

“You need a lot of backing” to afford equipment that expensive — or “win the lottery.”

Farms now stretch hundreds upon hundreds of acres, David added. “Back in the 1940s, if you had anything over 80 acres, (people) laughed at you,” because that was way more than enough “to raise a family on.”

David and Jean lived in the city of Owatonna, as she was a teacher for decades — mostly at Washington Elementary — while David commuted daily to work the farm. Warren was also full-time at the farm, while Louise worked at Federated Insurance. David and Jean’s two sons also assisted at the farm, but he cautioned them to avoid

October 2018

CENTURY FARMS

David and Jean Krause show off a painting she did in 1968 of their family farm. Many of the buildings depicted in the artistic rendering are now gone, but the observant may notice David’s father, Milton, on a tractor in the center of the piece.

(Ryan Anderson/People’s Press) the farming business — and they followed his advice.

“It’s a tough living out there for farmers,” he said. “It can look good from the outside, but when you get into it […] it’s a stressful job, especially if you worry too much.”

“There’s more technology involved” in modern farming, especially “in the selling part,” he added. “You better have a good (grasp) on selling, or else you can lose your hat.”

Diversification is also paramount, Jean said. “You can’t do only one crop.”

David and Warren would alternate annually which one got two weeks of summer vacation with his family and which only had one week, Jean recalled. David’s also a detail-obsessed “per-

fectionist,” so he’d never leave the farm until he was absolutely satisfied with a day’s work.

“In farming, you have to be (detail-oriented),” David echoed. “When you have livestock, you better enjoy long hours.”

Both Warren and David possessed sincere faith, which helped them endure the vicissitudes of farming, a business so reliant on uncontrollable nature, Jean said. If a crop “looks really good, you can plan on a” successful harvest, but “don’t count on it,” as one hailstorm can wipe out an entire field, so “nature keeps you humble.”

“That’s what farming is,” David said. “You have to have faith.”

PAGE 21

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October 2018

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PAGE 23

Bauleke’s Seldom Seen Farm reaches 100-year mark

By NANCY MADSEN nmadsen@stpeterherald.com Donald Bauleke is the third generation owner of his family’s farm, Seldom Seen Farm.

This year, it is one of Le Sueur County’s Century Farms. The Century Farm

program is sponsored by the Minnesota Farm Bureau and MInnesota State Fair. Century Farms are recognized at local county fairs and the Minnesota State Fair.

“I’ve always enjoyed the farm,” he said. “It’s always something I’ve wanted to do.”

The farm, which includes 80 acres off 360th Street in Le Sueur, was purchased in 1918 by Bauleke’s grandparents, Edwin and Amelia Randolph.

“It’s a huge honor to say you have a Century Farm,” he said.

“To get to the third generation, it’s quite an accomplishment to

carry on for your forefathers.”

Daughter Harriet and husband Floyd Bauleke were the next owners. They began milking registered Brown Swiss dairy

BAULEKE

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Above Photo: The Donald Bauleke family farm, rural Le Sueur, earned its Century Farm award this year.

(Dana Melius/Le Sueur County News) Photo on page 23: Donald Bauleke flanked by two of his Belgian draft horses, Shiloh, left, and Kira. Bauleke’s Seldom Seen Farm is one of Le Sueur County’s Century Farms this year. (Nancy Madsen/Le Sueur County News)

BAULEKE

Continued from page 23 cows in 1947. They raised corn and alfalfa, besides the dairy cows. After 50 years, Donald and Nancy Bauleke ended their dairy operations.

“My wife and I lived on another place,” Bauleke said, where they ran three wean-to-finish hog barns at their farm for 14 years before they moved back to the family farm. They kept the hog operation until a few years ago.

Nancy is from Michigan.

The two met through “mutual brown Swiss friends,” Donald said. She was interested in staying on the farm, too. She works in St. Peter.

“She worked well with our hogs,” he said. “And she loved the cows, too; she loved to milk.”

Now, Bauleke farms about 500 acres of crops on their own and rented land, plus works off the farm full-time at Mi-Tek In-

dustries, Montgomery.

On the farm, he grows corn and soybeans, with some sweet corn.

But they haven’t stopped raising animals. They enjoy raising Belgian draft horses.

“That’s always been our hobby,” Bauleke said. “I’ve always loved horses. My dad liked horses, so we got started in them.”

There were years in there when they gave up the horses.

But in 2012, once settled on the family farm, Bauleke returned to his love.

They show the horses at the county and state fairs in halter shows, where the horses are compared to the breed ideal, called conformation. Judges look at size and balance. The other type of draft shows is in harness, where one to eight horses pull different types of carts.

Despite their size, Belgians are gentle, Bauleke said.

“They are pretty much a docile animal,” he said.

Right now, they’ve got three mares, a yearling and a twoyear old. Two mares “will be bred back for next year,” he said.

“We’ll get the younger mare into the breeding program, too.”

Donald Bauleke has been involved in community and agricultural organizations. He is on the Ottawa Town Board, where he’s filed for a second term.

He was a Le Sueur County Fair Board member for more than three decades.

“I was in 4-H growing up and I loved 4-H,” he said. “It’s

giving back to the community.”

Other organizations he’s been involved with include Le Sueur County Farm Bureau, Le Sueur County Pork Producers and Le Sueur/Scott County Corn and Soybean Growers Association. He remains part of the Brown Swiss Association and Belgian Draft Horse Corporation.

Bauleke would eventually like to retire, but he’s enjoyed his agricultural career.

“Southern Minnesota is a nice part of the country,” he said.

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October 2018

Quiram family honored as Le Sueur County Farm Family of the Year

The Quiram family of rural Waterville was honored as the Farm Family of the Year at the recent Le Sueur County Fair. From left: Commissioner Lance Wetzel, Bruce Quiram, Sara and Donald Quiram, Brian Quiram and University of Extension agent Shane Bugeja. (Dana Melius/Le Sueur County News) Century Farm.

By ASHLEY MURTHA “My great-grandpa Martin amurtha@lesueurcountynews.

Julius (MJ) settled in this area com in the 1870s after coming over A Century Farm turned from Germany,” said Donald into the Farm Family of the Year. Quiram, the head of the Quiram After getting back from va- family farm in Waterville. “He cation, the Quiram family was then bought the farm in 1912.” honored to be recognized as the Donald said his greatLe Sueur County Farm Family of grandfather chose this area the year at the Le Sueur County mainly because he liked all of Fair. Their family farm dates the lakes. back to 1912, recognized as as a “They liked the lakes to

hunt and fish,” Donald said.

“There are three lakes connected to our farm and about 25 in the area.”

The farm started as a dairy farm while also raising corn, soybeans, horses and cattle.

“Back then they had just about everything,” Donald said.

As time moved forward, Donald’s grandfather, Walter, took over and he and his wife raised chickens and ducks and

then Donald’s father, Gordon, brought in turkeys and sheep.

“My parents expanded the chickens and had turkeys for five years until the market crashed,” Donald said.

When Donald took over, he decided to try raising hogs before that market crashed.

“I started raising hogs when I was 12 years old,” Donald said.

“And then the crash happened in ’96.”

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PAGE 27

Nestled in the the rural Waterville area, the Donald Quiram family farm dates back to 1912. (Dana Melius/Le Sueur County News) Today, Donald has taken things in a little bit of a different route.

“I started the Pioneer Seed in ’92,” Donald said. He also sells crop insurance which his son Brian recently got a license for.

“I’ve really grown to appreciate farming,” Brian said. “I can see the potential here and I look forward to seeing what it looks like in 20 years when I’ve left my mark.”

Brian plans to take over the farm when his father retires as his older brother Bruce did not have an interest in the job.

“He saw that the farm had challenges and he wanted to be in a bigger city,” Donald said.

“He liked being around people and his friends all the time in high school.”

Bruce now lives in Bloomington and works as a commercial real estate portfolio analyst.

The Quiram farm is 500 acres and produces mostly corn

and soybeans along with Donald’s side business.

“The seed and insurance fits well together,” said Donald’s wife, Sarah, who works as a second-grade teacher at WatervilleElysian-Morristown.

“It’s hard to be a 100 percent farmer,” Donald said. “It’s a great honor to be named the Farm Family of the Year, but other farms deserve the same recognition.”

Brian agreed with his father.

“I think any farm that can hang on right now deserves this honor, too,” Brian said.

“Everyone has poor markets right now, but farmers try to be upbeat,” Donald said. “We’re forever optimists.”

“We have to support one another,” Sarah said. “I’ve really grown to respect the quality of life and work it takes to be in this business.”

Donald said he chose to keep with the business because

he always like living in the country.

“I liked where I lived and didn’t want to live in the city,” Donald said.

“He also liked seeing the crops grow,” Sarah added. “He always liked planting and then watching them grow out of the ground.”

Donald and his family look forward to the coming years in the business and Brian waits for the day when he will take over.

“I see a lot we can do here,”

Brian said. “I move faster than (my father) wants me to sometimes, but we make it work.”

“Today you hear that most people have about seven different jobs throughout their life,” Donald said. “Well, farming is one job for a lifetime.”

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October 2018

Rubie Farm soon eligible for Sesquicentennial status

By NANCY MADSEN nmadsen@stpeterherald.com Leona Rubie and Barb Rubie O’Brien said they were working on Rubie family genealogy when they found the paperwork tracing ownership of the family farm.

They applied to be included among the 2018 class of Century Farms.

“We thought we should do it now that we got the information,” Rubie said.

They remarked they’d keep the information handy, because they’ll be eligible for Sesquicentennial Farm status in just a few years.

The farm is now in a family trust, but Rubie still lives there.

“I like it out there,” she said.

“It’s peaceful.”

O’Brien lives in Wisconsin and comes to visit several times a year.

The two attended the ceremony recognizing Century and Sesquicentennial Farms at the Nicollet County Fair. The Century Farm program is sponsored by the Minnesota Farm Bureau and Minnesota State Fair. Century Farms are recognized at local county fairs and the Minnesota State Fair.

The Century Farm tradition started first and Sesquicentennial Farm honors started when the early Century Farms reached the later milestone. The Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation that it takes a lot to keep a farm together that long, including battling weather and dealing with economic problems.

The Rubie Family Farm is one of three recognized in Nicollet County in 2018. There are 131 in the state.

Leona Rubie, left, and Barb Rubie O’Brien receive the Century Farm marker for the Rubie Family Farm on Aug. 10 during the Nicollet County Fair. (Nancy Madsen/St. Peter Herald) The Nicollet County Century Farms are:

• Thomas Forsberg, Lafayette Township, 1918.

• The Rubie Family Trust, New Ulm, 1875.

• Leo Von Ohlen, North Mankato, 1916.

The Rubie Family Farm includes 81 acres from the original family purchase from Wenzel and Katharina Schuller, the farm application said. The Schullers had obtained the land through an 1874 Homestead Patent.

The family ancestor who bought it was August Getz in

1875. His son-in-law, John Rubey, inherited the farm. He was followed by Anton Rubie, his widow Mary Rubie, then son Anton Rubie before it was put in a family trust in 1997.

The farm is between Klossner and St. George on County Road 5, or Old Fort Road. When Rubie and O’Brien were growing up, the family worked 160 acres.

They had dairy cows, steers and hogs.

They remember feeding calves, chasing pigs and “We spent our evenings walking beans,” O’Brien said, then laughed.

They are grateful for the

character that growing up on a farm instilled in them.

“Work ethic, stick-to-it-ness and perseverance” are some of the traits a farm background gives people, Rubie said.

Now, the trust rents to two people who grow cash crops. And 55 acres is in a conservation program.

Rubie and her husband both worked off the farm. Rubie managed the Gibbon Ballroom and has spent the last two decades working at a gas station in New Ulm, she said.

October 2018

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PAGE 29

Tom, left, and Patti Hayes run the family-owned Evergreen Farm. They were named Nicollet County Farm Family of the Year.

(Nancy Madsen/St. Peter Herald)

Hayes family honored as 2018 Nicollet County Farm Family of the Year

By NANCY MADSEN nmadsen@stpeterherald.com Farm, family and community have been Tom and Patti Hayes’ way of life.

They were also named Nicollet County Farm Family of the Year.

Hayes farm The farm in rural Lafayette

was started in 1906 by Claus August Hed. When Tom was young, his family raised chicken, beef, hogs and sheep. The farm had also had dairy cows before that. Besides the corn for local markets and ethanol plant and the soybeans for seed they raise now, the farm has raised alfalfa, small grains and sugar beets.

Tom’s father, Amos, was from Clarissa. He went to the

university and became an agricultural instructor in Winthrop.

When he married Tom’s mother, Leona Pierson, he walked into “his opportunity to farm,” Tom said.

Tom was the fourth child of five in his family; he had three older sisters and one younger brother. He went to University of Minnesota, Waseca, to study diversified agriculture. He said

he was going to transfer to the St. Paul campus, but “never got there.” Instead, his family needed him home to work on the farm.

Patti grew up on a farm about five miles south of Mankato. They met through mutual

HAYES

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October 2018

The Hayes family celebrated the wedding of Micaela Magsamen and David Hayes in September 2017. From left are Daniel, John, Anna, Micaela, David, Patti and Tom. The Hayes are the Nicollet County Farm Family of the Year. (Courtesy of Patti Hayes)

HAYES

Continued from page 29 friends from Tom’s college days.

“This is very rural, so at first it was very different,” she said.

But the farm’s solitude on a road just southwest of Bernadotte, grew on her.

Community involvement Tom completed the Minnesota Agriculture and Rural Leadership Program in 2006-08, which includes leadership, personal skill-building and location education in regional, national and international study sessions.

During his class, the participants visited South Africa.

He was on the steering committee that started Connecting Nicollet County. He’s a Lafayette Area Lions, inthe New Ulm Farm-City Hub Club, a board

member of the New Ulm Area Foundation, and a board member of the Brown County Rural Electric Association, which serves Brown and Nicollet counties.

“Being involved in the community has always been something ingrained in me,” Tom said.

Patti is active in church activities, the Lafayette Band and is a past 4-H adult leader for the Bernadotte 4-H Club.

“4-Hers talk through their project with a judge, which makes children comfortable with adults and presenting in front of people,” Patti said, which is one of her favorite aspects of the program.

involvement was a constant. Son David, a mechanical engineer, and wife Micaela live in Wisconsin; daughter Anna is working on a doctorate in food science at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; son John is preparing for the priesthood, and son Daniel is at the University of Minnesota completing a degree in agricultural fields, including animal science and agronomy. He has an internship with WinField United, a subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, this summer.

Daniel has shown interest in returning to run the farm.

“They’re all pursuing what they planned on right from high school,” Patti said. They’re proud of all of them for finding fields that fit their personalities and passions.

Family life David, Anna, John and Tom and Patti raised four children on the farm, where lo- Daniel were active on the farm cal community, church and 4-H and highly involved local 4-H,

starting at age five, and FFA programs with livestock and nonlivestock projects.

“They were very interested in the animal projects,” Patti said. “They had great experiences and friendships from 4-H.” When their children were all at home, they would camp a few times each summer, visiting state parks. Invariably, they’d camp at the state fair, too.

“Now, I’m just very happy when we’re all together,” Patti said.

After more than 40 years in a hog enterprise, that dissolved last year, leaving just corn and soybeans for now. Tom said the challenges for agriculture are the cost of inputs and the amount of debt farms must carry.

“You don’t buy new, you get by with less,” he said. “Technology has become a big part of agriculture, but all that has cost.”

October 2018

Technology gives farmers more data to be better farmers, making more precise applications of seed and fertilizer, for example, Tom said.

Each year, the University of Minnesota recognizes more than 80 families through the Farm Family of the Year program.

“The farm families receivng this year’s honors exemplify what makes Minnesota agriculture strong,” said Bev Durgan, Dean of Extension, in a news release. “They bring innovation, science and hard work to farm-

CENTURY FARMS

ing. They care greatly about the land and animals and delivering quality products to consumers worldwide.”

In Nicollet County, past recipients chose the current year’s farm family of the year based on the family’s “demonstrated commitment to enhancing and supporting agriculture and community involvement,” the release said.

The Hayes family will be recognized in ceremonies at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the annual Minnesota Farmfest on the Gilfillan

Estate near Redwood Falls and at 1 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Nicollet County Fair in Johnson Hall.

Tom and Patti Hayes were told by the Bastians, who were named farm family for 2015.

“It’s a total honor,” Patti said.

“There are a lot of deserving families.”

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October 2018

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Congratulations CENTURY FARMERS

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