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Soil is my 401(k)
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How to make sauerkraut By Liz Partsch
Farm and Dairy Staff Reporter
No-till becomes way for Fred Yoder to leave his legacy in the land By Melissa Weber Contributing Writer
PLAIN CITY, Ohio — Fred Yoder was looking for a grease gun as the sun rose on his farm one day in early November. Rain earlier in the week slowed the harvest, and hundreds of acres of corn needed attention. He learned nearly 40 years ago that maintenance was a cost saver, and saving costs meant better profits at harvest time. “This is our 10th or 11th combine,” Yoder said. He bought a 200-acre farm from his father in the 1980s. Back then, Yoder planned to finish college and become a teacher; but his dad’s health problems drove him back home. In the years since, he has experimented with different techniques to improve the soil and increase profits and he has added three more farms, now totaling 700
acres, along the border of Union and Madison counties in west-central Ohio. He also leases an additional 800 acres. He first observed soil issues as a kid on the farm. When he was about 12, they sold their livestock and planted the previously untilled field. He noted a big difference in the soil between the fluffy, dark earth where the cattle had been, compared to the hard, compacted dirt in the adjoining field. “Within three years, that [fluffy] soil was just as hard as the other field,” he said. “And I thought, ‘We must be doing something wrong.’” When he started farming, he attended numerous workshops and learned about the “no-till” method of planting crops. “If the best soil has never been stirred, we’ve got to quit stirring,” he said. “I was planting cover crops before cover crops were cool. The soil is my 401(K).” It represents his investment in the future, as well as his retirement plan. Family business. Yoder notes there are big changes coming in the farming community. The average age is 58. His son Josh and daughter Sarah both work for Yoder Ag Services, which sells seed and precision planting equipment. Josh began actively farming in
Son Josh and father Fred Yoder farm together around Plain City, Ohio, with a focus on no-till, cover crops and data. (Melissa Weber photo)
2016 when Fred had health issues of his own. In addition to his experience with Yoder Ag, Josh was prepared to advance innovation on the farm. He holds a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University and an MBA from Ohio State. Josh focuses on measuring the variables that contribute to higher yields. “There was an adage I heard over and over in school,” he said. “You manage what you measure.” They are measuring all the mechanisms behind yield, starting with healthy soil with good nutrition. Protecting soil with a cover crop offers more benefits than preventing erosion. Cover crops build organic matter and put nutrients in the soil. Increased organic matter improves the ability to store and conserve water. “If you have phosphorus and potassium where they need to be, you build resilience into the system,” Josh said. Their goal is continuous improvement, treating the soil as a monetary investment. (Continued on Page A3)
BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Since I was a little girl, I can vividly remember a sour, pungent smell filling my nose when I would stand too close to the fermenting sauerkraut stashed in my grandma’s basement. At the time, I would blame the smell on my brother; as many people equate the smell of fermenting sauerkraut to the smell of a bad fart. Now, I know much better than to be lurking around the basement during the months of November and December. Despite the smell, sauerkraut is a staple dish in my family and a food highly treasured in the Partsch household during the winter months. Already a few weeks into fermenting, this year we used 115 pounds of cabbage. Having a little more cabbage than usual, we had two extra hands helping my dad, aunt and I make our annual supply of sauerkraut. History. Sauerkraut has been a staple dish in German cuisine since the 1600s. The name directly translates to sour cabbage in German: sauer (sour) kraut (cabbage). Despite popular belief, sauerkraut actually originated in China over 2,000 years ago when the Great Wall of China was being built. Workers lived off of cabbage and rice and, during the colder months, mixed cabbage with rice wine to preserve the vegetables — marking the beginning of what would turn into sauerkraut. It wasn’t until the 16th century that Europeans fermented cabbage in its own juice to make sauerkraut. Sauerkraut became a part of American cuisine in the 18th century when German immigrants traveled to the United States. Since the beginning of sauerkraut consumption, it has been valued for its health benefits. Because it undergoes the process of fermentation, sauerkraut contains beneficial probiotics that help food become more digestible. Probiotics also help the gut absorb the vitamins and minerals contained in food. Sauerkraut has many beneficial vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, potassium, etc. (Continued on Page A12)
Matt Partsch mixes shredded cabbage with salt on Nov. 12. (Liz Partsch photo)
Volume 110 - No. 12 | Three Sections ©LYLE Ptg. & Pub. Co.
A Wrangler’s Reckless Writings....C2 Alan Guebert..................................A4 Antique Collector.........................B11 Around the Table.........................A19 Auction Calendar...........................B1 Classified.......................................C7 Comfortably Dumb......................B33
Commodities.................................A6 Crossword/Sudoku.....................A16 Dairy Excel...................................A11 Dirt on Conservation.....................A8 Eliza Blue.......................................A7 Equine Calendar............................C4 FFA News....................................A10
Hazard A Guess...........................B12 Judith Sutherland..........................A4 Kids Page.....................................B33 Kovels..........................................B11 Kymberly Foster Seabolt..............B1 Markets........................................A13 Obituaries......................................A5
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People............................................A9 Real Estate..................................C19 Religion........................................A17 Scholarships................................B23 Tami Gingrich................................C1 Vacation With Us.........................B14 Weekly Auctions..........................B15