NEW ELM SPRINGS COLONY
MARK AND CINDY ULMER
Hutchinson County, September 2021
Hutchinson County, August 2021
New Elm Springs Colony is a true farrow-to-finish hog operation with all the farrowing, nursery and finishing barns on property. They also have a plant where they mill all their own feed for both their pigs and their Levi Wollman takes a break from the hog turkey operation. operation to have fun with some children at the New Elm Springs Hutterite Colony. This self-reliant approach is not uncommon for Hutterite. The history of the New Elm Springs Colony in the area dates back to the 1870s when families first settled at Maxwell Colony, south of Menno. Today, about 100 people live on the colony. New Elm Springs has a butchering and processing facility on site and they sell a wide variety of pork and turkey products. They sell products to commercial and retail customers. Many of the butcher shop's products can be purchased at Dimock Dairy as well. Hog boss Levi Wollman said the colony takes part in the checkoff-funded We Care program. “We have so much riding on this. Safety, caring for the environment and animal well-being are crucial to everything we do,” Levi said.
Tractor pulling is a tremendous amount of work, but Mark Ulmer relishes the thrill when he puts the hammer down. “I imagine I love the element of competition. We’ve been very successful which is probably what drives us more than anything. We entertain thousands and thousands of people with these tractors.” His tractors – Eleanor and The Weapon – finished first and second in Cindy and Mark Ulmer and their dog, Lily. Outlaw Truck & Tractor Pulling Association light super stock class. It's the third year in a row Mark has been the overall season points champion. Mark and his wife, Cindy, farm near Menno on ground homesteaded by his great-great grandfather in 1896. He said farming is their base living income, but more of his time is spent driving in tractor pulls or working on tractors for other people. The original shop his dad built in 1959 is still in use. “There has been Grand National Super Stock sitting right there. We’ve got turning lathes, drilling machines, a shaper. We can make gears and internal spines; we build couplers; we make our own transmissions and power axles.”
Proud dealer of
SPRAYER CONTROLS • SPRAY TIPS • PLASTIC FITTINGS • AND MORE
Your Ag parts dealer is here for you.
Benco Products Inc Daniel Severson 27093 Katie RD, Tea, SD 57064 1-888-649-4862 | dan@bencoparts.com December 2021 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
23
