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Serving rural Benton County & parts of Morrison, Mille Lacs & Kanabec counties.
BENTON AG Plus
A Supplement to the Sauk Rapids Herald
THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2016
Pass the vegetables
Sartell teen grows green business by NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
MILACA — Alex Bertsch has a passion for vegetables. While many children his age were choking down cabbage or passing on the peas, Bertsch was cultivating his own garden with big dreams to grow green. “I had been gardening in a 10 by 30 foot plot on the most undesirable piece of land my parents could offer since I was about 10 years old,” said Bertsch of his start. “But I was happy and I kept wanting to get bigger.” Now, at age 16, this upcoming Sartell High School junior, is spending his summer nurturing his organic gardening business, Epic by Nature. His plans are “to grow epically, affordable, healthy, sustainable produce” and to give back to the land which
provided for him. “Look out at the Àeld over there,” he said pointing to a barren Àeld plot. “There isn’t a whole lot of life, or diversity or anything. Here I am trying to build soil health and diversity to help regenerate the ecosystem. I want to create something that puts back to the earth.” This business-minded teenager began his Epic journey only a year ago when his grandfather offered him a half-acre plot of land from newly purchased property near Milaca. Bertsch is selftaught and has learned most of what he knows about his business by listening to podcasts and research. Bertsch staked out a 109 by 109 foot piece last July and broke, tilled and worked the ground until planting season began this spring. He surrounded the area with barbed wire fence and chicken wire to prevent the ample deer and
PHOTOS BY NATASHA BARBER
Sixteen-year-old Alex Bertsch is a budding entrepreneur and owns an organic produce business called Epic by Nature. He harvests produce from a half-acre plot near Milaca and sells his vegetables at local farmers markets.
rabbits in the area from destroying his crops. The plot sits on a mix of sand and clay, so over the past year Bertsch prepared the soil for the growing season. “I’ve spread close to six tons of soil amendments in the form of composted ma-
nure and other composts. Last fall, I put down manures to help the soil through the winter and I’ve been adding more compost as we progress,” Bertsch said. Bertsch’s business plan includes selling his produce at local farmers markets includ-
ing Foley and Sauk Rapids. His 18 inch by 54 foot bed rows are standardized and he keeps a log of costs and proÀts for each row in order to calculate post-season and decide where to further invest his monies. He grows tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, snap
peas, beans, arugula, kale, butter lettuce, radishes, carrots, corn, watermelon and a lot of varieties of squash. He also has 20 infant raspberry plants. Bertsch continued on pg. 4B
Immersed in the ag life Stille, Czechs enjoy exchange experience by ANNA SALDANA STAFF WRITER
ROYALTON – Clara Stille grew up in Germany, listening to her mother’s stories and spending weekends on her grandparents farm, but nothing compared to the American experience. Last August, Stille came to Minnesota as a foreign exchange student. Bernie and Marne Czech, of Royalton, hosted the German student. “It was kind of scary, especially at the beginning I was so happy I got a host family because I was getting worried when I still didn’t have a family two weeks before I came here,” Stille said. “Once I got settled in, I PHOTOS BY ANNA SALDANA was excited to be on a farm. Clara Stille (middle) stands on the farm with her host parents, Bernie and Marne Czech, in It’s never boring and I was Royalton. Stille was living with the family for 10 months as a foreign exchange student from excited to experience every-
Rubes Sponsored by Fluegge’s Ag
Germany.
thing.” Throughout her 10 months here, she helped the Czechs with a variety of chores. It was a learning experience, but Stille says her host parent Bernie was a great teacher. “He was very patient, so that was good,” Stille said. “He taught me how to do a lot of things around the farm. Once I knew what to do, I was always helping with something.” Bernie appreciated Stille’s open mind. “She was willing to experience anything we did and she did really well with the adjustment,” Bernie said. Those differences went beyond the farm too. Stille also experienced being in a town without public transportation and went to a Catholic Church for the Àrst
time. She noticed a lot of changes in school. In Royalton, Stille had a wider variety of classes – from photography to psychology – than she would have in Germany. “In Germany, they give you the class schedule and you do it,” Stille said. “You don’t get to pick like you do here. It was a positive difference for me.” Some of her favorite memories on the farm include milking cows, feeding calves and riding in the tractor. She had the chance to ride along in the tractor and watched Bernie plow Àelds. “I really liked helping with milking cows and feeding calves,” Stille said. “It’s not something I will get to experience in Germany.” One memory that stands out for both Bernie and Stille is from last fall, when they both climbed the silo to look at the fall colors. “That was really fun. You could see different colors for miles around us,” Stille continued on pg. 2B
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