It’s common for seed representatives to farm, but Kevin Hildring of Larchwood in Northwest Iowa is involved with the agriculture industry in another way. He works for a small firm that does environmental and nutrient management consulting.
“I farmed for a number of years,” explains Kevin. “It feels like I’m still farming most days because I help farmers with fertilizer, soil sampling, and various aspects on their farm. I really enjoy that aspect of my job.”
Kevin has worn many different hats throughout his career. He worked in the animal pharmaceutical industry for more than 30 years with Elanco where he was a part of the vaccination development team. He helped engineer new vaccines for more efficient protein production. He still relies on this expertise and does some private consulting for smaller pharmaceutical companies, especially when they are working to develop a new product for the marketplace. He also has managed approximately 900 acres of farm ground for the last 30 years.
“I enjoy farm management because I’m able to see how the industry has evolved over the years,” he says. “It is really amazing to see how things have changed and improved in the time I managed the land.”
Managing all of these projects could be challenging, but it really fits Kevin’s education and interests. He earned a degree in Strategic Management and then an MBA, focusing on Operations and Project Management, from Colorado Tech University.
When Kevin is off the clock, he enjoys spending time with his family. His wife is a retired school teacher. They have two sons, Nick and Ben, and one daughter, Anna. Nick works in the insurance industry. Ben is enlisted in the military service, and Anna is a school teacher. They also have two grandsons. Kevin also enjoys gardening, reading, traveling and scuba diving.
“I got into scuba diving simply because it was always something I wanted to do. They have a scuba shop, as well as classes, in Sioux Falls so I enrolled. My wife and I take a trip to the Caribbean each year because I really enjoy diving there.”
Kevin has followed a unique career path in agriculture that allows him to offer a unique perspective to his farmer customers. We feel fortunate that he chose to partner with Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds and are excited to see what the new year brings for his Latham dealership!
“I believe Latham is a really good fit for me. I really enjoy the family aspect of the company and I have enjoyed getting to the entire staff,” he says. “I’m excited to get started!”
Family traditions are important at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, as one might guess, as we have been a family-owned company for over 70 years. We’re proud to carry on the tradition of producing high-quality, high-yielding seed that Willard Latham began back in 1947.
With the holidays approaching and Christmas ads airing on TV, it’s difficult not to think of Christmas traditions. One tradition started by Willard’s wife, Evelyn, was giving popcorn balls to each of her 12 grandchildren when the family gathered on Christmas.
We also have a few holiday traditions at Latham Seeds. In the past on the first Friday of December, we host a Christmas potluck lunch. Each employee brings a dish to pass and we share a great meal together. The spread of food is always impressive! Everything from appetizers to desserts have been covered. During this time, each employee places a Christmas ornament with his or her name on the tree in our office lobby. Although Christmas celebrations at the Latham Seeds office will look a little different this year, we are excited about the opportunity to start a couple new Christmas traditions.
In my family, we also have a few traditions. As Thanksgiving ends, everyone gets excited to share the Christmas spirit! My mom, my sister, my aunt and I always go shopping on Black Friday. When we return from shopping, we assemble our Christmas tree while playing our favorite Christmas songs.
Another one of my family’s Christmas traditions is honoring loved ones who are no longer with us. My grandpa passed away in the fall of 2013 after battling ALS. Our church members are encouraged to bring plants or decorations to place by the alter in honor of family members. Each year our family purchases a poinsettia in memory of my Grandpa Jack. It’s a great reminder that he is with us during the Christmas season.
Traditions also provide us with a sense of community. Our neighbors gather at someone’s house on Christmas Eve morning for breakfast. My grandparents started this tradition many years ago, and we’re keeping it going. Everyone brings a dish to share, and we start our day with great company. It is always fun to catch up with everyone and their families!
Then on Christmas Eve night, my grandparents join us for homemade soup and sandwiches. After we finish eating, my sister and I open one present from under the tree. When we were younger, I was always so excited to get a sneak peak of what was to come the next morning. Last year, I got to open an extra special gift. My sister wrapped up pink balloons in a big box. When I opened that box, there was an announcement that she and her husband were expecting a baby girl in the spring! This had the whole family excited and surprised.
While most of these traditions seem small, they are what I look forward to each year! Below are links to a few holiday traditions shared by Latham Marketing Team Members:
We at Latham Seeds wish you all a happy holiday season as you enjoy your own traditions. How do you “Make It Christmas”? We’d love to hear what makes the holidays especially meaningful to you. Feel free to comment with your favorite time-honored traditions.
“Water, feed, air quality and biosecurity practices have changed since I began farming,” says Tim Graber, a fourth-generation row crops farmer and turkey producer from Wayland in southeast Iowa. “We are very proactive in taking care of our turkeys’ health and use very few antibiotics. Just like we use preventive measures for our health, we do the same for our turkeys. It only makes sense to have the best nutrition and environments possible for our health. Why not do that for the turkeys? In terms of biosecurity, we relate that to good hand washing practices for ourselves. It is a great line of defense to prevent disease.”
Photo by: Joseph Murphy/Iowa Soybean Association
For as long as Tim can remember, he’s been taking care of turkeys. He grew up helping his grandpa, dad and uncles. During high school and college, he also helped neighboring turkey growers when they needed an extra pair of hands.
“I enjoy getting baby turkeys when they are less than 24 hours old and then nourishing the birds as they grow,” says Tim.
Poults are placed in a (cage free) brooder barn where each turkey has at least one square foot of space. This barn is well insulated and kept very clean to prevent diseases. When the birds are about five weeks old, they are moved to a grower barn where they have about four square feet of space to grow. Turkeys are kept in the grower barn until they are 19 weeks old and reach a market weight of approximately 40 pounds.
Photo by: Joseph Murphy/Iowa Soybean Association
“I provide the management and resources for the turkeys to be healthy,” explains Tim. “I know that when these turkeys go to market, they were treated with care. I take pride in knowing that all the hard work every day of the year is worth it because we’re providing a safe and healthy protein for the world to eat.”
Turkeys raised by the Graber family and several others in his community are sold to West Liberty Foods, an Iowa turkey growers cooperative. There the turkeys are processed into sliced deli meat and sold primarily to Subway restaurants and other top quick service restaurants, as well as major grocery retailers nationwide.
Raising crops and poultry, as well as a family, in the rolling hills of southeast Iowa was part of Tim’s plan, although he attended Hesston College in Kansas and earned an associate’s degree in Business Management.
Photo by: Joseph Murphy/Iowa Soybean Association
“Going away to college and working outside of the farm for a few years helped me to gain a different perspective and learn the business side,” says Tim, who spent three summers following the wheat harvest. Kansas also is where one particular farm girl captured his heart.
“I always knew Tim wanted to return home and raise turkeys, but until I moved here with him, I had no idea how different raising turkeys is from raising crops like my family does,” says Tim’s wife, Lisa.
Livestock and poultry producers have no time off. There isn’t a break in the production cycle that allows those involved with production animal agriculture to get away from it. As their turkey operation – and their family has grown – Lisa made the choice to stop working full-time as a nurse to become more involved in community and school activities.
The Grabers have been married 18 years and are the proud parents of four. Their daughter Morgan, 14, is a high school freshman. She’s involved in all sports. Their 12-year-old son Cody is in seventh grade. He enjoys playing and watching sports. Nine-year-old Brenna is in third grade. She loves animals and dreams of being a veterinarian. Logan, 6, is a first grader. He loves being outdoors and helping around the farm.
Photo by: Joseph Murphy/Iowa Soybean Association
“Three years ago we were able to build a house on the farm, and we absolutely love living here,” says Tim. “Living on the farm makes it convenient to check things late at night and/or during the night as needed. It’s also great to have the kids close by when extra help is needed. They enjoy riding their bikes over to give me a hand. The youngest two like to chore with me and play in the sheds.”
Last August I had the opportunity to visit the Graber’s when the Iowa Food & Family Project – of which Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds is a proud sponsor – hosted Expedition Farm Country. The care the Grabers take of their turkeys is evident from the condition of their buildings, the condition of their turkeys, as well as the tone of their voices as they explained why they love doing what they do. It was an honor and a pleasure to look beyond their barn doors, and I certainly appreciate the time they took this season to share a glimpse of their farm life with all readers of TheFieldPosition.com.
Today the Graber family is sharing with us a few of their family recipes. The first one is for the Iowa Grilled Turkey Tenderloin, which was sold at the Iowa State Fair for 30 years. I agree this marinade is second to none and am looking forward to trying their family’s fried turkey, as well as the Wayland community’s favorite bacon-wrapped turkey tenderloin. Hopefully, these recipes will inspire you to enjoy wholesome and delicious turkey more often!
Give a Recipe, Get a Gift: Share How You Define “Turkey with all the Trimmings
Writing blogs for The Field Position allows me to meet the most hospitable farm families and to also learn about popular regional fare like runza in Nebraska and Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup.
Yesterday one of my blogger friends, who’s a native Minnesotan, posted a picture on Twitter with this copy: “It’s always cheesy potato hot dish time.” As a native Iowan, her tweet brought a smile to my face as I thought about how a North Central Iowa potluck or family holiday wouldn’t be complete without “cheesy potato casserole.”
Thoughts of cheesy potato casserole quickly shifted to traditional Thanksgiving holiday recipes. Quite honestly, I assumed every American family must feast on turkey, potatoes, corn, cranberries and pumpkin pie like the Pilgrims and Indians. Then my inquiring mind started to wonder what the pilgrims even ate at the first Thanksgiving…
Wildfowl venison, as well as grain in the form of bread or porridge absolutely were part of the harvest celebration shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag at Plymouth Colony in 1621, according to the Smithsonian. Governor William Bradford described the autumn of 1621 as follows: “And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys.” He also mentions that they’d begun eating Indian corn after the harvest.
Correspondence written by the colonists prove they planted gardens in the spring of 1621. In later documents, the colonists mention growing turnips, carrots, onions, garlic and pumpkins. Historians interested in researching the first Thanksgiving meal also studied foods served at traditional English celebrations during this same period.
“You see lots of pies in the first course and in the second course, meat and fish pies. To cook a turkey in a pie was not terribly uncommon. But it is like, no, the pastry isn’t there.” The colonists did not have butter and wheat flour to make crusts for pies and tarts, according to the Smithsonian. (While the Pilgrims didn’t have pumpkin pie, there’s a chance they enjoyed pumpkin pudding.)
The team at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds will send a complimentary wooden spoon, spatula, cutting board or hand towel to anyone who shares his/her favorite Thanksgiving recipe by Nov. 22! Simply e-mail us your hometown, state and recipe to Marketing@LathamSeeds.com.
Today I’m sharing a few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes. Because I enjoy meal planning so much, I’ve linked to enough recipes to make a complete meal:
Herbed Slow Cooker Turkey Breast (This recipe is simple and delicious, which frees me up to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or thumb through Black Friday ads!)
The best dang mashed potatoes (Trust me, we don’t save this recipe just for holidays! It’s one of our family’s favorite side dishes.)
Amy (Corey) Eberling’s father also retired from the U.S. Marines as a Chief Petty Officer. She and her father are pictured her at her retirement ceremony.
When she was a child, Amy (Corey) Eberling thought it was fun to shadow her dad at work. He was a Navy recruiter, and she liked the way people respected this man in uniform. For these reasons, she says the decision to enlist upon turning 17 was a relatively easy one.
Her 25 years of military service took Amy to faraway places including Panama, Peru, Jamaica, Philippines and Greece.
“I had a chance to experience things I never would have done otherwise. I hope, that from my military experience, my children learn they are also capable of doing great things as long as they have the determination,” says Amy. “One thing I know they have learned is they can lean on each other.”
And lean on each other they did… Hospital Corpsman Chef Petty Officer Amy Eberling was deployed with the U.S. Marine Corps on a NATO Training Mission to Afghanistan the summer of 2011. She said goodbye to her husband, Corey, and their four children for almost a year. Her oldest daughter, Alyssa, was 12 at the time. She honed her cooking skills, which made her also appreciate meals delivered by the West Fork Community.
Amy’s oldest son, Ty, was 10 years old at the time of Amy’s deployment. His Boy Scout troop collected donations that were shipped as part of a Christmas care package, which Amy was then able to share with fellow servicemen and women. Eight-year-old daughter Lindsey’s class wrote letters, thanking Amy and others on active duty for their service. Amy still treasures these adorable notes and says she plans to return many of them when those kids graduate. Youngest son, Cayde, was 6 at the time. His class sent colored pictures and made a Christmas tree from all of their hands. Plus Holly Hurley, who coordinates the After School Program in Sheffield, also helped the kids write notes and make crafts that were sent to Amy.
Home for the holidays! Christmas is always a special time of the year, but Amy Eberling says Christmas 2012 was all the more special because she was home from Afghanistan.
“Military support can come in many forms, but the most simple is just a sincere thank you,” says Amy. “Just let them know what we as a military family have sacrificed has not been forgotten.”
“Say thank you” tops the list of seven ways to honor a vet as posted by U.S. News & World Report. Another idea is to invite a veteran to share your Thanksgiving dinner. Remember, the annual Toys for Tots campaign is underway. This campaign gives you an opportunity to help the U.S. Marines help children who wouldn’t otherwise receive toys for Christmas.
Amy Eberling with her children upon her return from Afghanistan
For related posts about veterans, click on a link below.
“Smell your hands.” Yep, that’s something you don’t hear every day, yet it’s perfectly normal—and irresistible—during one of Mary Lovstad’s “Cooking with Herbs” classes at Enchanted Acres near Sheffield, Iowa.
First there was the pungent, spicy aroma of sage, followed by the more delicate, earthy nuances of thyme. All fresh, and all waiting to be transformed into herb butters, salt/herb mixes that save summer in a jar, and turkey brine mixes that will be big timesavers in the kitchen, now that the countdown to the holidays has begun.
As we snipped, chopped and mixed herbs of all types, mainly ones that can grow well in Iowa, I was reminded that herbs are bright, bold and borderline intoxicating. “I love how my hands smell when I’m working with fresh herbs,” said Lovstad, who worked in information technology, including a stint as a software quality engineer, before devoting herself to a new business—Farm Girl Cook’n.
Darcy Maulsby and her mom enjoy cooking classes like the Butter & Brine workshop led by Mary Lovstad at Enchanted Acres in Sheffield, Iowa.
Her farm-to-table workshops demystify many of the questions a lot of us have about herbs. Sure, you probably know that fresh herbs aren’t just for gourmet chefs, but working with herbs can be intimidating. How do I actually work with fresh herbs? Which herbs pair with which types of food? When do I add herbs during the cooking process?
Here are some of Lovstad’s top tips and tricks to help transform every meal into something special.
Dry herbs with a kitchen gadget you already have. Drying fresh herbs is simple when you use your microwave. Place herbs on a plate covered with a paper towel, and microwave them for 30 seconds at a time, until they seem dry enough.
Keep them fresh. If you’d rather work with fresh herbs than dried herbs, but you don’t have time to harvest them constantly, fresh-cut herbs can be kept in a container partially filled with fresh water, much like cut flowers in a vase. Trim the bottom edges of the herbs’ stems so they can take up water, and replace the water with fresh water, as needed. “I’ve kept herbs for two or three weeks this way,” said Lovstad, a former community college instructor who shares many of her favorite recipes on her blog at http://www.farmgirlcookn.com/.
Know your measurements. A good rule of thumb is that you’ll need twice as many fresh herbs as dried herbs in a recipe. If you’re making a soup, for example, and the recipe calls for a tablespoon of dried thyme, use 2 tablespoons if you’re working with fresh thyme.
Don’t hang on too long. Herbs and spices tend to lose their magic after a year. If you’ve kept dried herbs longer than that, it’s probably time to discard them and get a fresh supply.
Save summer in a jar
Knowing how to use fresh herbs is a surefire way to take your dishes to the next level. That includes mixing fresh herbs with coarse salt (and perhaps a healthy shot of garlic). Once you save summer in a jar, voila! Your friends and family will classify YOU as the gourmet chef.
Save Summer in a Jar Herb-Salt Mix
cups of loosely packed herbs before chopping (parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme)
½ cup coarse salt — sea, kosher, etc.
to 5 cloves of garlic
1. Wash herbs and air dry on towel.
2. Clean garlic cloves, slice off ends and chop each into 2 to 4 pieces.
3. You can use a food processor at this point, if you like, or a good knife and cutting board.
4. With a food processor, add salt and garlic pulse several times taking care not to turn it into a paste. Add herbs and pulse several times.
5. Pour your salt into a pile, add the garlic and cut the garlic into the salt. Add the herbs and continue to chop until you get it all blended.
Note: salt will help the drying process. You can spread the mixture out on a cookie sheet and leave it by the window for a couple of days, or if you have a gas oven you can set it in the off oven and the pilot light is enough to dry it in a day or two.
6. Seal in a good jar, and enjoy for up to a year.
Make it better with herb butter
Julia Child noted that anything is good with enough butter. Truth!
There’s nothing like a pat of herb-infused butter melted over a grilled steak, fresh corn on the cob, or mixed in with a bowl of steamed vegetables. Herb butter also makes the foundation for a quick pan sauce. Saute two chicken breasts, Lovstad advised. deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of white wine. Reduce, and add a pat of herb butter. At the end and you will get a delicious sauce. Simple, right?
Making herb butter couldn’t be easier. Just gather your supplies, namely butter, herbs and ice cube trays. (Pampered Chef herb trays work well for freezing, since their flexible bottoms make it a snap to pop the frozen pats of herb butter out.)
Herb Butter
1 stick of real butter, softened
¼ cup of finely chopped herbs (rosemary, sage and/or thyme work well)
By hand, beat butter until soft, gently fold in herbs.
Put into ice tray and freeze.
Store in freezer until use.
Add chopped herbs to softened butter and fold gently.
Fill wells in herb tray with softened herb butter mixture. Smooth off top and edges. Cover and freeze.
Remove butter pats from ice cube tray, and store in freezer safe bag or container.
So see? Making herb butter is as easy as 1-2-3!
How to Brine a Turkey
2 gallons of cold water (or 1 gallon of vegetable stock, 1 gallon water)
Ice
Combine your brine mix and about a quart of your liquid in a sauce pan on the stove. Stir to dissolve sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool completely.
In a large, food grade container (such as a 5-gallon food-grade bucket with lid), combine cooled brine liquid, water and several handfuls of ice.
Place the whole fresh or thawed turkey (10 to 14 pounds) into the brine mixture, and completely submerge. Add more salt water, if necessary.
Refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours. Turn turkey once if you get a chance, but you don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to do it. It will be fine.
Remove turkey, and rinse inside and out with cool running water for several minutes to remove all traces of salt.
Ag Engineer Puts Designs on His Future in North Central Iowa
Like many boys who grow up on a farm, Landon Aldinger was fascinated with equipment. He enjoyed it so much that he earned a bachelor’s degree in Ag Engineering from Iowa State University and then worked nearly seven years, as a Senior Design Engineer, for the Toro Company in Minneapolis.
“I really enjoyed my time and my career in the cities,” says Landon. “But when I turned 30, my priorities started to shift. I was ready to head home and become more involved in the farming operation.”
Since 2008, Landon had been assisting his father with their seed, chemical and consulting business. He was driving “home” as much as possible to assist with planting, harvesting, tillage and consulting. Landon and his father, Mike Aldinger, are growing the services they offer through Precision Farm Management business by continuing and implementing more precision agricultural services like variable rate seeding and variable rate fertilizer, including variable rate nitrogen.
“We’ve been proponents of variable rate (VR) fertilizer and nitrogen applications,” says Landon. “For the past eight-plus years, we’ve been big on VR corn, so we vary the planting rate depending on soil type, hybrid tendencies and other factors. The past three years we’ve been planting soybeans at variable rates, as well.”
“Variable nitrogen is also a large part of our expansion on precision agriculture,” adds Landon. “We plan our nitrogen applications on corn hybrids, taking into account the organic piece that soils produce. We’re getting positive results from writing prescriptions like we would for plant population.”
Once all their crops are harvested, the 2018 crop has been planned and the seed orders have been written, Landon will spend more hours working on projects related to his Aldinger Engineering LLC consulting business. He’s currently working on creating 3-D images to give his client an online equipment parts presence.
This fall has been an especially busy one for Landon. He and his wife, Kinsey, welcomed their first child, Grady Michael Aldinger, on September 29. In addition, the first group of pigs were delivered to their new wean-to-finish hog building the first of October.
“My parents built the first hog barns 11 years ago with the intent of building another one since the property was zoned as a two-barn site,” says Landon. “It just made sense for me and Kinsey to build the second hog barn now. Our goal to diversity our farm income. Producing cattle and pork, the seed dealership, chemical sales, plus consulting helps us diversify.”
The coming year is all about watching Grady grow and experience so many “firsts” like holidays. You can bet the family celebration will be featured around either the meat the Aldinger family produces. In honor of October Pork Month, today they’re sharing one of their favorite pork recipes on The Field Position.
Selling Seed and Producing Pork Helps Bosma Brothers Come Home
From left to right: Amy, Thad, Steve, Rachelle and Noah Bosma work together to bring in the crop near Lake Park in Northwest Iowa. Like their father and grandfather before them, Thad and Noah operate a seed dealership.
LaDonna Bosma raised her three sons in the same house where she and her brother were raised in Ocheyedan, just about 30 minutes west of Iowa’s famed Lake Okoboji. LaDonna’s dad, Erwin Schubert, was a seed dealer for more than 30 years. LaDonna’s husband, Steve, helped with the seed business and took it over upon her dad’s retirement.
Like many farm kids, the Bosma brothers grew up helping on the farm and with the seed business. At the time, no one realized a legacy was being created.
“My boys are the third generation to operate a seed dealership,” says LaDonna proudly. She’s also quick to credit her sons for choosing such wonderful women as their wives.
Thad met Amy when they were both attending college in Sioux Falls where he studied landscaping and she studied business. Amy started working full-time for Wells Fargo while attending college. After graduating, Thad took a job managing a hardware store in Sioux Falls until there was an opportunity for him to move home and farm.
Amy grew up on a dairy farm in Parkston, South Dakota. Noah’s wife, Rachelle, grew up on a grain and livestock farm in nearby Dimock. The two have been best friends from grade school and graduated from the same high school.
“I couldn’t have picked a better sister-in-law,” says Amy with a smile. “Now our kids are growing up together just like we did and that’s so awesome.”
Thad and Amy are the proud parents of two daughters, 8-year-old Lillian and 4-year old Madison. Noah and Rachelle are the proud parents of 3-year-old twins Halle and Jase, and 1-year-old daughter Kinley.
“We try to be as involved on the farm as we can,” says Rachelle, who has worked for the past 18 years as a certified medical assistant for Sanford Medical Center. “I love that our kids are making memories on the farm. They’re making memories by riding in the combine with Grandpa, in the semi with Daddy or in the tractor with Uncle Thad. And when they’re not in the field, they’re still farming. I moved Jase’s (play) combine to vacuum the carpet and he noticed it wasn’t in the same spot. He’s only three, but he pays attentions to those details.”
Amy adds that she’s glad their kids can watch crops go full circle from planting the seed through harvest. It gives them an appreciation that others don’t get. There’s a sense of accomplishment that comes from nurturing crops and livestock as most farmers will tell you.
“I really like the variety that comes from farming,” says Noah, who began raising hogs in 2007 and grain in 2009. “Diversity helps with the cash flow, plus pigs produce nutrients that our crops need to grow. I love seeing the results. I like watching the pigs and the crops grow.”
Like his younger brother, Thad says he always wanted to farm. Four years ago, he had the opportunity to buy a farm with hog buildings just five miles from Noah and Rachelle. Both of their farms are within five miles of their home place.
To lower their own input costs as well as to further diversify their farming incomes, Thad and Noah started to explore options for a seed dealership. A variety of timely events led them to Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds. One of Thad’s friends posted on Facebook that he had become a Latham® dealer. Then a Latham seed representative made a cold call to their farm. Soon thereafter, Thad contacted Darin Chapman, Latham’s regional sales manager in Spencer. Thad and Noah met with Darin and signed as dealers.
“We really liked that Latham is family-owned and family-orientated,” says Thad. “When we attended our first Latham Dealer Kickoff meeting, we were impressed that John Latham himself sat down at our table for lunch. Then John delivered the product training, and we were like, ‘This is the real deal’! We can talk directly to the owners of this company.”
The Bosma family clearly values working together as a family. While the brothers own and manage their own pork operations, they farm together. They work on equipment together, and they work in the same field together to bring in the crop. Their dad enjoys operating the combine, and their mom enjoys driving the grain cart during harvest.
“When you’re working in the field and responsible for making meals, you get creative,” says LaDonna. “I’m always looking for a quick fix that tastes delicious.”
Amy and Rachelle take turns bringing the evening meal to the field, which allows them to have supper as a family. When I was visiting, Amy had fixed Ham Sliders and agreed to share her recipe on TheFieldPosition.com.
One of the family’s favorite field lunches is submarine sandwiches piled high with sliced pork loin, deli turkey, sliced tomato, lettuce, slices of both Provolone and Co-Jack cheese with a spread of mayonnaise and mustard. Bacon Cheeseburger flat brats from the Forbes Locker are always a hit, too.
Another family favorite is Swedish Meatball Sandwiches. Note LaDonna’s tips to make this recipe quick and easy with minimal cleanup!
Pork-a-Palooza! San Antonio Inspires Cubano Iowa Sandwich
By: Darcy Maulsby
When you grow up on a swine farm and are taught that chicken is an “inferior meat,” you learn to love all things pork. Of course I love bacon like just about everyone else, yet there are so many more options available to make a great meal.
Two of the most simple—and versatile—pork favorites in my kitchen are ham and pork shoulder. Nothing’s faster than ham to bring plenty of flavor to the party, while pork shoulder is a creative cook’s dream. Just round up your favorite marinade, herbs and spices, pull out your slow cooker, and voila! Dinner is served.
I was thinking about this when I ate my way through downtown San Antonio, Texas, earlier this year with my good friend Shannon Latham. We joined a group of other Iowans who were in town for the 2017 Commodity Classic and broke away from the ag meetings to sample a taste of the city. As a farmer, ag journalist and author of the book “A Culinary History of Iowa,” there’s no way I was going to turn down an invitation like this.
Sure, there were Latin flavors galore, along with fresh guacamole prepared right at our table, yet there are so many more the global dining options to sample in San Antonio.
Like the rest of the group, Shannon and I ooohed and ahhhed over the pastries and other delicacies at a downtown French bakery run by skilled bakers who moved to San Antonio from France. Our creative culinary minds got the biggest shot of inspiration, though, at Ocho at the Hotel Havana.
Sandwich showcases pork with Cuban flair
If you haven’t been to Ocho, you must visit. Architectural Digest has named his dazzling destination one of the world’s “Most Gorgeous Glass Restaurants.” Intrigued yet?
Situated in a glass conservatory overlooking San Antonio’s famous River Walk, Ocho serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night snacks. Ocho’s menu is rooted in the hotel’s pan-Latin cultural influences from Mexico, Cuba and Texas. This was reflected in the unforgettable Cuban sandwiches our tour group enjoyed al fresco, after we were seated at vibrant turquois café tables outside the conservatory.
Undeniably delicious, Cuban sandwiches are the Latin version of the classic ham and cheese sandwich. If you’re a pork lover, few sandwiches compare to a Cuban. While the basics of Cuban sandwiches include sliced ham, Swiss cheese and pickles, the Cuban provides the perfect palette to showcase the flavors you prefer.
In honor of October Pork Month, I like to load my Cubano Iowa up with not only ham, cheese and pickles, but shredded pork slow-cooked in a citrus-and-garlic infused marinade. (If there’s a more helpful appliance in a kitchen than a slow cooker, I don’t know what it is.) Don’t skip the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard for extra flavor. Then slip the sandwich into a hot panini press (or fry it in a skillet), cook and savor the flavors of pork in all its glory, complete with a Midwestern-Latin twist.
One more thing–these sandwiches aren’t gonna stop until the pork runs out!
Editor’s note: If you’re hungry for more farm-tested recipes, along with stories of agriculture, Midwest history, communication tips and more, visit Darcy online at www.darcymaulsby.com, and sign up for her free e-newsletter.
Try Pork Like Never Before with Recipes from Picnic Life Foodie
Food connects people, so it’s probably only natural that Iowans would connect around pork. There are six pigs for every person living in our state, and Iowa is the top pork producing state.
One of my Bucket List items is attending the Taste of Elegance. When I heard Anita McVey won tickets to the 2017 tasting event, I had to learn more! So I went up and introduced myself to her at the start of a bus tour to Southeast Iowa farms sponsored by the Iowa Food & Family Project.
There’s nothing I enjoy more than touring farms and meeting farmers, but I quickly learned this road trip was going to become infinitely more enjoyable from the company I was in. (Click here for Anita’s wonderful recap of that two-day event.)
Anita is warm and welcoming, and when you read her blog, it’s like she invites you right into her kitchen. In the intro to her blog, Anita writes:
“My mom was one of those power-house-wives who cooked three complete meals a day, plus snacks, fed whomever pulled on the yard, had a massive garden, and did whatever was needed whenever she was asked. She never complained. EVER. The lady makes THE best apple fritters, but that was a treat saved for hay-baling day!”
It seems Anita’s family had a way of turning ordinary, every day experiences into wonderful memories.
She writes, “Picnics were special times but they were not glamorous. My dad’s idea of the perfect picnic was to have sandwiches, fruit and a cold drink on the tailgate of his truck out in the field during or after a long day of planting or harvesting. What made it perfect was the fact that my mom made it, delivered it and ate with him, often watching the sun set.”
Anita is not alone in her appreciation of wide open spaces, as well as spectacular sunsets and sun rises. Just follow farmers on social media and your news feed will be filled with posts like, “My reward for harvesting tonight was this sunset.” You’re also bound to see a few moon rises, as well as sun rises, too.
Like many farm kids, Anita says she had to leave home to realize how “spoiled” she was. She went away to college. She graduated from Iowa State University with B.S. degree in Statistics and a Math minor. She also earned a master’s degree in Statistics, and her thesis involved heritability errors in corn research. She met her husband, Marty, in Stat class. He holds a Ph.D. from ISU in Economics with an Ag emphasis.
While Marty completed his degree, Anita worked in the Survey Section of the Statistics department as a Research Analyst where she says she helped with many amazing survey projects. When the couple moved to the Des Moines area, Anita found a part time job at Pioneer Hi-Bred International. After a few years, Anita and Marty saw the value of her being home with their boys full-time.
Anita says her priorities shifted quickly. “Within a few years, I found myself at home full-time with my kids and back in the kitchen … and the garden … and addicted to ‘Food Network’.”
Staying home with her boys allowed Anita to return to her roots.
“I was raised on a steady diet of faith, family and farming. We had pork and chicken directly from the farm, to the butcher, back to the farm and into the oven. We ate eggs from the hens in the coop and drank milk from my uncle’s dairy cows. The garden we planted and harvested was enormous and we didn’t waste a thing. Canning and freezing were core classes.”
To preserve these family memories, Anita says she wanted to put together a cookbook.
“When I would make a recipe, it seemed there was almost always a memory or story behind it. I knew I wanted to combine the recipe with the story for my boys, and a blog seemed to be the platform. But I knew NOTHING about starting a blog. Our oldest son was home from his internship and interviewing for jobs, so he sat down with his laptop one day and dug in. (Isn’t that the greatest part about that generation? They just watch videos, read articles, try this, try that, and figure it out.) It has been a massive learning experience ever since. I have discovered that I enjoy the writing process much more than I expected and have found a creative outlet that just keeps expanding.”
One of the things I enjoy most about Anita’s blog is the beautiful food photography. (Getting food to look beautiful in a photo is art!) I was looking for some tips, and Anita responded with this, “I upgraded my cell phone to an iPhone 7+ and have had lots of lessons, instruction and advice from my boys. The oldest works for a Social Media/PR firm in Minneapolis and the youngest is finishing his degree in graphic design at ISU. How lucky am I?!”
Yes, she is lucky! And her readers are lucky she shares tips, tricks and stories with them. In honor of October Pork Month, today we’re featuring a few of Anita’s pork recipes with you. Click on the blog posts below:
It’s common for seed representatives to farm, but Kevin Hildring of Larchwood in Northwest Iowa is involved with the agriculture industry in another way. He works for a small firm that does environmental and nutrient management consulting.
Managing all of these projects could be challenging, but it really fits Kevin’s education and interests. He earned a degree in Strategic Management and then an MBA, focusing on Operations and Project Management, from Colorado Tech University.
