The foundation of any family is built on the values instilled by parents and others from previous generations. Greg Mair of Wisconsin found his passion thanks to the butterfly effect. Simply described, the butterfly effect is the final product stemming from small occurrences leading to a new set of experiences. His story begins with his great-grandparent’s decision to farm in 1914.

Greg’s roots run deep in Janesville. After obtaining a business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, he returned to Janesville where he spent seven years in Maize Research and Development and developed a strong agronomic background.

When he was young, Greg didn’t have his sights set on “the perfect career.” He knew he enjoyed working outside and learning about agriculture. It wasn’t until his parents took over the operation in August 2004 that he realized the broad opportunities in the agricultural field. He worked part time at a greenhouse in Janesville while he attended high school, which also helped lead him down an agricultural path. After realizing his passion for agriculture, Greg focused on his passion and pursued a career around what he loves.

Greg’s parents, Brad and Linda, have been invested in the family farming operation since 2000. They grow corn, soybeans and wheat while raising beef cattle and pigs. Known for finding the positive in all situations, Brad turned bad news with his job into an opportunity. After the closing of the General Motors plant in Janesville, Brad knew this was his chance to do what he had always loved.

Brad’s love for his family and farming transitioned down to Greg. Greg is married to Holly, whom he met during his freshman year of college in a math class.  They got married in a barn in 2012, surrounded by a small group of family and friends. Greg and Holly have a two-year-old daughter, Finley, and are expecting another daughter in March. Holly is a 7^th grade language arts teacher at the middle school in DeForest.

As a family, they enjoy taking getaways to Door County, which always include a stop to see the beloved home of the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. They like to try new restaurants, spend time outside playing with Finley, and going to flea markets for Holly to find inspiration for craft ideas!

Greg joined the Latham sales team as Regional Sales Manager in Wisconsin. With his love of family and agriculture, we believe he’s a great addition. One reason Greg joined Latham is because it’s an independent, family-owned company

“As a family owned company, Latham has the farmers’ best interests at heart and genuinely cares about delivering customer value,” says Greg. “I’m really excited about working with dealers and customers here and look forward to help plan for the 2017 crop year.”

Greg and Holly want to raise their family on a farm of their own where they can have their own beef cattle and pigs. Greg reminisces the best times growing up were helping his great uncle, Fred, on the farm.

The Mair family is always cooking up a good meal in the kitchen. No family dinner is complete without dessert.  Give their tried and true Banana Bar recipe a shot!

You can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy. Eighteen years and six states later, Dale Hemann of Osage, Iowa found himself back in the town he grew up in and began farming.

In addition to wanting a lifestyle change from Memphis, Tennessee, Dale and his wife knew the Midwest was an ideal place to raise their family. He and Cindy packed up in 2001 and moved north to Wisconsin. A few moves later they moved to Iowa. In 2005 they moved to the farm on the same acreage where Dale was raised and where Dale’s dad, Larry, farmed until he retired in 1996. Larry continued selling seed until 2014, serving as a Latham® dealer for 31 years. 

Dale and Cindy operate the family farm together. Dale manages the day-to-day responsibilities of caring for crops and livestock while Cindy takes care of the farm’s business operations, including finances. She also helps in the field and with livestock whenever needed. In an effort to diversify, they built a cattle barn and started finishing feeder cattle in 2014. Knowing corn prices would not stay high, they decided to incorporate livestock into their operation.

Their Mitchell County farm is 565 miles away from the airport in southern Missouri, where Dale and Cindy met, yet their journey has come full circle. It was his love of airplanes that drew Dale to college and his love for family that brought him back to the farm.

When Dale was younger, he found find himself fascinated by planes that flew over their farm. He wondered where they were headed, what altitude they were flying at and what type of plane was being flown. Now, with the help of the internet, he can answer those same questions by looking up planes on Flight Tracker. This interest took flight in Dale’s life and led him to earn a master’s degree in Aviation. After graduation, he traveled around the world for various job positions, working for American Airlines, Kestrel, and FedEx.

Now Dale is working toward getting his CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) rating, so he can teach his children how to fly. With three children in high school, the Hemann’s know this is a crucial time for their children. Dale and Cindy want to provide them with all the opportunities they can to help them decide how to further their education.

“I want the give them the tools to decide,” says Dale. “I don’t want them to second guess what they could have learned. I also want them to set their own goals because without goals, a person doesn’t get very far.”

Today, Dale and Cindy are sharing a family favorite – their very own pumpkin bars! Find their recipe below.

It’s a tradition for many American families to say what they’re thankful for as they gather around the dining room table to feast on turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie. It’s also a tradition for families of Slovakian decent to enjoy kolaches (koh-la-chees) when gathering for the holidays.

The famous Czech kolache is a sweet dough pastry with a sweet filling. If you’ve never tasted one before, you don’t know what you’re missing! And if you’ve never before visited the small Northeast Iowa town of Spillville, you’re in for a real treat.

Plan a fall road trip to coincide with the annual fall church bake sale or another one of the local kolache baking festivals, which take place at Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church during September, October and November. You can distinguish kolaches from the Spillville area by their unique bow tie on top.

Be sure to place your order early as only 350 dozen  – yes, 350 dozen – will be handmade by parishioners inside the United States’ oldest continuously operated Catholic Bohemian church. Every dozen is pre-sold.

Kolache baking is a community affair. Dough preparation begins at 3 AM, and the first shift of volunteers comes to work at 5 AM. Assembly lines form to roll out the dough, cut it into squares, fill the pastry, fold the dough over the filling and then bake the kolaches until they’re perfectly golden brown.

Earlier this fall I had an opportunity to road trip to Spillville for a behind-the-scenes baking experience that I’ll never forget. Easton Kuboushek, whom I’ve gotten to know through my involvement with the Iowa Soybean Association, told me about the kolache tradition in his hometown.

My schedule didn’t allow me to attend the fall craft and bake sale, so the Kuboushek family graciously hosted me for a baking day. You know you’re meeting a serious baker when a KitchenAid® mixer isn’t big enough for the job!

“There’s a few ladies around here who have mixers that big,” chuckled Easton’s grandpa, Leonard, as he watched our baking crew. “You should ask her how much that darn thing costs!”

Easton’s grandma, Betty, thoughtfully measured each ingredient with the efficiency of any celebrity baker on Food Network while patiently answering my questions. Once the dough was mixed and left to rise, I got a VIP tour of the town from Easton and his mom, Kristi.

I just loved how the beautiful St. Wenceslaus church remains the center of the town. Completed in 1860 by hardworking Czech settlers, this church has been beautifully preserved. The original pipe organ, which was installed in 1876, remains. It’s the same that organ was played by Antonin Dvorak, during his three-month stay in Spillville, shortly after he had written “New World Symphony.”

Dvorak wrote Opus 96: “Quartet in F Major” and Opus 97: “Quintet in E Flat Major” inside the St. Wenceslaus Old School, which his the oldest Czech parochial school in America. A fixture in Spillville for more than 135 years, the Old School was used for over 75 years as home for teaching nuns that served in the parish.  It also has been used as a boarding house for rural students and as a community hall.

Another point of interest in downtown Spillville is the Bily Clock Museum. The master craftsmanship of the Bily brothers is phenomenal. Honestly, words alone can’t do justice to these works of art! (Click here for a news video that gives you a virtual tour of the 20 wooden clocks. The largest clock, called the Apostle’s parade, stands nine feet, 10 inches tall. It’s carved from walnut, hard maple, cherry and rosewood.) I also learned many interesting facts on the docent-led tour, including the fact that Easton’s parents are raising their children on what used to be the Bily brothers’ farm. How cool is that?

After touring Spillville, it was time to return to Betty Kubouskeh’s kitchen and to the task at hand. Betty and Kristi rolled the dough. After it was cut into squares, Easton and I helped fold the dough over the filling. Kolaches come in a variety of sweet and savory fillings. Favorites in the Kuboushek household are raspberry, apricot, prune and poppy seed. (I’ll admit that I couldn’t pick a favorite between apricot and raspberry. They’re both equally delicious IMO.)

“I never used to like the poppy seed, but after baking these for 57 years, I love them!” laughed Betty.

Special thanks to Betty Kuboushek for opening her home to me and for treating me to the most delicious home-cooked meal including pumpkin pie for dessert! It’s the people like Betty, Kristi and Easton who make my job a true privilege.

Thanks also to the Kuboushek family for sharing a recipe from the church cookbook for kolaches. Perhaps baking kolaches can become a new holiday tradition for your family, too!

Nestled among the rolling hills along the James River near Frankfort, South Dakota, lies a picturesque farmstead and the cutest little pumpkin patch you can imagine. Black Angus cows graze in the pasture behind the house as corn is being harvested across the road. This is where Alan Johnson’s family has farmed since 1906, and it’s where his wife recently hosted her 31^st annual pumpkin party.

“I started hosting these parties when my children were young,” says Mickie. “Now Al and I enjoy seeing our children’s friends return with their own children. It’s fun seeing three generations of families enjoy the afternoon together as many of our friends attend now with their grandchildren.”

Although the pumpkin party is held during fall harvest, it’s well attended on a Sunday afternoon. As many as 100 children have attended in past years; this year about 50 kids participated. The Johnsons invite friends, family and fellow congregational members. No party is complete without games and good food, so Mickie bakes several batches of cookies and bars.

“My kids are fortunate they get to make so many great memories with my parents on this farm,” says the Johnson’s son, Brian, who graduated in 2004 from South Dakota State University with a degree in Ag Business. He and his wife, Jamie, met while interning at the South Dakota Legislature and were married in 2005. Today they’re raising their family just a few miles away. “My kids love seeing the cows and the playing with the cats. During the harvest season, they’ll ride in the equipment with us for hours. It’s fun being able to share this with them.”

Farming is a family affair. In the fall, Jamie and Mickie take turns driving the combine and operating the grain cart. In the summer, Jamie and the two oldest girls help with the cattle. Ten-year-old Ella earned a purple ribbon 2016 Spink County Fair with her commercial heifer. Lila, who will turn 8 in December, is looking forward to joining 4-H this summer. Their infant daughter, Evelyn, was born on August 31. Leo, who will turn 5 next month, already is a farmer at heart. He’s excited about the four laying hens that his mom purchased during a trip to the farm store. He named them two of them Auto and Steer.

“There’s nothing like living on a farm,” says Brian. “You see how things grow and mature. I enjoy watching crops progress through the summer. Our kids learn the importance of doing a job correctly, and they feel a sense of purpose by helping.”

This fall many farmers in Northeast South Dakota harvested record crops for the second year in a row. Brian says no-till has been a real game changer because it builds soil health and helps retain water. He also credits the use of cover crops to providing nutrients in the soil and for breaking up soil compaction. Plus, the Johnson manage their fields by zone and apply variable rates of fertilizer and seed.

“One thing I admire about Dad is that he’s always looking for ways to improve,” says Brian. “Thirty years ago, he planted corn at 18,000 plants per acre. Now we’re averaging 37,000 in 20-inch rows, and it’s taken our yields to the next level. With improved plant genetics and soil fertility, I don’t think we’ve hit the top yields yet!”

In honor of all the farmers bringing in this year’s harvest and in celebration of Halloween, today we’re sharing a recipe from Mickie Johnson for M&M Bars.