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:
Steve and Jodi Roelofs live in a garden spot of Minnesota.
Jodi’s passion for gardening and re-purposing vintage furniture and equipment is evident from the moment one pulls into their yard. Pots and gardens filled with lush, color flowers look inviting. Her vegetable garden is a work of art. The backyard looks like something from a Country Living or Better Homes & Gardens photo shoot. It’s the type of setting that makes a book worm like me want to curl up with a novel, sip on a glass of cold lemonade and read while the water feature provides a calming effect.
The couple raised their family in the farmhouse next door, where Steve grew up and still raises hogs. That house serves as Steve’s farm office and Jodi’s workshop. The former kitchen and living room are filled projects in various stages of re-purposing. Chalk-painted chairs will be sold at Hilltop Florist and Greenhouse in Mankato, where Jodi has worked for more than 20 years. She retired from managing the greenhouses and special planting projects.
Jodi studied graphic arts at South Central College in Mankato where she met Steve, who studied ag production. She says she began working part-time at flower shops when her kids were small because it allowed her to enjoy adult conversation and provided her with a creative outlet. The scale of Jodi’s gardens has grown as her children grew.
The Roelofs are the proud parents of four sons:
Tony, 31, worked at ADM. He started in Lloydminster, Canada, and then moved to Red Wing, Minnesota, before getting transferred to Valdosta, Georgia. He’s moved several other times. Tony now works for Columbia Grain and calls Portland, Oregon, home.
Christopher, 30, works the night shift for UPS. When the trucks come in, he repairs them before the next day. He also has his own shop to work on cars.
Bryant, 26, has farmed for six years with Steve.
Matthew, 19, is a freshman at South Dakota State in Brookings where he’s studying history and political science.
Jody also served as a 4-H leader from the time their oldest son was 10 years old until their youngest son graduated in May 2017. During her tenure as a 4-H leader, she shared her passion with New Horizon 4-H Club members. They won an award from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for the bird feeding station they built on the Blue Earth County Fairgrounds in Garden City, Minnesota.
“We had so much fun at the fair with our kids,” said Jody, who grew up on a Minnesota dairy farm and belonged to 4-H.
Steve and Jody say they particularly enjoyed staying at the state fair with their kids, who showed pigs. Adults stayed in camper, while the kids slept in tents or in the hog barn.
“Last year it started to rain, so we had 11 of us in a 27-foot camper,” Steve says with a laugh. “We had to make room for everyone. We had people sleeping everywhere!”
While that night of sleep might not have been best, it made for great memories. Another highlight of the annual affair is playing State Fair Bingo. Cards are available online, and the Roelofs says they’ve had hours of enjoyment. Kids would take photos of items on the Bingo card like a triple stroller, a guy with an eye patch and a woman wearing a country music t-shirt.
Instead of attending the 2017 Minnesota State Fair, Steve and Jodi moved their youngest son to South Dakota State University. These empty nesters are embracing this new chapter of life. They’ve learned to adjust and adapt through the years.
When Steve and Jodi’s oldest son went to college, the family stopped farrowing. Jodi had been working in the farrowing barns, so this change gave her the opportunity to return to working in a floral shop. Steve and his brother, who had been farming together in a family corporation, decided to split the operation. Steve raised feeders and his brother raised the finishers.
A market crash prompted Steve to reevaluate the pork operation. For the past seven years, he has leased his pig barns. Steve and his middle son do the daily hog chores.
“This arrangement works well for us,” says Steve. “We’re responsible for the day-to-day care of the feeder pigs but we don’t have to assume any of the risk. Each month we know exactly what we’ll make.”
Raising pigs, as well as selling Latham® brand seed, complement the family’s grain operation. Both enterprises allowed the Roelofs to cut expenses while increasing income to allow their son an opportunity to farm.
“We went to FarmFest and spoke with a few different seed companies about dealerships,” says Steve. “We really liked the idea of working with a family-owned seed company. When we realized one of our neighbors was a regional sales manager for Latham, that helped us make the decision.”
Steve and Jodi look forward to fall harvest. In addition to bringing in the corn and soybeans, Jodi will be harvesting fall produce. She sells pumpkins, squash, gourds, broom corn and other items through Hilltop Florists.
Once the fall field work is done and the season changes, the couple looks forward to snowmobiling. They enjoy outdoor activities all year long from driving around and looking at crops to spending time at their cabin where they enjoy pontooning, water skiing and jet skiing with their kids.
The Roelofs family also enjoys family dinners. In celebration of National Pork Month in October, today they’re sharing with us one of their favorite recipes for Chinese Pork Chops.
After growing up together on a farm near Good Thunder, Minnesota, twins Aaron and Adam Knewtson went their separate ways upon graduating from high school. Aaron enrolled in Ag Business at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Adam headed west to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, where he pursued his dream of becoming a pilot.
Fast forward 23 years and the brothers are engaged in ag business near their hometown. Aaron works for Compeer Financial, and Adam works with their father in the family’s seed business.
“When I left home, I never thought I’d return and work for our family’s seed business. I dreamed of being a pilot and flying amazing aircrafts, but instead I found myself working 12-hour shifts. When I wasn’t at work, I was dealing with big city traffic. I really longed for open spaces where I could fish and hunt,” explains Adam.
Moving home to South Central Minnesota held more appeal as time went on. He worked at the airport in Minneapolis. After college, he also worked at an agricultural cooperative. He earned less at the co-op but realized he enjoyed working in agriculture. He decided that if he was going to work in agriculture, he might as well go home to the family business.
Today Adam serves as vice president and his father, Wayne, serves as president of Knewtson Soy Products, a soybean production and export company owned by Wayne. They produce and export food-grade soybeans primarily to Japan, Viet Nam, Israel, Taiwan and China.
Many hats are worn by this father-son team. Wayne farms, as well as oversees the production of soybeans. Adam handles the operations side of the business by working with contract growers to produce food-grade soybeans and managing the export logistics. Adam also owns Advantage Seed, Inc., a retail soybean seed production company.
Knewtson Soy Products and Advantage Seed are both located on the farm where Adam’s grandparents made their home for 63 years. His grandfather, Ellsworth Knewtson, didn’t start the family seed business, but he greatly influenced his son’s and grandson’s business aspirations.
Ellsworth grew soybeans marketed under Minnesota Public Seed and has the distinct honor of being the first farmer in Blue Earth County to grow soybeans. In 1966, he won the Blue Earth County Fair Grand Prize for producing a soybean plant with 405 pods!
To put this feat into perspective, soybean plants averaged about 160 pods per plant when Missouri farmer Kip Cullers raised 139-bushel soybeans in 2006 and 156 bushels in 2007. Culler’s soybeans produce quadruple the number of pods on an “average” soybean plant.
Like an avid golfer shooting for the illustrious hole in one or the fisherman going after a trophy walleye, those involved in the seed industry keep working toward record-setting goals.
“The seed industry can be competitive, yet we’re all still friends,” says Adam. “I really like the comradery that exists among seed company owners and managers, but what I enjoy most about my job is working with farmers. I really like the farmers who produce for us and work with us.”
When Adam can get away from the seed business, he prefers to get away from it all. He’s part of an outdoor club that has gone turkey hunting in Missouri, fishing in the Chesapeake Bay, crabbing in Georgia, and duck hunting in Arkansas. He also purchased a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) farm where he’s made many memories hunting with friends and sharing his love of “gaming” with the younger generation.
Adam enjoys gardening, as well. He likes to experiment in the kitchen or on the grill to turn fresh produce and meat into delicious homecooked meals. Today he’s sharing one of his favorite recipes with us on TheFieldPosition.com.
To celebrate Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds’ 65th anniversary in 2012, we printed some of Evelyn Latham’s favorite recipes. She and Willard lived in the house that today serves as company headquarters. In fact, my office is where their kitchen once was.
Evelyn was known for her gracious hospitality and for a smile that reached her eyes. She was always sure to invite family, friends, neighbors and customers to sit down at the table and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and plate full of homemade cookies. It’s no wonder she was named Master Farm Homemaker in 1962 by Wallaces Farmer!
Little did we know then that one of our family traditions would spark a tradition for one of our seed dealer’s families. Earlier this summer Kathi Johnson of Odebolt, Iowa, sent me e-mail saying how excited her oldest daughter was because her Monster Cookies had been selected to advance from the county competition to the Iowa State Fair. This Monster Cookie recipe was one of Evelyn’s favorites!
I can only imagine how delighted Evelyn would have been, knowing this 4-H member and her mother are creating great memories in their kitchen. Some of my favorite childhood memories were formed as I stood on a chair to reach the countertop, so I could cut homemade noodles in my great grandma’s kitchen. My great grandma had a way of making me feel like I was such a great helper! She even made me a pint-sized apron with a small doll in the pocket. I had to leave the apron at her house, so I could wear it on baking day. Just thinking about Grandma Fowler’s delicious homemade chicken and noodles puts a smile on my face!
Treasured memories of baking with her grandma inspired Cristen Clark of Runnells, Iowa, to develop award-winning recipes. She started the Food and Swine blog to capture those recipes for her children, as well as to help consumers understand the care that goes into raising crops and livestock.
Cristen started baking with her children when they were just tots. One great thing about baking with family is that duties can be assigned based on a child’s age. Youngsters can pour pre-measured ingredients into a bowl, help stir and press cookie cutters into dough. Older kids can measure the ingredients. (Honestly, I credit measuring cups for helping me understand how to add fractions.) People of all ages can help decorate. Colored frosting, sprinkles and other toppings can spark creativity.
Watching her mom and grandma bake inspired 11-year-old Jaci Johnson to learn how to bake, too. She’s in her second year as a member of the Richland Robins 4-H Club, but 2017 was the first time she exhibited baked goods at the Sac County Fair. Success is sweet for 4-H members who have the honor of taking baked goods to the state fair.
“It’s an awesome honor to have my cookies selected to go to state,” says Jaci. “I was not expecting this since it’s my first year exhibiting 4-H projects at the fair.”
Every good home cook knows that using quality ingredients is the first step to creating delicious food items. Not everyone has the knack for mixing the dough just so or baking it to the proper doneness. It appears that Jaci has the knack!
Special thanks to Jaci for helping us celebrate the 70th anniversary of Latham Seeds today by sharing her Iowa State Fair blue ribbon winning recipe!
Tractors are more than Machinery at the Toppen Farm
Every tractor has a story! That is why Todd Toppen collects model toy tractors that tell the story of his family’s farm over the years.
Todd enjoys restoring model toy tractors. His goal was to find all the tractors he had when he was growing up and he is close to achieving this goal. He has the first tractor that he ever drove, the first tractor his dad purchased, and many more to represent monumental moments on their farm. It was great to hear the stories behind each one and how he customized them to tell a story about their family history.
The Toppen family has been farming for more than 100 years in Horace, North Dakota. Todd and his family farm the same ground that his parents purchased in 1958. They raise wheat and soybeans on their farm.
“There was never any question I wanted to farm when I got older,” said Todd.
Todd farms with his wife, LeAnn, and their son, Kyle. LeAnn and Todd met in high school. They went to their high school homecoming dance and have been together ever since. LeAnn also grew up in North Dakota in a family involved in agriculture. Her grandparents and her dad was Case tractor dealer and diesel mechanic. In addition to working on the farm, Leanne works at a local church.
Kyle, who graduated from the University of North Dakota with a degree in accounting, is active in the day-to-day farming operation. Once the crop is harvested, Kyle spends the winter months working as a farm tax accountant. Kyle says he has three busy seasons throughout the year planting, harvest, and tax season!
While Todd, LeAnn, and Kyle are the primary operators on the farm, their two daughters, husbands and children live in the area and often visit the farm to pitch in. “Farming is what brings our family together,” says LeAnn.
By talking with the family, you can hear the passion in their voices they have for farming but it hasn’t always been easy.
“Not everyone can be a farmer, it takes a very special person.” says LeAnn.
In North Dakota a wide variety of crops including wheat, barley, corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and sunflowers are grown. The Toppens have raised all of these crops over the years which makes seed sales a challenging part of their operation.
When they aren’t working on the farm, the Toppens enjoy spending time at the lake with their children and their five grandchildren. The entire family goes to Pelican Lake almost every weekend during the summer.
Todd and LeAnn really enjoy having their family close to spend time with their grandkids.
Todd stated, “There isn’t much you don’t like about being a grandparent!”
They also enjoy attending their grandkids’ school and sporting activities.
Todd became a Latham® dealer three years ago and grows soybeans for our company. He became familiar with Latham through a local seed company and then decided to become a dealer. Todd says he chose Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds because the company is known for producing quality products, respects their employees, and provides valuable customer service. He also really enjoys how accessible the staff and owners are too!
Family is very important to the Toppens and keeps them moving forward on their operation. We are lucky to have them as a part of our Latham family!
