Growing up with five brothers, Rebecca Sip never expected to return to the farm full time. However, when her parents started talking about retirement, the future of the family farm was in question because her siblings had established off-farm careers.
“I had always thought someday when I had a family, I’d be able to bring them back to the farm for visits as I’d seen my extended relatives do for years growing up,” Sip explains. “When the thought there might not be a farm to come back to loomed as a reality, I had a conversation with my sister, and we both said, ‘let’s give this a shot.’”
Today, Sip raises soybeans, corn, wheat and sugar beets across 3,000 acres north of Ada, Minn., alongside her brother, Paul, sister, Marissa, and their parents. Taking the leap to full-time farmers hasn’t been without its challenges, but the family has learned to play to each other’s strengths.
Q: Did you face any challenges returning to the farm?
A: It was definitely overwhelming at first. Mechanics has been a huge learning curve for me. I still wouldn’t say it’s my strong point on the farm — my brother is far more gifted in that area. But it’s also been an encouragement because I can look back and see all the things I’m confident to tackle now that I didn’t know how to do when we started.
Q: What’s the hardest part of getting started as a young farmer?
A: You don’t have years of experience. For example, every field has different soil, each soil reacts differently to weather conditions, which can have major effects on crop results. My dad’s wisdom from his years of working through so many different conditions is really invaluable and something I want to thoroughly learn.
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: There’s a verse from the Bible my dad has quoted for many years: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” It’s just made me realize if I desire blessings in my life, I need to approach things in humility. That’s huge on the farm because it’s really easy when you’re in the heat of harvest to be tired, stubborn and not approach communication with humility. You can hold an opinion without doing it in a smug manner, and it certainly makes the disagreements go smoother if you can remember that.
Q: Any advice for others just getting started?
A: You don’t need to know everything at once, but you do need to be constantly learning — and slow down enough to enjoy it. A breakdown on the combine in freezing cold weather 20 miles from the shop is uncomfortable. Being stuck in the mud in three tracked Challenger tractors makes you wonder what you’re doing. But, in my view, those things also make you a more resilient person.
Q: What’s something you hope to implement or change on your operation down the road?
A: There’s going to be a lot of change for us in the next few years as my parents step back. Taking over the decisions and planning this last year has been another level of growth for all three of us. I’m really glad it’s a gradual transition process and not a hammer drop. Beyond that, there’s definitely things that would be nice to change and add to the operation, but with tighter margins you can’t throw much money at things that won’t necessarily give you monetary return.
Q: If you had a magic wand to fix one problem on the farm or in agriculture, what would it be?
A: Pesticide resistance. If every farmer was able to spray less, save money, save time and still end up with excellent results — that would be amazing.
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