Harvest of Thanks

California's Family Farms Are Disappearing, Meet the Farmer Fighting Back With Remarkable Determination

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 19:38:22 GMT

Walking the rows of Thomson Vineyards today, it is nearly impossible to imagine that just one year ago, every grape on this ranch — every single cluster — faced a fate no grower ever wants to consider.

In 2024, fourth-generation wine grower Jennifer Thomson watched as three hundred tons of grapes on her home ranch went unharvested. Not one ton had a buyer. Not one ton had a home.

It could have been the end of the story. Instead, Thomson decided it would be the beginning of a new one.

A Year of Unimaginable Loss

On a quiet hillside in Napa, Thomson still remembers standing among vines heavy with fruit — and feeling her stomach sink.

“This home ranch produces a little over 300 tons of grapes annually, and in 2024, nearly all of those 300 tons were dropped on the ground and went unharvested.”

For most farmers, that kind of loss would take generations to recover from. For Thomson, it became the fire that fueled the next chapter.

“Instead of that being the final chapter,” she says, “I got to work.”

An Unconventional Plan

Thomson’s plan was bold, unconventional and driven by sheer determination. Instead of waiting on a buyer to show up, she would go directly to the buyer she believed was the perfect fit for her fruit.

She had one woman in mind.

“I knew of Paula. I knew she was crafting some wonderful bubbles, and that she is restoring and breathing new life into her father’s project, maybe bringing it back to the forefront of Napa Valley’s sparkling wine. I am bound and determined to find her.”

That woman was Paula Kornell, a fourth-generation sparkling wine producer whose family helped shape Napa’s sparkling heritage.

Kornell launched her own label in 2017, carrying forward her father’s legacy. For Kornell, winemaking is not just a craft — it is part of her identity.

“The wine business is in your blood. My father used to say, ‘You have more sparkling burgundy in the old veins than you do blood.’ And so, you know, it is in your soul. Growing up here, you spend so much time trying to get out of here, and then you realize that the rest of your life you spend your time getting back into Napa Valley.”

Thomson admired Kornell’s work from afar. What she did not realize was that Kornell was closer than she ever imagined — literally down the road, not even 3,000' away.

A Chance Encounter in the Pouring Rain

Thomson finally found Kornell at a tasting event on a stormy day —an event Kornell recalls with a laugh.

“Pouring down rain and I am by myself. No one is showing up for this event and in comes this one,” she says.

That “one” was Thomson, arriving with purpose and a direct question.

“Paula, where are you sourcing these grapes from? It says Carneros, but like which vineyard?” Thomson asked.

When Kornell revealed the vineyard, Thomson immediately saw the opportunity.

“Paula, we have to find a way to work together. I would love to sell you grape. It is about the quality, it is about the terroir, but if you do not enjoy doing business with someone, you probably should not be in business with them,” Thomson said.

For Thomson, something was missing in Kornell’s previous sourcing arrangement.

“There was a story about the particular vineyard, but it was not from the ground up,” she says. “It was not from the dirt up, and it was not a person behind it. So this is entirely different.”

A partnership rooted in soil, legacy, and shared values — this was exactly what both women had been looking for.

The Power Duo: Two Women Preserving the Future

Thomson is one of the last remaining family farmers in Napa Valley who still grows grapes on land her family has tended for generations. That responsibility fuels her mission: uplifting other family farmers in the region — especially women.

“I think the story is being diluted,” she says. “And I think it is so important that news organizations like your own share with consumers. So they can seek out supporting those family farmers.”

The women she surrounds herself with share the same grit.

“We all drive tractors, we roll with our mud boots, but we truly love what we do and we truly respect the generations that have come before us,” Thomson says. “It is inspiring to be with a group of women who really believe in what they are doing for their family legacy.”

This female-driven partnership, Thomson says, is rare in the valley.

“Paula is a legend… and I too surrounded myself with other women grape growers who began assuming management roles within their own family. To really be able to find a partnership with Paula and recognize that maybe us as women grape growers have been fortunate enough to recreate what Paula started with her generation of women… it is exciting,” Thomson says.

Kornell says she feels the same.

“I am so proud to be working with Jennifer,” she says. “To be able to talk about her family heritage and the fact that we are both two women in this damn wine business in Napa Valley is really… it makes me very happy and excited about the future.”

A Father’s Legacy, A Daughter’s Determination

Thomson’s dad — the third generation — spent most of his life working an off-farm job to allow the vineyard to survive. Today, he gets to watch his daughter secure its future.

“I am thrilled because not only do I get to answer to my mentors who year after year said, ‘Why have you not done a deal with Paula?’ I can now say I have done a really wonderful deal with Paula.”

But for Thomson, the partnership is about more than business. She’s created her own group of close-knit family farmers in the area, other family farmers who just so happen to be women.

“It is about enjoying being in business with someone, and sharing with consumers that there are real people that do their own work. We drive our own tractors, haul our own fruit, write our own contracts,” she says. “We do not have a long payroll of people helping us do that.”

Together, Thomson and Kornell are bringing authentic, family-grown, California wine to consumers who crave stories rooted in the land and the people who care for it.

Writing the Next Chapter

What began as a heartbreaking harvest with no buyers has transformed into a revitalized future for Thomson Vineyards.

It took grit. It took going direct. It took knocking on a buyer’s door in the pouring rain.

And it took two women determined not to let their family stories fade away.

Today, they are writing a new chapter, one worth celebrating, one worth sharing and one that ensures the legacy of Napa’s true family farmers lives on.

These Colorful Corn Sacks Are Preserving a Piece of Rural History

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 17:40:01 GMT

Growing up in the 1940s, Ron Kelsey was a farm kid who eagerly awaited one special trip each year—the Minnesota State Fair. His father showed corn there for more than five decades, racking up over 30 champion titles. For Ron, those trips planted a lifelong fascination with corn and the vivid bags that once carried seed.

“My dad showed corn at the state fair for 54 years,” Kelsey recalls. “He had championed like 30-some times, and I would go with him.”Those early visits sparked his interest not only in corn, but in the artwork that adorned seed sacks of the era. Long before plain paper bags became the standard, seed companies packaged corn in brightly colored cloth sacks boasting ornate logos, scenes and town names—each one a walking advertisement for both the seed and the farmer who grew it.

“The sacks had not only the name of the grain on them, but they often had the name of the town you’re from and your name,” he says.

A Lifetime of Teaching and Collecting

Kelsey went on to become a high school agriculture teacher and FFA advisor in Lamberton, Minnesota. In his spare time, he began collecting these vintage cloth sacks, eventually amassing an astonishing 1,400 of them.

He takes roughly 400 sacks to the Minnesota State Fair each year, offering visitors a glimpse into farming’s visual past.

“I have fourteen hundred of ’em, so I can’t take ’em all,” he laughs. “I take about four hundred of ’em there.”

More Than Fabric: The Art and Science Behind the Sacks

Many of the old sacks survived only because they were reused around the home. But unlike the floral-patterned flour sacks often turned into clothing, grain sacks were printed with dyes that weren’t intended to last.

“The grain sack is what I call a temporary dye,” Kelsey explains. “You can take the color out overnight with boiling water. My mother made her underwear out of them also. It was a little bit scratchy, but we got by.”Because the dyes fade with light exposure, Kelsey can’t keep them on permanent display. Still, he makes special efforts to show visitors—and this collection—what corn meant to rural America.

Some sacks feature college mascots, regional icons or whimsical illustrations.

“These are colleges—the Big Ten,” he says, pointing to one display. “Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska… Husker sacks, rabbit ears made of corn—just all kinds of designs.”

Corn in the Blood

Corn has been woven into nearly every chapter of Kelsey’s life. His children even gifted him a corn-themed item for his 75th birthday—something he accepted with humor and pride.

“I was a corn person and I carry it with me,” he says. “My kids gave me this for my seventy-fifth birthday, and I thought if I get it when I’m 75 years old and I don’t like it, I’m not gonna live that long.”Though corn may be a commodity, the cloth sacks from the 1930s and ’40s are anything but ordinary. They’re bright, bold snapshots of farm life and the communities that grew around it. And through collectors like Kelsey, they continue telling those stories today.

Traveling the countryside, in Lamberton, Minnesota — I’m Andrew McCrea.

Unexpected Blessings: How Regenerative Cattle Production Shaped One Family's Faith Journey

Thu, 27 Nov 2025 04:32:31 GMT

Dawn and Grant Breitkreutz’s journey into regenerative agriculture started nearly 25 years ago on their cattle and farming operation, Stoney Creek Farm, located near Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Their use of regenerative practices has lowered their costs and improved their profitability, but its also shaped their faith journey.

Regenerative Journey at Stoney Creek Started With Cattle
Grant Breitkreutz says their first leap of faith into regenerative farming started with their cow herd. “We were going for more grass, more grazing days, and we really didn’t even think about it being regenerative at that time.”

They transitioned to rotational grazing, plus utilization of crop residue and cover crops. So, their herd is grazing at least nine, but weather dependent, up to 11 months a year, which Grant says has lowered their feed costs. “If the cows can be out here doing it on their own and we can provide them cover crops and stalks and crop residues and let them feed themselves. It’s money in the bank.”

Thankful for Record Cattle Prices in 2025
While 2025 has offered cattle prices they never thought they’d see in their lifetime, Grant says these practices allowed them to be profitable when cattle prices were low. “The cattle operation on our farm has pulled us through the lows. To be honest the cattle operation is subsidizing the crop production right now,” he remarks.

So, they have a lot to be thankful for, especially as they can now use some of their profits to build for the future including some long overdue infrastructure upgrades, including new fences and additional water facilities. “Yeah, they pulled us through the bad times, but there was never enough profit there to spend money on machinery. I mean, you did what you had to do. You bought feed wagons, you bought loaders, you did that kind of thing. Now we can actually take the profits from these cattle and really do some stuff that we should have been doing all along.”

Cattle Help Improve Soil Health
The cattle are also helping them improve the soil health on their farm says Grant. “We firmly believe that a cow can speed up the rebuilding of biology and a soil by about two years.” And the cattle are part of their regenerative cropping system.

Dawn describes the breadth of their regenerative operation, which follows the basic soil health principles. “We are a hundred percent no till operation so that we promote the biology and the soil. Adding diversity back into it in seed and in cows and livestock and all that sort of thing is bringing that health back.,” she says.

Cutting Costs
As a result they’ve been able to cut fertilizer and pesticide cost, which is a tall order as Stoney Creek farm is located in central Minnesota and the heart of row crop country. Grant says, “I’d say we’re saving about $140 to $160 an acre on, say, for example, a corn crop. We’ve figured out how to spoon feed the crop.”

Getting Back to Mother Nature
Dawn says another goal was to raise cattle and crops the way Mother Nature intended. “So, our soil health is vital to our livestock, to the crops that we grow, to the food that we grow, and to the humans that we’re growing.”

And she says that has led to their own branded products. “We’re selling chickens and eggs and beef and pork.
All of our stock that we finish or feed on our farm are raised on grains that are only produced here on our land.”

Regenerative Farming Shaped Faith Journey
However, their regenerative farming journey also provided an unexpected blessing as it made the Breitkreutz’s more aware of their spiritual connection to Mother Nature and the land.

Dawn says she never realized how much the Bible has to do with farming. “But you can’t be out here and pay attention to all the details and all the complications and chaos that’s in perfect harmony and not believe in a higher power that put this all together.”

On the office wall of Stoney Creek Farm are several bible verses and Dawn’s favorite is listed at the top. “I think I have three boards now that have Bible verses on them that, you know, they seem to appear at just the right time. And I’ll stop what I’m doing and I’ll find a place on the board to add to it.”

So on Thanksgiving and every day she says they feel blessed to be able to farm the way nature intended. “I’m just thankful for the opportunity to be able to take care of God’s creation.” And to bring their kids back into the operation to keep that legacy alive.

Where Hope Takes Root: The Grit That Saved a 90-Year-Old Family Farm

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:21:31 GMT

In the rolling hills of Napa Valley’s Los Carneros region, the scene often looks idyllic. Morning fog drapes the vineyards, and the quiet hum of farm life feels timeless. But behind the postcard-perfect setting stands a family that has survived nearly 90 years of grit, risk and reinvention — and a fourth-generation farmer who refused to let 2024 be the end of their story.

“I am the fourth generation carrying on this family legacy,” says grape grower Jennifer Thomson, walking the same ground her great-grandmother once chose with remarkable instinct.

A Legacy Born From the Dust Bowl

Long before Napa Valley became synonymous with world-class wine, the Thomson family put down roots here in 1938. Thomson’s great-grandmother, Jenny Ophelia Barnum Thomson — a descendant of the famed Barnum circus family — had the courage to pursue opportunity when most would have turned back.

“It was the Great Dust Bowl and the Great Depression driving many families west for new opportunity,” Thomson says. “As migration was happening toward the West Coast for better economic opportunities, they moved here and were able to purchase this land.”

What she bought wasn’t just acreage. It was a vibrant Carneros hub complete with orchards, worker housing and a blacksmith shop. Women couldn’t legally own land at the time, but the deed was placed in her name for only a day, a testament to the trailblazer she was. Then, the land deed was moved into her husband’s name. But the vision, Thomson says, was her great-grandmother’s.

“For her to have that foresight to take that risk and purchase land here — you think about that today,” Thomson says. “She was doing what any family does: contributing to the family. There was water in the Carneros Creek, there were prunes, pears and apples already planted, and they had the ingenuity and engineering to successfully farm. Sometimes you just have to lead with your intuition, and I think that’s what she was doing.”

A Daughter Returns Home — and a New Fight Begins

Four generations later, that same intuition runs deep. In 2009, Thomson left her job in San Francisco and came home to take over the ranch from her father, George.

“Did I ever think Jen would be the one to take over?” George says with a small laugh. “No. I am surprised. I am thankful.”

When she arrived, the wine industry was in the middle of the 2008–2009 recession.

“When I took over in 2009, my father says to me, ‘You picked the absolute worst time to get into farming,’” Thomson recalls. “And then 2024 and 2025 happened. Farmers ask one another, ‘Is this as bad as 2008 or 2009? Is it better? Worse? Did we just forget?’ Because I took over so young, I already was prepared more than my peers.”

But today’s pressures, she says, feel heavier.

“There are not as many channels for sales, not as many stable partners to work with. If I’m a betting woman, I do think 2025 and going into 2026 will be more of a struggle than ever before for the California wine industry.”

Read More: Grape Growers Desperately Need You to Drink More Wine as They Grapple With a Glut of Uncontracted Grapes

So, why is it so challenging for grape growers today? It’s complex. Not only has demand dwindled, with a Gallup poll showing alcohol consumption is at a 90-year low, but an abundant supply the past few years has suffocated the grape growing region. As more vineyards take vines out, that will help the supply situation, but it’s coming at a cost. The other issue is the sellers, like Thomson, and buyers, as in wineries, haven’t always come to the table to find a solution. Cheap imports have flooded the market, and it’s at a much cheaper price than what it costs to grow grapes in California.

Thomson’s father agrees with her, saying the California grape and wine industry is facing one of its most challenging chapters yet.

“It is very challenging,” George says. “The market is sort of against us. Tastes are changing. There are more government regulations on what you can do with your property to make a living.”

Still, he keeps believing.

“Do I think we’ll get out of this? I have my fingers crossed. With people like Jennifer, I believe they’ll keep working at it. They won’t give in easily,” George says.

The Year the Grapes Had No Home

But nothing prepared the family for what came in 2024.

“This home ranch produces a little over 300 tons of grapes annually,” Jennifer says. “And in 2024, nearly all of those 300 tons are dropped on the ground and go unharvested.”

All of them?

“All of them,” she says quietly.

Demand had plummeted. Oversupply strangled the region. And for the first time in the ranch’s nine-decade history, not a single cluster had a home.

It was a moment when most growers would consider walking away. But Jennifer didn’t.

Refusal to Quit

But this is where the story gets good, and where you’re reminded you can’t underestimate the determination of a family farmer, especially Thomson. After all, grit is woven into this family’s DNA. And she leaned on every ounce of it.

“In 2025, I make a true farmer with good ingenuity,” she says. “I make sure I shake hands. I talk with previous clients. I source new clients. I put a lot of hustle into exploring new relationships and cultivating the ones we already have. And we are fortunate this year to sell all of our grapes.”

Her father says the same drive is what transformed the ranch the moment she took over 15 years ago.

“We were able to make a living at it, at least pay the taxes,” George says. “But the property really never makes money until Jennifer says, ‘I think I can do that.’ I hand her the keys and the checkbook.”

George says he always had an off-farm job, but for this first time in his memory, Thomson’s keen business sense and intuition turned the family vineyard into one that could finally support itself.

“Jennifer turns it around for the first time in my life that the property actually supports itself,” he says, emotion thick in his voice. “How proud am I? Extremely proud. She has the foresight, the hunger, the passion. The intelligence. She had all the parts. She has them now.”

One of the Last Family Farmers Standing

In a region rapidly shifting toward corporate ownership, Jennifer is part of a shrinking group — farmers who still drive their own tractors, repair their own equipment and deliver their own fruit.

“I feel more of a pull to the land than I ever predicted when I first took over,” she says. “I took over to help my family and retain this ranch for future generations. But working alongside our crew for 15 years, working with winery partners who value our family legacy and this 90-year-old ranch — I certainly feel much more drawn to the land than I ever think I would.”

Some estimates point to less than 25% of the growers left in the region are true family farmers, a dwindling group that is fighting to remain rooted here.

Gratitude Amid the Hardship

Despite the hardships, Thomson carries deep gratitude — especially this Thanksgiving season.

“I’m really grateful my great-grandmother has the foresight in 1938 to buy a wonderful piece of land with wonderful water availability,” she says. “I have a great-grandfather and grandfather who worked with the Federal Soil Conservation Department and built an on-stream reservoir. It allows us to irrigate our crops and keeps our vines healthier.”

She is thankful for her community, too.

“I’m thankful for that core group of family farmers. We band together. We support one another. We share our successes and we share our failures. That camaraderie can’t be duplicated.”

A Story Still Being Written

The Thomsons’ story, once born out of Dust Bowl desperation, endures because each generation chooses resilience over retreat. And in 2024 — after a year when every grape fell to the ground — it was Jennifer’s resolve that carried the legacy forward.

Every grape has a home again in 2025. And because of her, the family’s story isn’t just continuing, it’s growing stronger.

The Miracle Season: Indiana Farm Family Gives Thanks For Teen's Miraculous Recovery From Bus Accident

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 20:59:40 GMT

For farmers, harvest season brings its own set of challenges. But for Indiana farm family Brad, Kelley, Caleb and Lucas Bradshaw, this year’s harvest stress comes with a side of gratitude.

“We’re just thankful we have something to harvest,” admits Brad Bradshaw, a farmer in New Carlisle, Ind. “If it wasn’t for the friends and families in this community and beyond, we’d be up a creek.”

The nightmare began on May 8, 2025, when Bradshaw, the assistant junior varsity baseball coach at New Prairie High School, loaded onto one of two mini-buses headed for an away game. Bradshaw was driving with Lucas and 6 teammates on board. While stopped at a traffic light just a few miles from home, their bus was violently struck from behind by a box truck traveling over 70 miles per hour.

“I happen to look up and think, ‘Oh my God, we’re about to get hit.’ All I remember was getting hit and I was out,” Bradshaw recounts.

The impact flipped the bus onto its side and threw Lucas onto the pavement.

“I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize but I missed it,” Kelley says. “The number called again and something just told me to pick it up. A gentleman explained that there had been an accident.”

Lucas was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Doctors were able to get him stable, but a traumatic brain injury led to a medically induced coma, then swelling, a craniotomy and breathing and feeding tubes. Bradshaw suffered a broken sternum and ribs, along with a host of other contusions. He was treated and released, but Lucas’ path forward remained cloudy.

Lucas suffered severe brain trauma following the accident

(Brad Bradshaw)

“We had hope,” Kelley shares through tears. “We always had hope.”

As he fought for his life, the New Carlisle community sprang into action. Friends and family helped get their crops planted and handle work on the farm.

“There was a lot of behind-the-scenes work that just happened,” Kelley says.

While Lucas was hospitalized, his brother Caleb stepped up, managing the farm work and caring for their 4-H animals.

“It was pretty hard,” Caleb says. “I got home late every day, but it was okay doing it by myself.”

By June, the family, down a team member, reluctantly headed to the county fair knowing Lucas wouldn’t be there in 2025.

“We were at the county fair and my sister texts and says they’ve deemed Lucas medically awake,” Bradshaw says.

Good news amid the craziness of fair season. Friends stepped in to show Lucas’ livestock. When it came time for the sale, the community rallied behind him. His recovery journey then led him to Mary Free Bed, a rehab hospital in Grand Rapids, nearly two hours from the farm.

“When he got there, he just lay there,” Kelley says. “He couldn’t do anything else. His eyes weren’t even open. One eye was cracked and that was it.”

With each passing day, there was improvement. The small wins added up to big gains. After 125 days in the hospital, on September 10, Lucas took his next big step.

Lucas, helped by his brother Caleb, walked out of Mary Free Bed rehab hospital

(MaryBeth Griffiths)

“They said it was their number one graduation, and they wish all their graduations were like that,” Lucas proudly says, “When I saw the whole baseball team, I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was happy.”

With friends, family, staff and teammates cheering him on, Lucas walked out of the hospital where he was wheeled in.

As the fall baseball season concluded, the harvest season roared into full swing.

“He’s had a traumatic brain injury, so he has some damage and some things that he has to work on to get better,” Bradshaw says. “We have hope that he will get better. He’s determined to do that, and he has huge goals, which I love goals.”

There’s a renewed drive for this family to reclaim the seasons they lost and get back to the fields they love. Today, they understand each day is a gift.

Lucas is back in the combine helping with harvest

(Brad Bradshaw)

“The number of people that just happened to be in the right place at the right time truly is a miracle,” Kelley says.

Bradshaw echoes: “It’s just a miracle that seven players and two coaches are all walking today. We could have lost all of us. We were blessed that day. Everybody was blessed.”

As the combine races toward the end of harvest, those blessings are pouring out on those watching a son, a friend, a brother and a teammate return to the field.

“Farming has always been a thing to do and growing up that’s all there’s been,” Lucas says. “I pretty much need to find my way. If I want to do something, it’s going to involve farming.”

A determination to roll through this season and the next, ready to plant the gifts God so graciously spared.

A Symbol of Civilization: How the Iconic Windmill Helped Farmers Settle the West

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 18:48:00 GMT

More than 100 years ago they represented life itself on a farm. Dotting the landscape of the Plains, the windmill carried water from deep underground to the surface.

Today, it’s serenity in rhythm as fan blades spin in the wind. The sounds of yesterday’s progress echo across the acreage at the Mid-America Windmill Museum in Kendallville, Ind. Each of the roughly 50 windmills dotting the grounds, tells a story from generations past.

“The design hasn’t changed much,” says Mike Fitzgibbon, the museum’s president of the board of directors. “You have your fan blade, and you have the gearbox that transforms the wind into mechanical power or force and that pumps the water.”

Before windmills, families had to hand pump water for both people and livestock.

(Solomon D. Butcher via Library of Congress)

This part of the country in northeast Indiana was once a hotbed for mill manufacturers.

“At the turn of the century, in this tri-state area (Indiana, Ohio and Michigan), there were more than 100 different windmill manufacturers,” adds Todd Skinner, a board member with the Mid-America Windmill Museum.

Pam Younce, who runs publicity, says the location was the key to the industry.

“This was the hub of windmill companies because of the wood that was available — the poplar, the oak and the hickory,” Younce says.

Poultry with windmill from the Nebraska Prairie Settlement era of 1886 to early 1900s.

(Solomon D. Butcher via Library of Congress)

While the region was well suited for manufacturing the parts and pieces, it was points west that provided the backdrop for the windmill’s rise as an agricultural icon.

First patented in 1854, Daniel Halladay created a windmill that could automatically turn to face changing wind directions and mechanically self-regulate its speed.

“There’s a lot of people who understand the mechanics of things if you work on the farm,” Fitzgibbon says. “He probably had to be involved with agriculture of some sort back in those days.”

In the early days, all of the windmill construction was done by hand.

“The towers were built from the ground up,” Skinner explains. “They would start putting the tower together on the ground and work their way up to the top. Then they would use a gin pole and a winch to winch the windmill up and set it in place.”

As the west expanded and surface water in America’s vast arid regions became harder to find, the windmill stood in the gap. It became a stoic symbol of civilization, silhouetted against the West’s painted sky.

“When you’re out on a 160,000-acre ranch they were very useful and the only way to get water to the cattle,” Younce says.

Windmills were central to farm life for early settlers.

(Vogel’s Studio, Didsbury, Alberta)

“It was their lifeblood,” Skinner adds. “If you didn’t have water, you couldn’t have your farm or take care of your livestock or your family.”

Windmills also helped drive settlers to new regions as water stations dotted the railroad every 20 to 50 miles in service of thirsty steam-powered locomotives.

Fabric-covered sails gave way to wooden blades, which turned into metal fans and towers by the late 1800s. Eventually self-oiling gearboxes helped reduce maintenance and improved longevity.

By the 1930s, $32 would get you an 8' windmill and 30' tower. Today, Skinner says that same setup costs closer to $10,000.

The windmill is a piece of history, and the Mid-American Windmill Museum is pouring back into the community thanks to tours and history lessons for local kids.

“Most kids don’t grow up on farms anymore, so it’s real enlightening to see these kids understand how this all works and where the water actually comes from,” Skinner says.

While they give a lot of tours to kids, it’s not uncommon to find a nostalgic adult sitting among the mills, transported to days gone by.

“A lot of people who grew up with windmills back in the day recognize all the sounds,” explains Skinner, who handles most of the maintenance at the museum. “All of these sounds mean that something needs attention and I need to get to work.”

“A lot of people enjoy the noises,” Fitzgibbon echoes. “You don’t hear noises like that in the cities anymore. You hear honking horns and sirens, but you can come out here and enjoy the serenity of what it might have been like in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Back to another time, before the hustle and bustle of modern America.

“Visitors say when the windmills are making noise they’re talking or they’re singing to them,” Younce adds.

A song from the past, as these legends stand tall against time’s horizon and serves as a reminder that simple ingenuity can conquer even the harshest foe.

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Recovery from Hurricane Helene is Slow as Farmers Worry Land May Be Lost Forever

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 19:55:56 GMT

Producers in Western North Carolina are still working to clean up from damage suffered from Hurricane Helene in September. The latest estimates from Virginia Tech put the final price tag for damage to agriculture, forestry and related industries in the state between $416 million and $630 million.

One professor at Virginia Tech puts future income losses for farmers at more than $50 million. That’s due to land having to be taken out of production. It’s expected producers of Christmas trees, blueberries, beef cattle and apples will be the hardest hit.

The North Carolina Farm Bureau traveled to the western part of the state to report on the damage firsthand. Lynda Loveland, Director of Communications for NC Farm Bureau, spoke to Yancy County farmer Kevin Wilson. He told Loveland he wasn’t sure he would ever see the county rebuilt back to where it was in his lifetime.

“People have lost homes; people have lost lives. We’re going to be dealing with scars from this flood for centuries from now,” said Wilson.

Wilson described the day the powerful storm hit: “From about 8:30 am to 10:30 am it was just nothing but an onslaught of wind and rain. Rain would come in sheets. I don’t think anybody expected the amount of water we were going to get.”

“We’ve got a boatload of fences to rebuild. We did lose some corn,” Wilson told Loveland.

He says one pasture behind his home had developed a bit of a mudslide that hadn’t broken loose yet, and he was watching it closely to see if it would give way.

“I would say my wife and I probably lost two-thirds of our timber. When you go up on the mountain it looks like Pickup Sticks,” said Wilson.

He also discussed the loss of other agricultural land in a county that needs to be preserved as much as possible.

“Some of the most fertile land in Yancy County was along the Cane River Valley--great places to grow corn, hay, things of that nature, but this storm was ruthless,” Wilson said.

Wilson is concerned about what it will take to try and reclaim land now covered in dirt and debris. “That is definitely a detriment to the county because these river bottoms were super valuable.”

“I think that’s going to be one of the biggest challenges moving forward is how do we rebuild? How do we get back to a point of normalcy? How do we get back to where it was?”

Farm Journal would like to thank the NC Farm Bureau for sharing this report. You can find more of NC Farm Bureau’s coverage following Hurricane Helene, on their YouTube page here .

The Quest to Save a Rare Breed of Goats on the Verge of Extinction

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:44:13 GMT

We first gave you a glimpse of some exceptional kids last year during Harvest of Thanks .

These aren’t just any goat; these are Arapawa goats, one of the rarest breeds of goats in the world.

“It’s a phenomenal feeling to be able to work to maintain a breed that’s effectively endangered, said Tad Thompson, CEO and lead veterinarian at Reproduction Specialty Group Inc. (RSG) based in Lebanon, Ind.

The breed that was originally brought here by English settlers, is finding a new home once again in the Midwest.

Knowing the Arapawa breed was on the verge of extinction, Conner Prairie, which is a hands-on historical museum based in Fishers, Ind., teamed up with RSG with one goal: to save the breed.

“I’ve seen in the last 10years, we have gone from five goats here up to 35 goats now,” says Emily Nyman, livestock coordinator for Conner Prairie. “I’ve watched the breed go from just a couple active breeders across the country, to 25, 30 active breeders right now. And thinking about it and the future, it’s just really exciting to know that the work that we’re doing today is really going to influence where the breed goes in the future and hopefully for their success.”

Conner Prairie focuses on heritage breeds, which are older breeds with a historical significance. The story started last year when Conner Prairie partnered with RSG to artificially inseminate does from their herd.

“It was a phenomenal success,” Thompson says. “And so we were able to use the frozen semen genetics from the Smithsonian and partnered up with Conner Prairie.”

“We think we achieved a little over an 80%, pretty close to an 82%, conception rate on those goats,” he adds. “So, it was a phenomenal success. They were they were thrilled. The babies were born. Everything went quite well there.”

With Arapawa being a heritage breed, they didn’t have a lot data to pull from, but thanks to technology from RSG, the mission of reproducing this breed, was a grand success.

“Because of the success we had last year, Connor Prairie decided to move one step further into what’s called embryo transfer. And so it’s a multiple ovulation embryo transfer,” Thompson says. “Everything went as planned, and the technology was able to marry up with the need for maintaining the heritage breed, and we had great success.”

“We worked with RSG to inseminate another round of does using Smithsonian’s semen, and we were able to do an embryo transfer with some of the semen that we got from a buck that we used last year,” Nyman says.

The team was able to successfully collect seven embryos, five of which were put into does, and the other two were frozen and sent to the Smithsonian.

“They’ve been really lovely people to work with and have been really excited to have new genetics brought into their germplasm bank, but also for us to be able to use the semen in their collection,” Nyman says. “So we’re able to continue to work with the Arapawa breed and help with the genetic preservation.”

It’s that offspring that was then sent across the U.S. as a way to continue to grow the breed.

“From the seven does that we did embryo transfer on, six of them did settle, and we ended up having 10 kids,” Nyman says. “From those kids, we have sent bucks off to North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas and Washington State. So, we’ve helped spread genetics through breeders that we knew, who knew the importance of these bucks and knew how to help the breed within their own genetics and to spread those genetics then.”

Arapawa goats are dual purpose breed, which means they’re valuable for meat and milk. And the efforts from Conner Prairie and RSG are preserving the history of this useful breed while growing a new future.

“To take the today’s modern technology and partner with them and marry that back to maintaining and developing this heritage breed, is just phenomenal,” Thompson says. “As a kid growing up on the farm, you look down the path of life, and whether that’s school or careers or jobs, and you have big dreams and aspirations. There are some of the dreams that you don’t know you dream about until you experience it. And so, it’s kind of a dream come true to be able to help and maintain those type of those type of initiatives that are greater than we are.

A Nebraska Farmer's Last Harvest

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:28:46 GMT

For many, farming is more than a job. It’s a lifestyle that is often passed on from generation to generation.

But for one Nebraska farmer, he’s decided to take early retirement — and he’s doing it with a full heart and a clear conscience.

2024 was the last harvest for Jay Reiners.

None of his kids are interested in coming back to the farm, so he made the decision to retire.

However, his farm will still leave a legacy in the success of his five children. Plus, he might have the opportunity to help the next generation get into farming, even if it’s not his immediate family.

Reiners is the fourth generation on his farm in south-central Nebraska, which was homesteaded by his great grandfather in 1892.

“I’ve been farming full time since 1990 myself,” he says.

Over the past 34 years, he’s grown the operation to 2,700 acres through continuous improvement and cutting-edge technology.

“You know, everything satellite -based, cloud -based, you know, it’s data -driven, looking at all this new data, trying to figure out what works, what doesn’t work, that’s the biggest change.”

Like his father, Reiners intended to pass the farm down to the next generation.

“I tried farming with my oldest when he was in college, but he and I are too much alike so we butted heads. I told him he needed to go work for a real boss instead of his dad for a boss,” he explains.

Reiners youngest son grew up in the tractor seat, but decided he didn’t want to return to the farm either. He saw the stress, struggles and worries and decided he didn’t want to live life like that — and Reiners doesn’t blame him.

In fact, his youngest’s decision not to return to the farm came as a huge relief and helped Reiners decide 2024 would be his last season farming.

“That’s probably what’s driven my decision to retire at age 54. I don’t have anyone coming back, so why fight it? I love to farm but I lost the love of the game,” he says.

Reiners was also stressed out by the weather and volatile markets.

This fall all Reiners kids came back to share in the harvest and ride in the combine with him for the last time.

“It was great — a great family ending,” he says.

When he finally got to the last round he was nearly numb.

“I thought I would shed a tear, but my auger wagon driver said the combine got faster and faster. I was thinking please God just let it get to the end before something breaks down,” he explains.

Reiners isn’t selling his farm but instead renting the land to friends and will kick-start another generation.

“The guy who’s farming my ground has a son coming back. I’m passing down a legacy to somebody else’s kid, which is fine. Give them the opportunity,” he says.

Reiner has no regrets because the legacy of the farm lives on in the success of his five children.

While serving on the Nebraska Corn Board, Reiner discovered another calling.

“I want to continue on with international trade policy — that’s where my heart really is,” he shares.

Through his role, he can continue to promote the industry he loves in the next chapter of his career.

Why These Illinois Farmers are Harvesting for the Future With Their Most Selfless Harvest Yet

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 18:13:12 GMT

For 50 years, Mike McLaughlin’s view on his farm in Le Roy, Ill., has been the same. The McClean County farmer has been farming for the past five decades, and the landscape of agriculture has changed, but harvest is the constant every year.

“This year, yields are good,” McLauglin says. “This could be one of the best crops I’ve ever had.”

‘Harvesting For Our Future’

In a year of low commodity prices, when every bushel counts, this just might one of the most selfless harvests McLaughlin’s ever had.

“You hope you’ve done enough over the years that when you get toward retirement, that you can do some things like this,” he says.

This harvest, Mclaughlin, along with his wife and farm, decided to give back.

“We’ve got grandkids and then my wife’s a 30 year retired kindergarten teacher, so she has an appreciation for learning experiences for kids,” he says.

McLaughlin and other farmers were bringing in grain that will be donated to a very special cause called “Harvesting for Our Future.” The gifts from the grain drive will go directly to the Children’s Discovery Museum in Normal, Ill.

“Here’s the cow,” says Cathy Wentworth, a retired teacher, farmer’s wife and grandparent, who is helping with the cause explains as she gives a tour of the museum. “You can actually milk them and feed them.”

20-Year-Old Ag Exhibit

An exhibit that’s nearly 20 years old, the agricultural part of the Children’s Discovery Museum still houses a treasure trove of agriculture treasures, allowing kids to immerse themselves with life on the farm. But now, there’s a new growth this museum is nurturing: to modernize the museum and better reflect modern ag.

“The goal is to have kids enjoy agriculture and think about future careers,” says Shelly Hanover, director of experiences and engagement, Children’s Discovery Museum. “The very first gift of our campaign was actually from a farm family that stepped up and said: ‘Let’s be a part of this.’”

Built By Farmers’ Generosity

That sparked another idea, what if this museum was built by farmers’ generosity?

“And then Dennis and Cathy Wentworth had the awesome idea to have farmers donate truckloads of grain to the project, and it just kind of blossomed from there,” Hanover says.

As grain rushed in from the field this fall, farmers like McLaughlin could either donate money or a truckload of grain. And it’s all to elevate the museum with a multimillion-dollar renovation.

“We are really leaning into the agriculture exhibit as being the heart of the museum,” Hanover says. “Everything starts in the ag exhibit and kind of moves out from health and nutrition, even into transportation energy on our first floor. We’re really seeing that ag exhibit as being the heartbeat that drives everything else.”

A $4 Million Renovation

A $4-million renovation is a monumental undertaking, but one Wentworth knew the farmers of McLean County were up for.

“If a farmer wants to tell the story, they need to be able to do it,” Wentworth says. “Instead of having somebody come in and say, ‘This is what it’s all about,’ they need to have the opportunity to tell their story — and this is it.”

When the renovation project was just a whisper, Wentworth read an article about a community in southern Illinois who was collecting donated grain for a farmer who had fallen ill.

“The farmers got together; they gave grain, loads of grain, truckloads of grain and made it possible for this person to survive this awful disease, and I thought maybe in McLean County, knowing many of the farmers, we could also do that,” Wentworth says.

So she got to work contacting grain elevators, posting signs and spreading the word far and wide.

“This is going to show the community that the ag community is not Green Acres or what they see on TV,” Wentworth says. “It’s a very modern community with satellites, six satellites on the combine, computer systems, all these things going on. But not only that, it feeds the world.”

A Chance to Talk in a Farmer’s Shoes

Her grandkids are regulars at the museum, and seeing the joy it brings all of them is what keeps them coming back for more. But for kids who know nothing about agriculture, stepping foot into the museum might be their one chance to walk in a farmer’s shoes.

“With the exhibit being as old as it is, there’s just a lot of farming trends that are outdated,” Hanover says. “And so, we want to make sure that we’re showcasing kind of the farm of the future for our kiddos.”

Since first impressions are everything, the Discovery Children’s Museum wants to make that experience engaging and endearing.

“We’re going to enhance our combine,” Hanover says. “There’s going to be some more technology in there with a few more video screens, so it’s a more immersive experience for the kids to really feel like they’re harvesting grain.”

Elevating Agriculture

From adding an ag lab to explore the science behind it all, to putting in a new grain leg system that can help describe the entire journey of the grain, after harvest, one of the coolest features might be the biggest wild card for farmers every year: the weather.

“In the exhibit space all across this, the second floor will have different video panels in the ceiling that the weather is constantly changing and that sort of thing,” Hanover says, “so the kids get that idea that they’re encompassed in that.”

It’s a grand feat, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get it right, and it’s agriculture that is rising to the occasion.

“It’s been work, but it’s been fun,” Wentworth says, “and it’s amazing how nice the elevator people have been. The farmers I’ve run into, the farm families have always been welcoming and love to hear this story and wanted to be part of it. And that’s really the amazing part is the ag community embraces this.”

“It makes my heart so happy that we have our farm families involved,” Hanover adds. “My hope is that we are like a showcase exhibit when we are done here to have our local farmers invest in this and put back into the community like this is a pride point that I just think is phenomenal.”

She Found Her Fiancé Clinging to Life After a Major Anhydrous Leak and Then Miraculously Helped Save Him

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 16:30:08 GMT

This story originally aired on U.S. Farm Report in December 2023. One year after the accident occurred, we are once again sharing the miraculous rescue during our 2024 Harvest of Thanks Special.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was calm across the rolling fields of central Iowa on Nov. 19, 2023. It was a Sunday, and Kendra Vander Leest says it was prime for fall fieldwork.

“Before lunch, Joe decided it was fit to pull ammonia,” Kendra says.

Her fiancé, Joe Rempe, spent all afternoon in the field that day applying anhydrous ammonia.

“When evening rolled around, I checked on his Life360 and everything seemed fine at that point.

About 7:30 p.m., she heard the tractor crawling toward the house. She thought it meant Joe was calling it quits for the night.

“I was in the kitchen making our daughter Josie’s bedtime bottle and prepping her bottles for daycare on Monday. I went to put her bottles in our daycare bag and happened to look up, out the window, and I saw the tractor and a plume of anhydrous smoke. At that point, it was like time started moving really slowly,” Kendra says.

A Giant Plume of Smoke

Seeing that plume of smoke, and knowing what it was, her heart dropped.

“I knew it was Joe,” she recalls. “I knew instantly it was Joe. I knew what I was seeing, but it was just surreal.”

Full of fear, she rushed to grab her phone.

“As I’m running up the steps, I’m thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s gone. There’s no way.’ As bad as that is, I thought there’s no way [he’s alive].”

She decided to call him, knowing Joe might not be alive to answer.

“I knew I couldn’t run out there into the plume. Otherwise, I would wind up dead or hurt. So, I called him and he answered,” she says.

“I think she said, ‘Joe!’ All I could say was ‘help me,’” he remembers.

“I hung up and called 911, but I knew by the way he said ‘help me’ he was badly hurt,” Kendra recalls.

The 911 Call

Farm Journal was able to track down the 911 call Kendra made that day.

“Pella 911, where’s your emergency?” says the dispatcher.

“We have an anhydrous ammonia accident,” Kendra says. “I need an ambulance. I need a HazMat crew. This is bad, bad.”

The 911 call even captured the moment Kendra ran outside her house and found Joe.

“I’m on the phone with 911. You need water? Oh, God,” you can hear Kendra say. “Just lay down. I’m going to get water. Lay down. I’m going to get water.”

“All right, he inhaled?” you can hear the 911 dispatch operator ask.

“Yes, his lungs are burned. He said his lungs are burning,” Kendra says.

“The tank is completely unloading, but there’s no houses nearby for anyone to get hurt. It’s, it’s bad,” she says.

Kendra Found Joe Clinging to Life

Kendra says when she rushed outside her house, she found Joe crawling on the gravel road, which was about 200 yards from the tractor. She says he was fighting for his life.

“I could hear him coughing. He was crawling toward the house, and as soon as he heard me, he just collapsed,” she says.

Kendra says the second she saw the plume of smoke, she immediately knew it was anhydrous. That’s because her full-time job is with the Iowa Department of Agriculture in the Feed and Fertilizer Bureau. Part of her job is conducting anhydrous ammonia inspections at retailer facilities across the state. From her training and experience, she knew exactly how bad the damage could be.

“He didn’t have any burns on his skin, so the water I grabbed didn’t really do any good. There was nothing for me to dump the water on. All his burns were internal in his nasal cavities, his throat, his lungs, those were all burned,” she says.

“I was badly luck burned inside,” Joe says.

Fire and rescue responded, and a Life Flight carried Joe to Des Moines. From there, he was transferred to Iowa City.

The Anhydrous Accident

As Kendra was driving to the hospital, she still didn’t know what had just transpired in the field. All she knew is Joe was applying anhydrous, something he’s done for nearly 30 years.

“I had just got hooked up to a new set of twins [anhydrous tanks],” Joe says.

Typically, the anhydrous tanks have a hose holder, but he says that pair of tanks they had received did not.

“So, I tried to put a loop on the hoses. Well, my hose must have come loose. And when I was turning on the corner, the left front tire of the twin tank must have run over my hose and then broke the front or pulled the threads out. And the hose came apart,” he says.

He was toward the back of a nearby field when he heard a pop, and gas immediately started shooting straight toward tractor.

“Gas was blowing right at me. It was hitting the back of the cab, the vapor, and going around the tractor,” Joe says.

He tried to turn different directions to change where the smoke was shooting, but he says there was no wind that day. So, it didn’t do any good.

“The whole field was turned into fog, and I knew I had to go to Plan B. I did not know what to do,” he says.

That’s when Joe decided his only option was to head toward the house, all while he couldn’t see and was losing his ability to breathe.

“I knew where the bottom terrace would come out, so I knew I could follow the terrace,” he remembers.

But as he got to a crossing that was in a low spot of the field, he says he couldn’t see anything.

“I lost where I was. I just drove by feel,” he remembers.

Somehow, Joe made it past the crossing, and at that point, the smoke cleared enough to see a gravel road.

“I came east towards the house, and when I crested the hill I was blacking out, because I was losing air. And I really thought I was pretty close to dying,” he says.

At that point, the tractor stopped moving. Inside the cab of the tractor, Joe’s eyes were already so badly burned, he couldn’t see his phone to call 911 or Kendra.

“And I remember I was so darn scared to get out of the tractor. I only pulled 1.1 acres off that tank, so I knew that sucker had a lot of anhydrous in it, and it kept blowing at the tractor. I was so scared to get out, but I knew I had to because it was my only choice.”

At that point, Joe put on a sweatshirt he had with him, as a way to protect his skin. He also grabbed a bottle of water he knew he had on the floor. After he climbed out of the tractor cab, he tried to run toward the house, but he quickly ran out of air.

“And I went down, so I started crawling,” he says.

Diagnosis: Extensive Internal Burns

When Joe was airlifted to a Des Moines hospital, Kendra says she still didn’t know if he was going to survive.

“Two doctors came in and told us what was going on. They told us they could not intubate him because his throat was swelling shut. And so they cut in a cricothyrotomy, which is an emergency trach, to get air to him,” she says.

The doctors used saline bags with tubes to try and flush his eyes out. Once in Iowa City, Kendra learned even more.

“When I got to Iowa City, they said that he had grade one to grade two burns in his sinus cavities, throat and deep into his lungs,” says Kendra. “It basically burnt his vocal cords, his voice box, and his mouth and tongue were completely swollen.”

Kendra says the anhydrous burned the outer-most layer of his eyes, and even today, Joe can’t see enough to read, nor can he stand bright light.

“The only thing the eye doctor said he can’t fix is the dry eyes. So, he’ll just take gel eyedrops forever, but considering everything that happened, we will take that,” she says.

Kendra Nursed Joe Back to Health

Joe spent 10 days in the hospital, but the real work for Kendra started when they sent Joe home.

“I have taken about a month off work, and the nurses trained me how to take care of him, how to administer his meds, and crush medications,” she says.

It’s something Kendra does every 45 minutes. A home health nurse comes twice a week, but the best nurse, Joe says, is Kendra.

“She’s…. good,” says Joe.

“She Saved Me.”

In this Christmas miracle, Joe knows Kendra is his angel.

“She saved me, there is no doubt in my mind,” he says.

In Joe’s eyes, November 19, 2023, is filled with many miracles, including Kendra seeing that something wasn’t right.

“If she was over there, or another spot, she wouldn’t have seen me. She had to be right there, and she happened to be looking [outside]. I would say there was about 15 to 20 miracles from that tractor to the corner of the yard, to Des Moines and to Iowa City.”

Joe fought for his life that day and now shares his story of survival.

“I started yelling to myself, in my head, ‘You cannot die. You cannot leave Kendra by herself,’” he says.

Joe’s story of survival is also thanks to Kendra, who’s cherishing the fact she can celebrate this Christmas with all their family.

Harvest of Thanks: Paying Tribute to the Father of the Green Revolution

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:30:04 GMT

South of Cresco, Iowa, you will find a small farmstead with quite a story.

“By the time they came to live in this house, which was 1922, Norm was about eight years old or so and they had just bought the farm a year or two before that. It was 56 acres,” says Tom Spindler, with the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation.

Spindler is speaking of young Norman Borlaug. Next to the home you will find the school Norm attended as a boy. Both Norman’s father and grandfather attended the very same school. They ended their formal education without going to high school. The story would be different for Norman.

“They saw in him that he had a spark. I remember Charlotte, his younger sister, said the family always felt even when he was a teenage boy this guy had something in him that was something special,” Spindler says.

The family drove Norman 14 miles into Cresco where he would board for the week, then come home on the weekends to help on the family’s farm. Norman’s agriculture teacher and wrestling coach encouraged him to go to college. His grandfather, Nels, helped make that happen.

“As Norm decided to go to the University of Minnesota, he gave him 11 silver dollars and he said to Norm, ‘Norm boy you take this and pay your tuition for the first quarter. Feed your head now so you can feed your belly later,’ Spindler says.

Norman would go on to feed much more than his own belly. Borlaug helped develop wheat varieties in Mexico, and later in Pakistan, India and other locations that helped feed and save the lives of millions of people. His work led many to call him the father of the green revolution. Today, the farm where Borlaug was raised continues his mission.

“We do lots of educational programming here,” Spindler says. “We host two inspire days. We call them inspire days because Norman Borlaug was a very inspiring person. We target mostly fifth grade, and we have fifth graders from probably a dozen different schools that come.”

Borlaug’s work was recognized by many around the world. Notably, he won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize and later the Presidential Medal of Freedom among many awards in his lifetime. But as Spindler shares, Borlaug was always a teacher at heart – a mission they carry on today – and a story that shows the impact one farm boy can have on the world.

“Look what he did in his lifetime — from being a farm kid feeding his horses, the cows and the chickens and farming that land with horses and then he is credited with saving hundreds of millions of lives,” he says.

Hall of Fame Football Coach Credits Indiana Farm Roots

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 14:15:40 GMT

2023 Harvest of Thanks is a special edition of both AgDay and U.S. Farm Report. The show helps celebrate and honor traditions, while also sharing stories of gratitude. 2023 Harvest of Thanks is sponsored by Case IH and BASF .

“Come on, girls!”

(Clinton Griffiths)

The call comes muffled beneath a yellow slicker as rain falls on a herd of cows being gathered by Toto, Ind., farmer Russ Radtke. Every muddy step is matched by fellow herdsman, Bob Troike, as they push the group into a lot for doctoring and a preg check ahead of being turned out on the winter rye. Most of their farming careers have centered around working as a team.

“Our dads got to know each other in the 70’s and started doing things together,” Radtke says.

“Russ’ dad wore out his combine picking our corn, while we hauled all of his corn to the elevator,” Troike remembers. “He would run our hay mower and tractors to mow our hay so he could have the hay mower and the rakes for their hay.”

Today, the two are still working together today, raising calves, feeding them out and selling freezer beef.

“When our dads were working together, we leased pasture ground and were up to 120 cows at one time,” Troike says.

Today the herd is smaller, but they still find reward in the work.

(Clinton Griffiths)

With acreage and herd numbers too small to make this his full-time future, decades ago, Radtke turned to his second love, sports.

For Love of the Game

Topping a short rise along the highway in north-central Indiana, a glow brightens the horizon above rows of unharvested corn. The Knox Redskins bus sits in the Caston High School parking lot as fans fill the bleachers for a Friday night fight. A drizzle settles in as Coach Radtke exits the locker room with his team focused on the game ahead.

“We got an itch for it, and we enjoy it,” says Radtke about coaching football.

Rain or shine, this path wasn’t his original plan.

“Actually, I was going to Brigham Young University on a graduate assistantship to be a basketball coach and, all of a sudden, things changed,” Radtke explains. “I was loaded, we packed stuff in a U-Haul, I sold my house, my wife quit her job and then within 48 hours, I became a football coach.”

Now, 47 years later, Coach Radtke is the second-winningest high school football coach in Indiana history, topping 400 career wins this night with a 50-0 rain-soaked stomping.

“When I talked to Russ, last week before his game, he told me there are four things in my life,” says Chuck Freeby, sports director at local station WHME-TV 46. “There’s football, there’s farming, there’s basketball officiating and there’s family. That pretty much covers Russ Radke.”

(Clinton Griffiths)

Radtke’s time in agriculture and on the family dairy helped to mold his discipline and work ethic.

“I get up at five o’clock in the morning, I’m at the school for work during the day, we have football practice and then I’m watching video and film,” Radtke says. “I might not even head for home until 10:30 at night.”

“He’s very analytical in the way he looks at things on a football field,” adds Freeby, explaining Radtke’s effective use of the option offense. “He’s always trying to look for an advantage.”

That focus has helped guide his team, with the support of two of his sons as assistant coaches, to a near-perfect season in 2023. They ended 13-1 and just one game shy of the state finals.

“I don’t golf, I don’t fish, I don’t have time for it,” Radtke smiles. “Other people can do it. Have fun. We have fun with what we’re doing right now.”

Passion for History

The only other fun he has is amid his collection of restored antique and classic tractors. Most are Minneapolis-Moline in honor of the iron he grew up using on the family farm. There’s also a unique Oliver with tracks he dug out of a barn and restored. It was formerly used on the Indiana mint farm his wife was raised on.

“She doesn’t want anything to do with them,” Radtke says in regard to his machinery collection. “She might not even know how many I have.”

(Clinton Griffiths)

From tractors to bulldozers, even road graders, his collection of iron, like his legacy on the grid-iron continues to grow.

From field to field, and yard by yard, his Hall of Fame career starts and ends at the farm.

“It just gets in your blood, and I would give up coaching before I give up farming,” he says.

Rare Tractor Treasure Symbolizes the Grit And Toil of 7 Generations

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 14:14:48 GMT

2023 Harvest of Thanks is a special edition of both AgDay and U.S. Farm Report. The show helps celebrate and honor traditions, while also sharing stories of gratitude. 2023 Harvest of Thanks is sponsored by Case IH and BASF.

When you think of Virginia Beach, you probably don’t think of row upon row of vegetables, various produce, crops and cattle. For the Cullipher family, the diverse landscape is the foundation that’s now fueling the seventh generation of Cullipher Farm .

From apples to strawberries to “you-pick” pumpkins, the business is the bedrock of a farm that’s changed, evolved and grown. This year, Jeb Cullipher achieved his greatest dream: to start farming on his own.

“If there’s something that makes you curious, you should investigate it. Luckily, I’ve always been curious enough about farming,” he says.

A Love for Farming That’s Contagious

That love for farming is contagious on Cullipher Farm — it’s a love that’s been passed down from Jeb’s dad, Mike, and his granddad, Louis, who are the fifth and sixth generations to farm in the family .

“When I got into college, I worked for the Virginia Department of Transportation and farmed part time. I did that for almost 12 years,” Mike says.

In 1998, Mike and his wife decided it was time to chase his farming dream full-time, and in 2000, he got his chance to carry on a legacy that was built and labored by the generations before him.

“My family was in eastern North Carolina, originally,” says Louis, talking previous generations. “We were sharecroppers, but granddaddy was the landlord. He was very compassionate.”

Louis’ granddad wanted to give his son the opportunity to farm, but with only so much room to grow in the peanut business, Louis’ dad knew he needed to find new opportunities to survive.

“That’s why my daddy got into the vegetable business — sweet potatoes, chickens, hogs and all that. He did that to survive,” Louis says.

“They moved to Virginia right after the war. In 1947, my dad’s mother’s parents got disabled. My great grandfather got sick. My dad’s mother, being the daughter in the family, was told to move home and help take care of her father.”

In 1947, Louis’ parents moved to Virginia. While still farming peanuts back in North Carolina and growing produce in Virginia, he blazed a new path. Years later, just like his father, Louis had an epiphany of his own.

“You wouldn’t know it, but my dad is very creative,” Mike says. “He was delivering to a Whole Foods store and came home one day and told me, ‘They’re going to run us out of business with their marketing ideas, using wooden crates and their displays. The one thing we have they don’t have is we have a farm.’ He then said, ‘We need to figure out a way to get as many people to come to the farm and stay as long as they can. That’s how we can survive.’”

With that, they moved from a wholesale business to 99% retail, with the original farm market located just 4 miles up the road from where they are located now.

“It’s just amazing the appetite people have about how plants have grown, and we have a real good story to tell,” Louis says.

Symbol of the Past: Original Farmall Remained in the Family for Nearly 100 Years

While their story and farm have changed, the one constant has been a special piece of antique iron: an original Farmall that was the first tractor Louis’ granddad ever owned.

“That Farmall represents our legacy — granddad had the foresight to own this kind of tractor, the first one in his county in 1923. That tractor has never been outside the family,” Louis says.

Louis’ Wish for the Next 100 Years

It’s a rare treasure that represents nearly a century of change and growth, as Louis reflects on his one wish for the next 100 years.

“If I could come back 100 years from now, I hope we’ve grown, we’ve got to change,” he says.

Mike says he cherishes his family’s past, and his father’s foresight to fuel change 16 years ago.

“With Jeb’s new cattle business, we’re doing the same thing my grandfather and great grandfather did. We’re changing, but at the same time, we’re really not changing. We’re going forward, but we’re also going backward at the same time,” Mike says.

Grateful for Six Generations of Toil and Change

The Farmall from the 1920s will continue to be a tribute to the past, but also a nod to what’s allowed the seventh generation to grow. For that, Jeb is grateful.

“I really can’t express that enough,” Jeb says. “I’m very grateful to the both of them, but especially my father. He’s really given me a lot of opportunity at a young age to develop my own unique interest and passion.”

“And I got that from my dad,” Mike says. “His thing was, ‘If you think it’s a good idea and we can afford to do it, then do it.’”

Reigniting a Passion to Farm in the Older Generations

As Jeb wraps up his first year of carving out his own operation with cattle, it’s also reigniting the passion in Mike.

“One of my dad’s oldest friends always said that when you lose a spark, you need to quit and go home. If you lose your spark, you’re in trouble,” Mike says. “Jeb kind of got my spark going again.”

As for Louis, he couldn’t be more proud that their Virginia Beach farm is where Jeb wants to be, the seventh generation to carry on the family’s farming legacy.

“Jeb would be successful in anything he chose, but we’re certainly glad he selected farming,” Louis says.

Harvesting the Good Life: Pennsylvania Farmer Continues to Run Silage Chopper at 96 Years Old

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 20:16:09 GMT

Under a grey overcast sky, a mist is falling, coating every step as Paul Dotterer grabs the ladder rails of his Claas Jaguar 900. He throws his cane to the top platform and wills his knees into position on the damp metal rungs. Sturdy arms, flex with a lifetime of experience, as he pulls himself to the top of each step and eventually into the captain’s chair.

“I spent a lot of hours in this thing,” Dotterer says as he grabs the controls. “We got this new in 2001.”

He turns the key and the machine roars to life one more time. He won’t get much done in these muddy fields today, but he’ll move it into position to start chopping once the rows dry out.

“Now a days we can take a harvester out and do in an hour what used to take you two weeks,” chuckles Dotterer as his eyes survey the Nittany Valley in Pennsylvania.

At 96 years young, Paul has been harvesting these fields for decades and he’s still running hard.

“He still drives and so he’ll run for parts or whatever,” says son John Dotterer. “I think that he does pretty well for 96.”

“I like to drive my truck and my boys send me everywhere,” adds Paul. “I’m here or there to get stuff. I’m the gopher.”

A Difficult Path

Paul and his wife Jean were married in 1949. A couple of years later, with help from his father-in-law they bought a small 15 cow dairy farm in Mill Hall, PA for $12,500.

“Before I even got married, I said I’ll never marry a farmer because I was raised on a farm,” laughs Jean now 93. “We did well. It was a lot of work but the kids helped when they got older.”

Together they tackled the chores. Paul handled the farming, custom harvesting, milk hauling and machinery work. Jean did most of the milking in those early years.

“My biggest asset was my wife,” Paul says with heartfelt admiration. “She helped me so much and if wouldn’t have been for her I don’t know if I’d made it.”

Together the family and the farm grew.

“We always laugh about how years ago our Surge dealer said one day you might get as high as 35 cows,” says granddaughter Katie Dotterer. “I’m literally standing where there’s 1200 cows that are milked three times a day every day.”

Today, 3 generations work together with a continuous focus on making this a diversified business. Through the years the Dotterers have found success in everything from custom fieldwork, to hauling milk, running an Allis-Chalmers equipment dealership, and now agritourism.

“My brother started a sunflower maize and got into selling sweet corn,” says granddaughter and dairy feed manager Lori Butler. “We have a lot of custom businesses and aren’t all in one business which is a good thing financially.”

Balancing all of these moving parts has always been a challenge.

“We just always try not to spend any more we absolutely have to,” adds son Larry Dotterer. “Sometimes I think we trip over a lot of dollars to pick up nickels.”

That frugality, a gift from family heads, Paul and Jean, continues to pay dividends.

“I just have to keep pinching myself because I think things are going too well sometimes,” says son John Dotterer with a smirk. “It’s fun and it’s better than a real job.”

As the third generation finds their feet, this well-oiled operation is hoping to build on its solid foundation.

“We’ve cobbled things up just to get through some hard times but we’re now getting to the phase of the farm where we’re going to redo and remodel some dairy barns,” says grandson Douglas Dotterer.

Today’s growing and modern farm isn’t lost on Paul. He knows building this business now would be much more difficult.

“If [young people] want to get into it today they better have a lot of money, a lot of effort and a lot of ambition,” says Paul. “It won’t come easy.”

A Viral Sensation

Back in August, dressed in his work whites on day 1 of harvest, his granddaughter, Lori handed him a sign and snapped a photo.

“I was like Pop we’re just going to do a quick photo,” recalls Butler. “He was just, we’re doing what? So, we took that quick photo and it kind of just blew up.”

A glimmer of glee twinkled in his eye as Paul wrapped his hands around a plaque most often used in those ambitious back-to-school photos.

“It’s just the look on my grandfather’s face,” says Katie. “You can just tell how happy he is.”

That joy, proudly posed in front of his Jaguar 900 found its way to social media and burned a viral path across the internet. His story and pure zeal for harvest on full display as the comments and shares poured in.

“I never won any prizes for my good looks,” laughs Paul.

“He can’t put in the hours he used to, but I think it would literally kill him if he couldn’t come here every day,” says Katie. “The farm is what keeps him going and this has been his passion his entire life.”

A Lifetime of Lessons

With the hustle of harvest on pause today, Paul takes time to reflect and appreciate the quiet moments.

“It’s just unbelievable the amount of change that has come in my lifetime,” he reflects. “The equipment makes a big difference in what we do and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It used to be a lot of sweat and a lot of tears. Now, it’s just sitting in an air-conditioned cab.”

After a lifetime of sharing, his team continues to turn the lessons Paul taught them into action. When asked what they’ve learned from his example, the pattern is clear.

“Don’t take anything for granted and work hard,” says Douglas.

“When the sun shines, make hay and if you have weather, move, move, move,” adds John.

“Enjoy your vacations, but come back ready to work,” laughs Lori.

“Do what you got to do, and the cows come first,” follows Larry.

If you ask Paul what he’s learned from his decades amid the rows and amongst the cows.

“You just learn to appreciate what you’ve got,” says Paul. “Some year’s harvest wasn’t near what we’d like to have, while in other years it would be plentiful.”

As he drives toward his next field and his next harvest he might be slowing down, a little.

“I had to take his motorcycle from three years ago,” adds Larry. “No, really!”

Paul will tell you he’s nowhere near his final pass.

“I’m convinced if you like what you do, don’t sit down when you retire,” John says reflecting on his father’s legacy. “You won’t last long.”

Watch More Harvest of Thanks Stories:

Rare Tractor Treasure Kept By Virginia Family For Nearly 100 Years Symbolizes the Grit And Toil of 7 Generations

Hall of Fame Football Coach Credits Indiana Farm Roots

For more human interest stories, read:

Creston, Iowa Orchestrates Ultimate Harvest of Thanks for Fellow Farmer

Sat, 26 Nov 2022 15:29:40 GMT

Paul Baker was a man of faith. Raising row crops and cattle in Creston, Iowa, he was known for his love for farming and people.

“My mom and my sister and I spent five days with him in the hospital, which in a way was a really beautiful way to get to spend some time with him, and he shared with us he’s only missed mass twice, and one of those times was the Sunday before he died; he made us go,” says Melissa Baker, Paul’s oldest daughter, as she laughed while also holding back tears.

Paul was a devout Catholic whose faith flourished even on days his health was slowly fading away.

“Being honest, he’s just a tough, tough old farmer,” says Melissa. ‘And I’m like, ‘Dad, I think you need to go to the doctor,’ and he’s like, ‘No, I don’t need to go to the doctor’ or don’t even have a doctor. So, I truly believe he waited as long as he possibly could because he’s so tough.”

It all started last December when the family thought he had Covid or a cold. What they thought was long-haulers from Covid just wouldn’t go away, with physical signs Paul’s health wasn’t 100%.

“He finally got over part of it, but it just never was a full recovery,” says Meredith Wulf, Paul’s youngest daughter.

From weight loss to becoming out of breath easier, there were physical signs Paul wasn’t well, but what they didn’t know until just five days before Paul passed, is he was suffering from something much more severe.

“We’d been there for a couple of days, and then he was diagnosed with cancer,” says Meredith. “So, it was very quick. I think the diagnosis came through on a Tuesday, and he passed away that Thursday.

A man who had never smoked a day in his life had lymphoma that had turned into lung cancer.

“I know he didn’t want to be in a hospital, and this is why we think it was so quick. We think he just waited till he couldn’t,” says Melissa. “He was ready. He was a very faith filled man. And he would never have wanted to come home and be on oxygen and take treatments that just wasn’t him that was not living for him. “

Looking back, his daughters say they now see signs that their dad knew his health would be tested this year. Even with Paul not feeling well, he always put others before himself.

“He didn’t buy cattle this year. I mean, there were just some things he didn’t do this year, and he seemed to kind of know [he was sick] and he would never want to burden us with any of that,” says Melissa.

A man who always put others before himself, was a sudden and deep loss not only for the family but the entire community of Creston, Iowa.

“There’s other people in the community who knew something was going on,” says John Baker, Paul’s brother and fellow farmer. “I had a neighbor show up that week and said, ‘I’m going to run some of your beans’, and thank God he did. I got to spend Wednesday at the hospital with John.

Paul’s brother John finished harvesting soybeans the day before Paul died, but with corn still left in the field, the community didn’t skip a beat. Fellow farmers, both nearby and from miles away, orchestrated a beautiful final harvest for a man who lived a life of integrity and truth.

“It was a great effort from the community. We had people from 20 miles away. Paul was very respected. There’s a lot of people who came,” says Don Wulf, Paul’s son-in-law.

It all happened a week after Paul passed. Nearly 25 combines and 38 trucks, plus tractors and grain carts, came together for a touching tribute. The outpouring of support for Paul was remarkable, with the group harvesting 600 acres at five separate farms in only four hours.

“Everything worked like clockwork,” says Melissa. “There were teams, and we’ll share the spreadsheet with you, but they had captains, and there were five teams. So, it was quite organized. “

“It was incredible,” says Don who was able to combine that day with his daughters, and Paul’s granddaughters, also in the cab of the combine. “No, we weren’t surprised. Anybody that lives here knows how wonderful this community is. And the people that showed up that day. It was very overwhelming, but in an amazing way.”

The harvest wasn’t just a tribute to Paul as a farmer and friend, it was also a reminder to his family of just how loved Paul truly was.

“Very loved, very well respected,” adds Don. “There is there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for anybody. And they return the favor that day.”

As the entire family witnessed farmers salute Paul that day, it was a humbling harvest of thanks, and one for which they are grateful.

“We love you. And thank you,” says Meredith. “Our family is eternally grateful for what you did, and dad, he’s just up there shaking his head that whole day we thought like just in disbelief, because he was a very humble person as well. But thank you. And we are so blessed to be in this community.”

Paul’s wife, Lynn Baker, is grateful for the community and everyone who’s reached out since. The couple had been married just three days shy of 46 years when Paul passed away, and she says she’s truly thankful for everything the community did not only that day, but the outpouring of support and notes since Paul’s passing,

“I would like to say thank you and people have come up to me after this has been all over and said, were you surprised? And I say, ‘No,’ says Lynn. “When the kids were little, we would go somewhere and when we were going home, he would say, ‘I’m taking you to the best place on earth, and the kids would be all excited like Disney World or something. We would drive back into the driveway, and he say, ‘Here we are.’ And it’s true. I just want to thank everyone for everything they did.”

Paul lived a life of serving the community through an intense passion and faith, which is why John knows next year, Paul will be along for the ride from planting to harvest.

“He’ll be there,” says John.

From Paul’s morning text messages to the way he always knew the right thing to say, Paul’s memory will live on through acts of kindness in Creston, Iowa, a community that cares with the ultimate harvest of thanks.