Across the Acres

Keith Yarke | Sauk Centre | Stearns County

Tell us about your farm and the crops you raise. I farm here with my mom, Sarah, and my sister, Jayna. We have 220 acres and 20 steers. We also sell some alfalfa hay. We have a lot of woods, so during the winter, I spend a lot of time cutting and splitting wood. We use that to heat the house, garage and work shop. We farm 220 acres, and we raise corn, alfalfa and meadow grass. I am the second generation on this farm that our family bought in 1975.

What kind of equipment maintenance do you do before spring fieldwork starts? We change oil on the three tractors that we do a majority of the fieldwork with. I grease all the tillage equipment, and I also check the points on the digger.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of spring fieldwork for you? I just like being able to get in the field and doing the fieldwork. I like seeing wildlife like the deer, turkey and coyotes when I am working in the field.

Tell us about a unique spring field work memory you have. I once got stuck with a full load of manure and had to walk to the neighbors to get pulled out. At that time, I didn’t have a cell phone.

Jerome Hanson | Hoffman | Grant County

Tell us about your farm and the crops you raise? We are a fourth-generation farm in west Central Minnesota. We raise 900 acres of corn and soybeans. We also do custom strip tilling in the fall. Along with my wife, we raised our three children on our farm that we took over in 1986. We continued to raise corn and soybeans, and for three years, we fed out feeder pigs. We made money in the first year, but not so much in the next two years. That fall, when the last pig left the farm, I went to auction school in Mankato and became an auctioneer. A few years later, my wife, Natalie, became a Minnesota State Trooper. Between the farm, auctions, Natalie’s job and three children, we were plenty busy. We felt very blessed to be able to raise our children in beautiful country and on a farm. Our son, Hunter, is very active with the farm. He is also employed with Midwest Machinery Co., our local John Deere dealership, as a precision specialist. This has been a huge asset to our farm, as he keeps up with new technology. Two years ago, we invested in strip tillage. This has been a huge learning experience, and, so far, we are happy with the results. It is very humbling when you know all that you have worked for will continue in the family.

What kind of equipment maintenance do you do before spring fieldwork starts? As spring approaches, I begin to check over the equipment for worn parts and bad bearings. The tractors get oil changes and are greased. The sprayer gets calibrated. We are also on a John Deere equipment inspection program with Midwest Machinery Co. The shop goes through the equipment and makes any needed repairs. Finally, the equipment gets a good cleaning.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of spring fieldwork for you? Planting. Planting is the last step of spring fieldwork until spraying. It is a rewarding experience to put that seed into the thoroughly-tilled soil and take pride in your straight rows.

Tell us about a unique spring field work memory you have. This is not necessarily a good memory but unique. On April 26, 1984, my father and I were working in a field south of the homestead. It was a beautiful, calm day with blue skies, but we were watching a dark low cloud to the south. The cloud looked like it was approximately 10 miles wide. A weather announcement warned to take shelter, as this was a dangerous storm and would be over Hoffman in just a few minutes. We took off across the field in “road gear” and left the tractors on the edge of the field, believing them to be safe there. We arrived at the house and grabbed my mother and drove away from the storm. About half an hour later, we went back to the farm, thinking the worst had happened, but we were fortunate to have had little damage. However, our neighbor to the west had taken shelter in the basement with their two young sons, and when the storm was over, they looked up and saw blue skies. The storm had taken their house. Their farm worker was not able to make it to the house, so he rode the storm out in his car. When the storm had cleared, he looked out and saw cows standing in their stanchions with the barn gone from around them. The car he had been sitting in stayed put, but the car parked next to him got picked up and thrown 300 feet and landed 20 feet up in a tree. The storm had the same results on several farms sites, but yet there were no serious injuries. The angels were with us that April day. I will never forget that black cloud.

Matt Schliep | Holloway | Swift County

Tell us about your farm and the crops you raise. I farm here with my mom, Denise, and we farm 600 acres. This year, we will plant 300 acres of soybeans and corn. I am the fifth generation on the farm that was started in 1872. I always helped on the farm and started renting my own land and bought my own beef herd when I was 15 years old. We have 40 Red Angus cow-calf pairs. I am slowly trying to grow the herd. I feed out my bull calves as well.

What kind of equipment maintenance do you do before spring fieldwork starts? We grease everything, change oil on the tractors, and check everything over and look for potential problems and fix them before they happen. That includes wheel bearings and hydraulic hoses and making sure the opening discs have the right gap.

What is the most enjoyable aspect of spring fieldwork for you? When the crop comes up, you can see the rows. It’s nice to see that everything is growing.

Tell us about a unique spring field work memory you have. The first time I no-tilled corn into a nice green cover crop. It was something new that I had never done before. I was probably one of the first farmers in the area to do it. I got a lot of questions on it, but it worked pretty well.