From 12 cows to a lasting legacy

AUSTIN — Darrell and Joy Oudekirk began dairy farming in 1971 with 12 cows and milk cans. Today, the Oudekirk family has 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans, and the farm is operated by Darrell and Joy’s sons, Curtis and Larry Oudekirk, under the name Oudekirk Brothers.

The Oudekirk family was recently named the 2026 Mower County Farm Family of the Year.

“We were all surprised,” Curtis said. “I don’t think any of us even knew we were nominated.”

Joy and Darrell had attended Minnesota Farmfest once before, but they never imagined they would one day receive an award there.

“I thought, ‘How can that be?’” Joy said. “I just didn’t think we were a big enough operation.”

Though the Oudekirks got their start through dairy farming, they decided to sell the cows in 1982.

“It was either we switch from milk cans to a bulk tank or sell the cows,” Joy said. “It didn’t make sense for us to put a tank in for only a few cows.”

Curtis and Larry represent the fourth generation of farmers on both Darrell and Joy’s sides of the family.

“It is great to see the boys carry on the family tradition,” Joy said.

Off the farm, the Oudekirk family has been a pillar of the community.

Darrell served on the Dexter Township board for 35 years. During many of those years, he was responsible for plowing snow from township roads.

“I would have to go out to push snow,” Darrell said. “Then, it would drift, and then, I would have to repeat the process.”

In the past, Joy has also served on boards for the local Red Cross and Mower County Farmers Mutual Insurance Co.

She has also had the opportunity to help with hurricane disaster relief. One of her most memorable experiences was in Florida, where a small sugarcane farming community got destroyed.

“We would get addresses of homes to visit to give them money or cards to get clothing and food,” Joy said. “Most of the street signs were gone, so if we hadn’t had a local driving us, we would’ve never known where to go.”

While growing up, Curtis and Larry were involved in FFA, along with their two other siblings, Pamela and Chris. While Curtis and Larry continued farming, Pamela and Chris took the skills they learned growing up on the farm to get jobs off the farm. Pamela works in Washington County, and Chris owns his own construction company near Oslo.

“They both went to national FFA competitions for farm mechanics,” Joy said of Curtis and Larry. “Now, they’re able to use those skills on their own farm.”

Larry went to vocational school after high school to learn more about diesel mechanics. The brothers can fix all their own equipment.

Curtis stayed home and continued farming while also having a job off the farm.

Together, the brothers have worked diligently to build their operation. In 2000, they built a hog finisher barn and finished over 2,500 hogs at a time. As their crop operation continued to expand, the farm eventually grew to 4,000 acres. The brothers finished their last hogs in 2008.

Curtis and Larry both have children, but so far, they have not chosen to farm. For Curtis, farming may have simply skipped a generation.

“My granddaughter is 5, and she rides in the tractors,” Curtis said. “She always tells me she wants to be a farmer when she grows up.”