Generations of growing

KENYON — For Max Mattson, time spent in the fields, the barn or his office at Ag Partners is time well-spent.

Mattson is a multi-generation farmer. His family celebrated being honored as a sesquicentennial farm in 2022. He said one of his main goals is to keep the farm going and in the family for years to come, even though that can be challenging.

Mattson is also the location manager at Ag Partners in Kenyon, where he oversees operations and works with a handful of growers in the area. He began working with the cooperative in high school, and after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls four years ago, he has taken on a managerial position.

“You learn a lot about agronomics when you’re working with it every day,” Mattson said. “I enjoy my job, and it helps at home on the farm when I’m able to see what other people are doing on a broader scale, … what’s working, what’s not working.”

Mattson lives on the home farm, where his grandparents, Bernie and Donna, raised their family and milked cows for 49 years. Today, Mattson and his parents, Jeff and Jeannie, farm 600 acres of corn and soybeans. Mattson also feeds out a handful of dairy steers for processing each year.

“It can get challenging at times because the really busy times at work are also when we’re busy at home,” Mattson said. “We all put in some late nights, but we make do.”

Both of Mattson’s parents live in town and commute daily for work. Jeff works full time at Minneapolis airport, and Jeannie works full time at the Mayo Clinic, where Mattson’s sister, Megan, also works full time. Getting spring planting and fall harvest done effectively and efficiently becomes a team effort, one Megan and Mattson’s girlfriend, Avery, also lend a hand with.

Working with farmers at Ag Partners helps keep things in perspective, Mattson said.

“I enjoy interacting with farmers every day,” he said. “They understand and appreciate that we each could be going through something of the same nature at our farms.”

Mattson’s memories of helping his grandparents in the barn with the dairy cattle while he was growing up are ones he treasures the most, he said. Fieldwork with his grandpa and dad come in as a close second.

“I remember, I was mad when they sold off the cows, but looking back, it was the right call,” Mattson said. “At the time and to this day, it’s tough for a small dairy to survive. They sold the cows in 2012, and my parents helped transition the farm focus to row crop farming.”

Bernie was one of seven siblings. He died in 2021, reuniting with Donna, who had died two months earlier. Mattson said he is now the last Mattson boy to carry on the namesake. Carrying on the farm and the family name is an honor for Mattson, he said.

“If it weren’t for my grandparents, I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to keep farming,” Mattson said. “I am grateful my parents helped to keep it going because, without them, … between the price of land, rent and machinery costs, and the price of inputs, it wouldn’t be feasible.”

Mattson said that while they do not operate with all the latest equipment and technology, he can be thankful for the line of well-maintained equipment his grandpa and dad have taken care of over the years. Being frugal helps since the price of corn is always fluctuating. This year’s yields are weighing above average, which helps the bottom line, he said.

Mattson does the majority of the combining, while his father unloads wagons, manages the grain dryer and handles the tillage once combining is done. Because spring is a busy time for Mattson at work, his dad handles a lot of the spring planting and tillage as well.

“My mom calls herself the ‘farm Uber,’” Mattson said. “She’s the one shuffling us around.”

The Mattsons can store a good portion of their grain on-site and haul to the elevators in Wanamingo or Kenyon, Red Wing Grain LLC, or to the ethanol plant in Claremont when they need to.

“Fall gets to be long,” Mattson said. “I try to get up every day with a positive attitude and remember what Grandpa and Dad would say, … ‘It always works out in the end.’”

Mattson looks to his future with the generational wisdom of knowing that farming a small amount of acreage without having a full-time job off the farm is not an option. He said he hopes to steadily grow, and, as a professional in the industry, he knows there is not an abundance of young farmers as fortunate as he is.

“I know this is what my grandpa would have wanted,” Mattson said. “They were a big part of my life growing up. Grandpa got me involved in farming. … I plan to work hard to keep it going and keep it in the family.”