A Butterfield farmer is the new state executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in Minnesota.

Kurt Blomgren was appointed to the post on May 5.
Blomgren is a fourth-generation family farmer from Butterfield, currently operating a diversified crop and livestock farm with his son, Vance, and family.

Blomgren has been a member of the Minnesota Farm Bureau for the last 27 years. He has served on the Watonwan County Farm Bureau board of directors, served for three years on the Minnesota Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee and was a member of the state resolutions committee.

In his local community, he is a volunteer firefighter, Sunday school teacher and mentor to local urban youth who have livestock projects at his farm.

In his new position, Blomgren is responsible for overseeing the delivery of FSA programs to agricultural producers in Minnesota. These commodity, conservation, credit and disaster assistance programs are designed to ensure a safe, affordable, abundant and nutritious food, fiber and fuel supply for all Americans.

“FSA state executive directors serve in a critical role carrying out USDA’s mission at the state level — ensuring that our focus is on meeting the needs of local agricultural producers by putting farmers and ranchers first,” said FSA Administrator Bill Beam.

“Rural communities need our support now more than ever. Our newly appointed state leaders bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to their position as SED, and they will play an integral role in shaping the future of agriculture in their state.”

FSA is dedicated to helping America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners invest in, improve, protect and expand their agricultural operations through the delivery of agricultural programs for all Americans.

FSA implements agricultural policy, administers credit and loan programs and manages conservation, commodity, disaster recovery and marketing programs through a national network of state and county offices and locally elected county committees.

Sirrina Martinez
Multimedia reporter
smartinez@pipestonestar.com

Northwest of Woodstock, you will find the farm of Brian and Liz Winsel, a local family with a history of agricultural roots. Brian grew up just two and a half miles from the site he purchased in 2004, helping his parents, Ken and Barb Winsel, who had a farrow-to-finish operation for sows. Across the road, his grandfather had stock cows, and Brian spent a lot of time working and learning from his grandfather and father.

After graduating from high school, he went to South Dakota State University in Brookings and received a two-year degree in general agriculture education. During his time at SDSU he was able to come home and continue to farm, and he always knew that’s what he would end up doing after finishing his college education, Brian said.

“I grew up a farm boy. I was always helping on the farm growing up,” he said. “I guess I kind of knew when I went to college that I was going to be back on the farm. My grandpa lived right across the road from my dad, he kind of helped me get into farming and he wanted to see me come back and farm because I was the last Winsel boy there to take over.”

Today, Brian still works alongside his father, farming around 1,000 acres of corn, soybeans, or alfalfa. Although the pair has their own fields, they still team up to get the job done, Brian said.
“We always work together and have certain fields that are mine and certain fields that are his, but we just work together and get them planted and harvested,” Brian said.

Brian’s main operation is sheep, and his 900 head of ewes keep him busy, in addition to the spring and fall hustle of planting and harvesting. He also has 80 head of stock cows that he is in the process of calving out at the moment.

His business partner, Bryan Kruse, who has a percentage of the sheep and cattle, helps with the sheep and cattle in the lambing season when it is “all hands on deck,” Brian said.

“He’s there for the morning shift and I’ve got the night shift and we just make it all work,” he said.
Reflecting on where he started and where he is now in his operation, Brian acknowledged that success and growth take time, hard work, and patience.
“You know, we have 900 ewes, but that was kind of a growing phase,” he said. “I’ve had sheep for about 20 years now, and the first year you get 100, the second year you get 200, and the next year you have 400. It was a growing phase. We have been up to 1,000 ewes before. It is a lot of work, and as my kids are getting older and into more activities, it is kind of nice to not have to lamb as many so that I can still take a little bit of time and go to some of their activities.”

Liz works at the courthouse in Pipestone in the assessor’s office, and Brian also serves on the Rock Township Board.

Brian and Liz’s three children, Aurora, 17, Harper, 14, and Monte, 12, are active in sports, band, 4-H, FFA, and other activities. Despite their full schedules, during the busy seasons when they are not involved in those activities, they are helping Brian around the farm.

“The kids help out in the lambing season,” he said. “I enjoy when they are out there, when they are helping, if they are able to. I am able to show them new things with the animals and even with equipment. We have different equipment now that runs itself, and I get to show Monte how to do that, and he’s happy to do it. It’s a good feeling that they are learning a little bit about the farm life.”

While he hopes the farm will stay in the family, Brian wants his children to do what makes them happy. However, if they do want to stay in the family business, there will be room for them when they are ready, Brian said.

“I guess time will tell, I’m not going to push anybody into farming,” he said. “If they want to come back and farm, they’re more than welcome to.”
Recognizing that having the opportunity to grow up on the farm, he feels blessed to have had the chance to experience the lifestyle and to also bring his children up in such an environment.

“I was really fortunate that I had my grandparents and my mom and dad were behind me in getting back into the farm and creating an opportunity for me,” he said. “My grandpa got out of the stock cows, which allowed me to get in. He helped me in using some of his equipment, and my dad too. I am very thankful that I was able to do so.”

Sirrina Martinez
Multimedia reporter
smartinez@pipestonestar.com

If you head southeast of Lake Benton you’ll come upon the farm of Dale and Cheryl Johnson. If you’re not sure if you are at the right house, just look for two faces with a warm smile offering welcoming words.

Dale was born on the farm and grew up helping his father there who moved to the site in 1947. He graduated from South Dakota State University with an animal science degree and began farming in 1974, taking over the farm when he and Cheryl married in 1982.

A Pipestone native, Cheryl who earned a degree in elementary education from the University of Minnesota Moorhead, chose to stay home for 10-years to raise children and help Dale out around the farm. She then went back to teaching at the school in Lake Benton, where she substituted for elementary classes for around 15 years.

The couple had three children: Matt, Leslie, and Nathan. Leslie (Burns) lives in White, S.D., with her husband Rob and their two children, and Matt lives in Tea, S.D., with his wife, Tory and their two children. Sadly, Nathan lost his life in a car accident in 2003 before his high school graduation.

Despite their loss, Nathan, who intended to take over the farm from his parents, has a legacy that lives on with his family and the farm.

Like his father, Dale started out farrowed pigs and had a farrow-to-finish operation.

“I had a farrow-to-finish for a while, and then I farrowed isoweans,” he said. “I built a farrowing barn in 1991, I think, and then in 1993, I built the gestation barn. I was farrowing close to 200 sows.” The Johnsons continued to raise pigs up until 2003.

They also have around 658 tillable acres that they plant. In addition to raising swine, the Johnsons have raised cattle from the start of the operation, and they had a few other animals on the site, including horses.

“My dad grew up with horses, and so we had horses,” he said. “But now we are pretty much concentrating on the cow-calf operation.”
In 2011, the Johnsons decided to bring Heath Houselog, a neighbor and friend, into their operation to take over when they are ready to retire eventually. At this time, there is no set date for their retirement.

“I enjoy what I’m doing, I enjoy working,” he said, “I’ve always said you need to have something to get up for in the morning.”

The Johnsons feel good about passing on the family farm to another family rather than a larger operation.

“I like the legacy of passing it on to somebody who I know rather than somebody that I don’t know,” he said. “I still have a connection with it with all the work that I’ve accomplished throughout the years. The simplest would have been to sell it off to somebody on a farm sale and quit. This is a way to carry on the legacy through Heath. This way I can always come back and visit and feel good about what he has done.”

These days, Cheryl is still taking care of things around the house and Dale is indulging in his creative side with woodworking projects while still helping Heath with the transition. He has completed various projects including restoring an old buggy, and currently, he is working on a spring bench.

“I will sometimes wake up thinking of ways to make things,” he said.

The couple also has season tickets to Jackrabbits football and basketball, a team they diligently support. They also spend as much time as they can with their grandchildren.

The best thing about being on the farm, Dale said, is the variety of experiences.

“No day is the same; some days can be more challenging than others.”

“It’s a good place to raise kids,” Cheryl said. “It teaches them responsibility and gives them something to do.”

“You can also go out and get the mail in your underwear if you wanted to,” Dale chuckled.
“We don’t get much traffic out here,” Cheryl said with a big smile.

When they are finally ready to transition from the farm, Dale and Cheryl are leaving their options open, with definite plans to spend more time with their children and grandchildren. Brookings may be an option for relocation because of how much closer it is to their children and, of course, to Jackrabbit games. Travel will be a part of their plans, with Alaska being a bucket list item.

Wherever the Johnsons go, their warm and friendly personalities will forever be remembered by the community of Lake Benton.