University of Minnesota Farm Family Recognition Program names 2024 recipients (2024)

REDWOOD FALLS — The University of Minnesota Farm Family Recognition Program honors farm families from throughout Minnesota for their significant contributions to the agriculture industry and their local communities.

Coordinated by University of Minnesota Extension, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine, the program has honored Minnesota farmers since 1979.

The 2024 Farm Families of the Year were recognized at the Farmfest trade show earlier this week at the Gilfillan Estate near Redwood Falls.

The entire list of 2024 Farm Families of the Year can be found online at extension.umn.edu/farm-families.

The following families from area counties were among those chosen for recognition this year:

David and Katie Webster's farm is a first-generation farm that the couple started together in 2015.

Soon after purchasing their farm, the Websters built a custom feedlot that averages 100 head of beef cattle. David, who grew up just outside of Ortonville, is the farm's main operator; Katie assists whenever and wherever she can.

Along with raising beef cattle, David has since left the Bellingham Elevator after 14 years and is in his second year of crop farming. David is also one of the Odessa Township supervisors and does all the snow removal and road grading for the township.

Katie, who is originally from Graceville, started a cleaning business in 2018. When not working, she helps with moving equipment, delivering meals to the fields and whatever else needs to be done.

David and Katie have two daughters, Kylie and Hannah. Both girls have their farm chores and help wherever they can. The girls are also involved in gymnastics, volleyball and softball.

Hilbrands Cattle Company, near Clara City in Chippewa County, was established in July 2013 with the marriage of Mark Hilbrands and Amanda Eberspacher. Mark purchased his first black Simmental from 4E Simmentals in 1992 and started using embryo transfer in 1996. Amanda grew up with club calves but was heavily involved in the Simmental industry due to her parents' sale management business. She bought her first purebred Simmental show heifer from Triple C Farms in 1999.

Mark and Amanda purchased JF Ebonys Joy 479P "Hope" together in the spring of 2005, which started the HS/AJE partnership. The combination of the two herds has grown into an elite operation with a huge emphasis on cow families. The couple's daughter, Kinslee Hope, joined the family in April 2015 and shares in the passion of raising great cattle.

Mark and Amanda are graduates of South Dakota State University; they run around 160 head of purebred and percentage Simmental cattle with extensive use of embryo transfer. They host the Jewels of the Northland Production Sale on the first Saturday in December and the Passion for Perfection Spring Sale on the second Saturday in April. Embryos are always available, and bulls are for sale by private treaty. Corn is grown locally for silage.

Mark and Amanda are the owner/operators of Hilbrands Cattle Company and Kinslee gladly lends a hand wherever and whenever she can.

The Hilbrands are members of Bethany Church, where Mark served as a deacon for many years and Amanda currently serves on the worship committee. Amanda was also on the Chippewa County Extension advisory committee from 2014-2022. Both are members and have served on the board of the Minnesota Simmental Association. They are current members of the American Simmental Association.

Harlan Madsen’s dad began farming in 1931, at age 11. He plowed the farm with horses and a Farmall F-12. Eldridge Dairy started when a barn was built in 1941 that housed horses, calves and the first dairy cows. The early farm consisted of hay, pasture and a variety of grain crops. Harlan’s parents were married in 1946 and added hogs, turkeys, and sheep to the dairy operation; however, in the early 1960s only the cows remained. Harlan’s mom continued with her teaching career (and farming) for nearly 50 years. Harlan left teaching in 1974 to return to farming and the dairy enterprise of 44 cows.

Harlan and his wife, Julie, have three children, Janelle, Greg and Kari. All have been very involved in the farm. Harlan rented some land and did custom work to supplement his income. An additional 480 acres were purchased. In 2021, after some continuing health issues, Harlan sold 240 acres and retired from his role as a Kandiyohi County commissioner, a position he held for 26 years. In 2004, Greg and Harlan built a 100-cow, free-stall barn and continued milking until the herd was dispersed in 2023. Julie retired in 2015 after 22 years as a preschool paraprofessional and continued to assist with the dairy cows. Janelle and Harlan did morning chores and Greg did evening chores and fieldwork; daughter Kari helped out whenever she had a chance. Harlan and Julie still have two goats, one donkey and two horses to care for daily.

Harlan still farms corn and beans on their 420 acres. He uses minimum tillage with cover crops and works closely with his crop consultant on scouting, nutrient and pest management, and variety selection. The Madsens’ youngest grandson loves to help. The Madsens participate in Conservation Reserve Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program initiatives. The plan is to install some pollinator gardens this year. The family has installed three 40-kilowatt solar units.

Julie and Harlan celebrated 55 years of marriage in June. Their three children each are busy with their families and their many activities.

The Madsens are active in their church. Harlan has served as a Soil and Water Conservation District and co-op board member for several years. Julie has volunteered many hours at school and church to assist with youth activities. She also had most of their grandkids as students in preschool classes, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Harold and Bethel Mork started the family’s farm in 1942. In 1968, their son Donn joined the operation with his wife, Sue. In 1992, Donn and Sue’s son Chris and his wife, Patti, joined the operation. Two years later Donn and Sue’s son Matthew and his wife, Jennifer, joined. In 2011, Donn and Sue’s grandson Austin and his wife, Kimberly, became part of the Mork Family Farm.

The Mork family grows corn and soybeans and custom-finish cattle in a deep-pitted monoslope barn.

Chris is a full-time farmer and Patti helps with meals, moving equipment, and running for parts. She is also a fifth-grade teacher in Dawson. Austin farms full-time and his wife, Kim, works at Greater Community Credit Union in Dawson. She also helps with various jobs around the farm. Austin and Kim have three children, Sophie, Maddie and Heath. Chris and Patti’s daughter Hailey is a music therapist in Alexandria and helps when she is home.

Matt farms full time and his wife, Jen, is a kindergarten teacher in Dawson. She helps on the farm with meals, moving equipment and running for parts. They have two children, Ella and Evan, who help in the spring and fall.

The Morks are members of the Midwest Cattlemen’s Association. Austin is a member of Farmers for Dawson.

Crow River Farms was purchased in 1976 by Winton and Kristine Nelson. A year later, an irrigation system was installed. In 1980, the family built a 4,000-head farrow-to-finish hog operation, which operated for 10 years.

Currently, Crow River Farms is a diversified cash grain farm producing corn for ethanol, food-grade soybeans for export, and organic crops that include alfalfa and fresh market sweet corn for stands in Litchfield and Dassel.

Winton and Kristine are the owner/operators of the farm. Their daughter, Stephanie, and her husband, Darin Hansen, and the couple’s daughter, Sara Nelson, are partners in the operation. Stephanie and Darin’s son, Darik, and his girlfriend, Lizzi Koivisto, are also partners in Crow River Farms.

The Nelson family are members of First Lutheran Church in Litchfield. They are members of the Meeker County Corn Growers Association and the Heartland Ethanol Plant. Winton was also a 15-year vocational ag instructor at Litchfield High School.

The Vold family farm was homesteaded in 1899 by Anna and Elling Vold. It was a diverse farm consisting of dairy cows, hogs, laying chickens and row crops. The Volds were early adopters of technology. Cows were milked by hand, then buckets and a step saver, followed by a pipeline and milk cooler. As the farm evolved, the Volds focused on dairy cows and exited the hogs and chickens.

In 1994, the Volds expanded from 48 milk cows (mostly Guernsey) in a tie-stall barn to 300 Holstein cows housed in a six-row, free stall facility and milked in a double-8 herringbone milking parlor. An S corporation was formed for estate planning purposes to make it easier to transfer the farm from the third to the fourth generation of the family.

Today, the Vold farm is known as Dorrich Dairy Inc. (from DORothy and RICHard who are the third generation on the farm) and is home to just under 500 dairy cows that are housed in a nine-row free stall barn and milked by seven Lely Astronaut milking robots. The barn floor is cleaned by five Lely Discovery vacuum robots. Manure is separated, and then composted in a DariTech compost drum. The composted manure is used for bedding or composted further and sold as a soil amendment to gardeners.

Young stock is custom-raised off the farm. The family farms more than 600 acres of owned and rented land that provides forages for the dairy herd.

The dairy is owned by the fourth generation of the Vold family. Co-owners are Brad and Suzanne Vold, along with their children Anna, Erik and Katy, and Greg and Charity Vold and their children, Adric, Roran and Braigh. Charity also owns and operates Kiddo Kountry Day Care on the home farm.

The Vold families are involved in the Glenwood Lutheran Church community, participate in dairy promotion activities, and volunteer with many school booster groups. Greg is on the board of Pope County Farm Bureau and serves on the local Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Charity is president of the Pope County Daycare Association and is on the Minnewaska PTO board. Brad is a regional council representative for Land O’ Lakes and a delegate for Genex. Suzanne serves as a director for the Midwest Dairy Association and the National Dairy Board and is a member of the Environmental Stewardship Committee at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.

Winkelmann Family Farms is a fourth-generation farm with the roots of the operation going back to 1950 when Clarence, Lee’s grandfather, had dairy cows and farmed the land. In the late 1950s, Clarence dispersed the cows and started farming with his son, Don, Lee’s father. Clarence and Don began finishing out feeder cattle and hogs and raised crops. In the mid-1960s they decided to make a switch to solely farrow-to-finish hogs.

In 1995, Lee began farming with his father. A year later, the operation changed again to become a wean-to-finish facility. Finally, in 2012, the farm changed again to custom finishing hogs in a nursery and finishing barn.

The Winkelmanns began their current cattle business in 2010 when the family began bottle-feeding calves. Four years later, they broke ground on a nursery barn for calves that would house 65 heads. The calves would be sold as feeder calves or market-ready cattle.

The current operation consists of backgrounding feeder calves and finishing groups. The family still farms the land and added a seed business. The fifth generation of the Winkelmann family, Mavrick, is in his second year of transitioning into the operation.

Lee is the operations manager of the land, cattle and seed business. Susie helps everywhere she can and prepares most of the field meals. The Winkelmanns have five children: Makenna helps with the cattle and various other farm work; Mavrick supports the farm as a mechanic and helps with all other activities on the farm; Mogen hauls hay bales in the fall and cooks, preps and delivers field meals; Mavri assists with the cattle, rakes corn stalks and hauls bales; and Makay hauls bales and helps with meals.

Lee has served as a board member of the Redwood Area Cattlemen’s Association, as a board member with the Minnesota Beef Council and has served on the family’s church council. Susie serves on various local youth sports boards. All the Winkelmann children were involved in 4-H. Makenna was active in FFA and Mavri is a current FFA member. Makenna and Mavrick were cattlemen’s association ambassadors. Mavri is a current ambassador.

The Winkelmanns have hosted many farm tours over the years including a visit by a group from Japan that wanted to learn more about U.S. beef production.

Alan and Peggy Tersteeg, along with their family, are fourth-, fifth- and sixth-generation operators of the Tersteeg family farm south of Olivia. Throughout its history, this farm has been home to grain farming, livestock operations, custom baling, combining, an auto body shop, a commercial trucking company and vegetable farming. It is a great place to raise a family.

The current farming operation consists of row crop farming of corn, soybeans, sugarbeets, sweet corn and peas. In 2007, a commercial feedlot facility was added that focuses on the production of market beef sourced from the western United States. It also includes a small maternal herd focusing on raising replacement heifers to increase the herd.

The immediate family members involved vary from day to day depending on the season. Alan and Peggy, alongside their daughter Breanna, son-in-law Nick Bauman and their children, Lillian, Sadie, Paisley, Brynlee and Kayce run the daily farm operations.

Daughter Tiffany, son-in-law Matthew Rath and their son Baylor, and Alan and Peggy’s daughter Samantha, son-in-law Skyler Schweiss and their daughters Amelia and Elsie work outside the farm but also run row crop farming operations and can often be found helping on the farm after hours and during harvest time.

Alan and Peggy are members of the St. Mary's Catholic Church, The Pages of our Community Foundation Board, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and sponsors of many local community events and activities. Peggy also works at the commercial trucking company they started in 1997 and still own and operate with her sister and brother-in-law. Family involvement includes Lions Club members, 4-H members/officers/club leader, Junior Minnesota Beef Ambassador, FFA officers and members, Minnesota Cattlewomen's Association members, and members of local youth sports clubs and teams.

Langan Farms is a family farm operation with a focus on diversified grain production growing corn, soybeans, edible black beans, wheat, sugar beets and sweet corn. The Langan farm was originally homesteaded by Patrick and Bridget Langan after they immigrated from Ireland in 1878. The farm has continued evolving and growing through five generations of Langan family stewardship.

Today, fourth-generation brothers Patrick and Michael Langan along with Patrick’s wife, Mary, and their son, Jack, operate the farm. With the variety of crops, all are involved with different focus areas across the operation. In addition to the family members, the farm operation has a hard-working dedicated team of both full-time and seasonal employees to support the farm operation.

Patrick and Mary have three children; Laura and Elizabeth have off-farm careers in health care consulting and environmental science, and Jack recently graduated from Benson High School. Jack is active in all areas of the farm operation and is planning to pursue a farming career. He will attend South Dakota State University this fall with a major in agriculture science. The family is looking forward to his expanded role in the operation through and after college.

In addition to the farm operation, the family members are active in community activities and serve several organizations. Mike has been on the West-Con board of directors for 11 years and currently serves as board chair. Mary has been a member of the Benson District 777 School Board since 2017 and serves as board clerk. Patrick is vice chair of the Swift County — Benson Hospital District Board and serves as chair on the CentraCare Benson local advisory board.

Todd Cole grew up on a dairy farm and started farming on his own after high school. Todd and his wife, Nancy, live on the farm and Todd runs the operation with two of his sons. Todd has six children that were raised on the farm.

The Coles grow corn, soybeans and sugar beets, and the family runs an Angus cow/calf operation.

Todd’s daughters are Angie, Danielle and Melissa and his sons are Nick, Landon and Austen. Nick works full time on the farm and Austen works part time.

Todd is a member of the Yellow Medicine County Farm Bureau and is a current board member. He is a member of the Yellow Medicine County Corn and Soybean Growers and the county cattlemen’s association. Todd also serves on the board of directors of the family’s church.