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FFA a family tradition
for HL-O chapter president
 
By Justin R. Lessman

FFA is a family tradition of sorts for MacKenzie Ehlers.

And this year, the Heron Lake-Okabena High School junior is serving as HL-O FFA Chapter president.
“My whole family was in FFA,” Ehlers said of her primary reason for joining FFA, “and I love participating in agricultural activities.”

She’s done plenty of that during her time with the organization, listing membership on the chapter’s dairy handling team, horse evaluation team, general livestock judging team, fish and wildlife team, soils team and ag mechanics team among her many areas of involvement. Her supervised agricultural experience projects are in goats, pigs, cattle and crops.

Those activities and others in FFA have not only helped her develop leadership and public speaking skills, she said, but also have allowed her to meet new people and make new friends.

It has also turned her into an advocate of sorts for the organization. She said she readily encourages younger students to join.

“If you like animals, flowers, food or ag-related things, join FFA to be part of the future of agriculture,” she said, adding those who do join will never regret it.

Ehlers plans to continue her involvement in agriculture long after her time in FFA is over, saying she’d like to attend college and “study something agriculture-related, like ag business or veterinary technician.”
 
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Heath & Brittany Houselog family
Sirrina Martinez
Multimedia reporter
smartinez@pipestonestar.com

Southeast of Lake Benton in Lincoln County sits the farm of Heath and Brittany Houselog. In 2011, the couple bought their first farm site, which they currently use as a homestead. Another farm site was bought by the Houselogs in 2020 from Dale Johnson, whom Houselog is currently partnered with and working toward taking over the operation. On that site were a couple of pig barns that the family converted for sheep, Houselog said.

Heath, who grew up by Ward, S.D., got into the farming game in 2011 while he was working part-time for Johnson. Prior to really delving into farming, Houselog worked at Pipestone Systems for around seven years and at New Horizons for around five years. Now, he and his family are continuing to integrate into Johnson’s operation.
“We decided to go into full-time farming and Dale Johnson has been working us into his operation,” he said.

The Houselogs are currently raising about 325 ewes, which they lamb out and finish all the lambs, and the family farms row crops on around 700 acres. Dale and Heath have around 120 head of stock cows.

Brittany has her hands full, too, Houselog said. She cares for their six children: Jacob, 14, Adam, 12, Benjamin, 11, Abby, 9, Teddy, 5, and Grace, 3. She also helps to keep things going around the farm.
“She is a stay-at-home mom who organizes traffic and still finds time to help me in the lambing barn all the time,” he said. “We’re very blessed with our children and her to be able to do that and be home and keep everything going.”

Having grown up on a farm, Houselog decided to try to find a way to start working full-time in the industry despite the challenges of doing so without inheriting an operation or being a corporate farm.

“I grew up on a farm; mom and dad sold the farm, then we moved to town, and I helped Tom Gunnick throughout high school milking cows,” he said. “I always wanted to farm, but it was trying to find a way in to farm. We bought our first Ewes in 2009 because that was the cheapest way to get into it.”
The Houselogs rented a farm northwest of Lake Benton for their ewes until they bought their acreage in 2011.

Farming for him is about seeing the hard work pay off, Houselog said.

“Not every day is the same,” he said. “For me, I really enjoy the livestock side of it. There’s something about seeing the new babies born, the new life. It’s something to see and to see your hard work from the last year pay off and you get to see the babies hit the ground.”

The family feels blessed to be brought into farming by Johnson, and another individual who is looking to work them into their operation.  Having the opportunity to raise their children on the farm is a blessing, Houselog said.

“It’s definitely a family affair out there,” he said. “The kids help do chores. Last year, our second son, Adam, purchased some goats. He is trying his hand at goats. Everybody has kind of got their own thing. Jacob and Ben buy feeder pigs to fatten out and sell to friends and family. Everybody is finding out what they want to do or how they like to spend their time. I don’t know if there’s a feeling like it (raising children on the farm). It’s pretty awesome to get to work together as a family every day and have the freedom to be outside, run around and play and not have to worry too much about crossing a street or anything like that.”

As far as the future of his operation, Houselog hopes to see something built up that can be taken over by one of their children in the future, he said.
“Our hope is to keep small family farms still a thing and not let them go to the wayside,” he said.
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Henning enjoys sharing the good news about agriculture, FFA
By  Justin R. Lessman

Samantha Henning joined FFA as a freshman on the advice of her older sister.

Four years later, as president of the Jackson County Central FFA Chapter, Henning enjoys providing similar advice to other young students.

“I joined FFA as a freshman because I wanted to be involved in an organization that focused on agriculture,” said Henning, a senior at JCC High School in Jackson. “I was able to see the benefits that FFA provided my older sister and decided FFA was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Henning took full advantage of her time in FFA.
“I was a member of the best informed greenhand team my freshman year, and this is my third year on the farm business management team,” she said.

“A few favorite activities I am involved with are the elementary farm-to-table lessons, Kids Garden Club and handing out harvest lunches to the farmers.”

Henning said those varied experiences have helped her grow as a person in many different ways.

“Some of the main ways I have grown as a person from FFA include my public speaking skills and my organizational skills,” she said. “Career development events and different officer responsibilities have required me to gain a good set of communication and organizational skills.”

Now in a leadership role within her chapter — and with her time in the FFA organization growing short — Henning said she is committed to sharing the good news about agriculture in general and FFA in particular with others.

“The thing I like most about FFA is I am able to connect with people within Jackson County and show them the positive impacts of agriculture,” she said. “Getting younger kids involved in FFA is one of my favorite aspects, as it allows us to show them the impact agriculture has on their lives from a young age.”

And when she speaks with young people about FFA, she has certain pieces of advice she shares.
“My advice to younger students would be to take advantage of all opportunities, whether camps, conventions or FFA contests,” she said. “These opportunities provide students with an introduction to a variety of experiences. The skills gained will benefit them as an FFA member and in the years beyond.”

In the fall, Henning plans to attend South Dakota State University to major in precision agriculture, with minors in agronomy and soil health.
 
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Jim and Linda Johansen
Sirrina Martinez
Multimedia reporter
smartinez@pipestonestar.com

On a farm just south of Lake Benton sits the home of Jim and Linda Johansen. When you stop to visit the farm, you can expect to be greeted with a warm smile, and a classic farm life offer of coffee or tea with a plate of cookies.

The Johansen family has long been established in the area and on the farm site, which is one of two currently owned by the family, with another site near Lake Benton having been in the family for many years. Johansen has lived on all three sites at one point and has many memories of moving from place to place over the years, he said. The homestead where he currently lives is where his life started.

“My grandfather said he always kept my uncles and my dad in a little bit of transition moving between farms,” he said. “So my grandfather started by Tyler, and that was a place called Four House Farms. That was where my grandfather and the Johansen family lived in that area.”

His grandfather, John B. Johansen, the son of immigrants from Denmark, and his wife Birgitti, eventually ended up finding and buying some land in the Lake Benton area sometime in the 1940s. In 1954, before Johansen was born, the family farm site he lives on currently was a part of Plowville, a Minnesota Soil Conservation program that featured local farms in the area and provided farming demonstrations.

Born in 1955 Johansen to Gunnar and Deloris Johansen, he grew up on the site south of Lake Benton on U.S. Highway 75 until 1964 when the family moved to another of their farm sites north of town on the same road. In 1978 he moved to a neighboring farm that his sister had near Verdi. In 1987 he relocated back to the farm south of town and has been there ever since. Eventually, the farm near Verdi was sold. Over the years the family raised a variety of crops and livestock,such as cattle, sheep, hogs, and chickens.  However, like all farmers, the Johansens eventually began to shift with the times to raising emerging crops such as soybeans.

After graduating from high school, Johansen attended the University of Minnesota to study Animal Science. When some life changes occurred, he decided to move back home to the farm. He worked at Marty’s Hardware in Lake Benton, and a few winters he worked at Selberg Equipment Company in Hendricks. In 1979 the family incorporated the farm and he became fully involved in the day-to-day business of the farm. However, growing up, he was involved in the family operation. Some of Johansen’s first memories revolve around getting sheep to raise from his grandfather.

“My first sheep I had, I think I was about six years old,” he said. “My grandfather brought two sick sheep home from the sale barn that they were throwing out so to speak. I nursed them back to health and they were pets that would be on the front steps of this house here. That was some of those first childhood memories.”

The farm housed a variety of other animals such as cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, pigeons and more.
In about 1987, Johansen started his own cow and calf operation. In 1989 he took over his father’s seed dealership and named the business J.B. Seeds.
In 1999 Johansen met Linda at a singles dance in Sioux Falls, and the pair were married in 2002. The pair share Linda’s three sons, and three grandchildren.

Revisiting the past, Johansen recalls experiencing many changes in farming over the years, ranging from changes in cattle breeds, types of grain and methods of protecting crops from various diseases, and of course, many changes in technology.
“I always thought technology was progressing fast,” he said. “And now I watch how much faster it’s going and I always thought it was fun to be in on the early stuff and watch that.”

Still, Johansen believes it is important to be able to do things the ‘paper and pencil’ way, in the event that technology fails you.

Today, Jim continues to run his seed business, sell skid loader attachments to his customers and run his farm operation. Recently, Linda retired after 30 years from Lyon Lincoln Rural Electric. Prior to that she worked at the clinic in Tyler for 16 years.
Having the ability to stay on the family farm has been a pleasure for him, Johansen said.

“I do take a lot of pride in the fact that I am still here after all these years,” he said. “You know you think back to the forefathers when they came across the ocean and we are still here and think about the pride and legacy they left to us, and that we have a chance to make a living and to enjoy the lifestyle on the farm.”
Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Darci Bentz administers the oath of office to Kent Bargfrede, newly elected District 1 Jackson County commissioner, on Jan. 7 in Jackson. Photo by Justin Lessman
Fifth Judicial District Court Judge Darci Bentz administers the oath of office to Kent Bargfrede, newly elected District 1 Jackson County commissioner, on Jan. 7 in Jackson. Photo by Justin Lessman
Bargfrede adds county commissioner to already full résumé
By Justin R. Lessman

Longtime farmer, banker, community and church volunteer, 4-H adult leader, high school basketball official and Pheasants Forever member Kent Bargfrede recently added another line item to his already full résumé — county commissioner.

Bargfrede was sworn in as Jackson County commissioner from District 1 on Jan. 7 at the county courthouse in Jackson. He represents the city of Lakefield’s second precinct and the townships of Hunter, Middletown, Minneota, Petersburg, Round Lake and Sioux Valley on the county board.

Government service is a new endeavor for Bargfrede, who recently retired from a 45-year career in banking and ag lending.

“Since I retired, I had not stayed home much,” Bargfrede said last week. “Now, I’m really not staying home at all.”

That’s due to the hectic schedule a county commissioner maintains, Bargfrede said, adding at the Jan. 7 county board meeting, he was appointed to serve on 19 different committees.

“It’s a learning curve,” he said. “It’s going to be very time-consuming and involves a lot of responsibility, but I am looking forward to the challenge.”
Bargfrede said he has several goals as a newly elected county commissioner, among them maintaining county infrastructure and services while keeping the local property tax levy as low as possible — not an easy task, he added, what with ever-increasing costs and a declining population.
“We’ve got to be creative and think outside the box to come up with new ideas,” he said.
Other objectives include doing what he can in support of job retention and job creation, economic development, water quality and what he sees as three factors critical to the quality of life in Jackson County — safety, health care and education.
Bargfrede said he is excited for the next four years, adding he is committed to doing his best for the people he serves.
“It’s going to be interesting,” he said. “My career for 45 years was as a banker, but now I want to give back to the people I served.”
 
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Brady and Brooke Bobendrier of rural Pipestone. Brady works at the family owned business, Pipestone Grain Company, and Brooke owns her own business, Backroad Creative. Contributed photo
Brooke Bobendrier,
owner of Backroad Creative
Sirrina Martinez
Multimedia reporter
smartinez@pipestonestar.com

Just a few miles west of Pipestone sits the farm of Brooke and Brady Bobendrier. Brady, who is a native to the area, works at his family owned feed, seed and fertilizer company, Pipestone Grain Company, with his parents Tom and Shelly, and his brother, Mitch. Brooke is originally from northeast Wisconsin, just south of Green Bay.

“My family raises Hereford cattle and club lambs and as we grew up, my sisters and I were involved in showing livestock at all levels and competing on livestock and dairy judging teams through 4-H,” Brooke said, “Those activities led me to the University of Minnesota’s College of Agriculture, and that’s where I met Brady and the two of us competed on the same livestock judging team and the rest is history!”

After the pair were married in 2021, they lived in Wisconsin for a year and a half before moving to Pipestone so that Brady could be a part of the family business. The move also made sense for Brooke’s business, Background Creative, as she was frequently traveling west of Wisconsin to work with clients in Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas.

Brooke officially started her business in 2019 after graduating college and starting her first full-time job in Madison, she said.

“In college, I was doing a fair amount of graphic design and photography work for friends, and I continued to fill my weekends and evening hours after my 9 to 5 communications job with projects,” Brooke said. “Once I felt that I had a solid portfolio of work and enough experience, I officially launched Backroad Creative in September of 2019. I’ve been so blessed to have my business grow quickly and now be able to work full-time serving my incredible clients.”

Background Creative offers a variety of services to farms, ranches, agricultural companies and rural Midwesterners including photography, videography and graphic design. Brooke works with livestock breeders to capture professional photos and videos of their cattle or sheep for sales, designs print ads, logos, sale catalogs, banners and more. She also partners with vendors for print projects and apparel orders, she said. Additionally, Brooke spends a lot of time traveling for portrait sessions, and covering events.

“When we have nicer weather in the summer and fall, I spend a good amount of time on the road traveling for family and senior portrait sessions,” she said. “I also work with agricultural companies to capture promotional photos and videos of their events, customers, employees and products.”
While her graphic design and photography skills are largely self taught, her skills have been refined through mentorship, Brooke said.

“I was fortunate to work with some incredibly talented folks during internships in college with the American Hereford Association, Minnesota Beef Council, Arizona National Livestock Show, and several livestock photography companies,” she said. “They helped expand my knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite, answered my questions about camera gear and settings, and gave me the feedback and advice I craved and needed in my early years.”

Outside of her work, Brooke enjoys spending time with her husband, golfing, taking the family dog, Macy, for a walk or a run, going to concerts or taking road trips to visit friends and family. There are few things she loves more than spending time at the lake  in the summer, and she enjoys just hanging out on the farm working on projects around the house and in the barns, she said.
While Pipestone is over seven hours from where she grew up in Wisconsin and she has only lived in the area for a year,  she is already starting to feel like a local, she said.

“It’s starting to feel like home and I’m truly excited for my business and our family to  be rooted here for years to come,” she said.

Anyone interested in learning more about Brooke’s business can visit her website, back-road-creative.com, find her on Facebook or follow her on Instagram at @backroad_creative, or reach out to her via email at brooke.brcreative@gmail.com, or by phone at 920-901-5165.
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Adria Ambrose is premier crop showman at the Jackson County Central FFA Chapter’s 2024 crop show earlier this month. Photo by Justin Lessman
Ambrose a top crop show entrant
By Justin R. Lessman

Adria Ambrose knows how to prepare a crop sample for show.

Several of them, in fact.

Ambrose, a sophomore at Jackson County Central High School in Jackson, was named premier crop showman at the JCC FFA Chapter’s 2024 crop show earlier this month. She rode top placings in soybeans and shelled corn, and a second-place overall finish in specialty crops, all the way to the top honor.

Ambrose said the award-winning crop samples were pulled from her dad’s Jackson County fields during harvest this past fall. She then spent “a week or two” sorting and cleaning her soybeans, shelled corn and oats and picking out a uniform sample of ear corn to enter in the show.

All her hard work paid off as crop show judges Larry Christopher, Brock Bisaillon and Matt Bezdicek picked her as top crop show entrant on Dec. 4.

“It was fun,” Ambrose said of the work she put into her win, adding, “And it was worth it.”
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Bob and Gail Worth
By Sirrina Martinez

Bob and Gail worth have been sweethearts since their teenage years, growing up together in the Lake Benton area and starting a family of their own after getting married in 1972.

“I married my high school sweetheart,” he said. “We went together for five years before we married. I met her when I was 14 years old.”

The couple had two children, John and Kim. Gail worked for an accounting office in Lake Benton for some time, and after that, at the Farm Service Agency in Ivanhoe.

Bob’s father William, was originally from Lake Benton but moved to the Balaton area when he married his wife who was a Balaton area native. However, the couple moved back to Lake Benton in 1955 when Bob was two years old.

Worth graduated high school in 1970 and began farming with his father under the family farm name of Worth and Son. When he was farming with his father, the two raised livestock including cattle and hogs, and farmed wheat, corn, flax and oats. In the later 70’s, Worth said, they began to raise soybeans. During that time he also served in the Minnesota Army National Guard as an infantryman based out of the Pipestone armory. He achieved the rank of staff sergeant, and enjoyed the time he had with his soldiers.

When his father semi-retired in 1981, Worth bought the farm and that same year, he and Gail moved onto the farm site where he grew up on one mile east of Lake Benton. In the 90’s, Worth’s son John started farming with him and the family operation became Worth Farms. Now, he and his son have land near the farm site, as far south as the road to Ward, west around two miles from the South Dakota border, north of Lake Benton almost up to Arco, and up to about three miles east of Lake Benton.

Although he has not retired from farming, he and Gail enjoy traveling often, Worth said.

“Gail and I do travel in the winter time when we get all the grain hauled and everything is in place for next year, Gail and I will go south for about two months,” he said. “We go see our daughter in California and then we also spend some time in Texas. Georgia, Florida, we don’t own a place we just travel and see the sites.”

The couple enjoy spending time with their grand children, especially in the summer time.

“Our grandkids from California come up here for two months in the summer to spend time with us,” he said. “We have all the grandkids, the two in Lake Benton and the three in California around for two months in the summer. It’s very fun and very exciting.”

While Gail has always enjoyed caring for the home, their children and now their grandchildren, Bob has enjoyed being involved in the community. For many years, he was involved with the Opera House in Lake Benton for over 20 years, performing on stage despite starting out as a shy person, he said.

“I was a shy guy,” he said. “When I first got married I wouldn’t even get up in front of the church. I think the opera house took that out of me. I love singing and I love acting in comedy. I did not want to be serious. I had to stop eventually because I couldn’t remember my lines! They would say ‘Come back tomorrow and you’ll see an entirely different show because he’s gonna say a whole bunch of different lines!’”

Worth also sang in a gospel quartet called “The Heritage Four.” He also served in the Lake Benton American Legion in many officer positions, and has been commander multiple times. He has served on many boards, including the one for the township and the old elevator in Lake Benton.

“I like being involved with organizations and try to do better things,” he said. “I love this town of Lake Benton with all my heart.”

Worth also served on the city council of Lake Benton, and then as mayor of the city for two terms. In 2002, he became involved with the Lincoln County chapter of the Minnesota Soybean Association (MSA). Since then, Worth has served in many positions with the organization at the state level including secretary, treasurer, vice president and president of the MSA. Worth is the only person to have served as president for two different terms, he said.

He has also served at the national level for the American Soybean Association, as one of six directors representing the state of Minnesota, and as vice president. Recently, Worth completed another term as president for the MSA, and will not be returning to the American Soybean Association as a director for the state. On Tuesdays mornings, you can listen in on his agricultural themed radio show on KLOH with Bill Van Hoecke, “For What it’s Worth.”

While he and Gail moved into Lake Benton around 16 years ago and his son John and his wife Shanna moved out to the family farm, Worth continues to go to work everyday on the land that he was raised on.