Celebrating Pork Month with Sausage & Squash Soup

Landon Aldinger is joining his father, Mike, in the family business. Precision Farming Inc. sells Latham® seed and offers Seed-2-Soil® services.

Landon Aldinger is joining his father, Mike, in the family business. Precision Farming Inc. sells Latham® seed and offers Seed-2-Soil® services.

It’s pigskin season and October pork month, which is a fitting time for the Aldinger family of Iowa Falls in North Central Iowa to celebrate the homecoming of their son, Landon.

Landon’s interest in farming began as a young boy and continued as he attended Iowa State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Ag Engineering.  He then moved to Minneapolis and has served as a Senior Design Engineer at Toro Compan for the past seven years.

Landon has continued to come home and assist his father, Mike, during the planting and harvest seasons.  Now he will play a more active role in the farming business, as well as partner with his father to sell Latham® seed and to place seed products.

“We’ve been planting Latham seed products on our farm for nearly 40 years,” says Mike Aldinger, who began selling Latham® brand products in 1977 while his father operated a fertilizer and chemical retail business.  “Landon is very familiar with the broad offerings available to our farmer customers.  Plus, he has first-hand experience with the products as he has farmed his own ground for the past three years.”

The father-son team has become increasing involved with Latham Hi-Tech’s hallmark Seed-2-Soil® program over the past three years.  They say it’s a great tool to help compile yield history, as well as to implement variable rate planting and foliar feeding.

“With Landon’s passion for engineering and new technology, he is excited to begin working in this area and is eager to introduce others to the tools available through the Seed-2-Soil program,” says Mike.  “Together we hope to help our Precision Farm Inc. customers make even more informed management decisions that will increase their profit per acre!”

To learn more about the Aldingers, click here.  Their family motto is “Work hard, play hard and eat well.”  Mike’s wife, Donna, is known for making delicious and wholesome meals.  Today this pork-producing family is sharing a recipe that’s sure to help you warm up during these cool fall temperatures.  I, for one, am eager to try this recipe for Squash and Sausage Soup.  In fact, it’s on the menu for lunch tomorrow!

Squash and Sausage Soup

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 to 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 stick of Real® butter
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • ½ to 1 cup of diced red peppers
  • 1 whole butternut squash
  • 1 c. shredded carrots
  • 3 to 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 T brown sugar or honey
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • 1 lb. Italian sausage, browned

Instructions

Directions:

  1. Sauté garlic and onion in butter.
  2. In a small pan with just enough water to cover the veggies, cook: red peppers, butternut squash and carrots.  Make sure vegetables are good and soft.
  3. Then add chicken broth, brown sugar or honey and salt & pepper.
  4. Let simmer and then add cream plus Italian sausage.

Notes

photo from The Food Network