Ken Highness joined Latham Seeds in 2014 as a Regional Sales Manager in Northwest Minnesota and parts of Southeast North Dakota. Shortly after, he began covering new ground for Latham — working to narrow the gap between the company’s existing southern Minnesota territory and its North Dakota territory.
Now Ken is moving on to retirement, with a focus on one of his favorite things: family.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Latham Seeds because it’s a family-owned company,” Ken says. “Employees and dealers can go straight to the top for answers. The Latham team impressed me before I even joined it. If they didn’t have an immediate answer to my question, they researched it and got back to me in a timely fashion.”
Meeting people and helping farmers choose the best seed products for their acres is what Ken has enjoyed most about his job. He’s especially loved working with seed dealers because he operated his own seed dealership for 10 years. When the seed company Ken was representing was purchased by a multinational conglomeration, he started looking at alternative brands and discovered family-owned Latham Hi-Tech Seeds. He began as a Latham dealer before becoming a regional sales manager in 2014.
“One of my favorite parts of this job was helping a dealer reach his goals,” Ken says. “A seed dealership can help provide the extra income needed to bring the next generation into the family’s farming operation. It might allow someone to remodel their house or set aside money for their children’s education.”
You could always find Ken spending time with his family or enjoying the great outdoors. He has enjoyed upland bird hunting for many years, and, as an avid hunter, he raised Brittany Spaniels. Ken and his wife, Jeannie, were given a Brittany Spaniel with bloodlines from England as a wedding gift from her uncle.
In his retirement, Ken plans to spend even more time with family. He and Jeannie look forward to attending their grandchildren’s activities, as well as making memories with them in the field or in the kitchen. It isn’t unusual to find one of the grandkids riding along with Ken as he checks the crops. Each Thanksgiving weekend they continue their family’s holiday baking tradition.
And, about once a month, everyone gathers in their home for spaghetti dinner. Why? Because Ken and Jeannie were raised in Dilworth, Minn., which has a strong Italian influence. Ken says he grew up eating some of the best homemade pasta and sauces in his friends’ home and was lucky enough to learn from some of the best home cooks. He has combined about five different recipes to create one that he and his Norwegian family enjoy eating about once a week.
Italian Spaghetti Sauce & Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 pounds hamburger
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 6 oz. Parmesan cheese
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon black pepper
- 3 Tablespoon parsley
- 1 Tablespoon sweet basil
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Sauce:
- 1 gallon tomato sauce
- 1 quart tomato juice
- 2, 6 oz. cans of tomato paste
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 3 Tablespoons parsley
- 2 Tablespoons sweet basil
- ½ Tablespoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper
Directions
Meatballs:
Mix all ingredients together and form into meatballs; try to get them all about the same size.
Sauce:
Cook for about 5 hours on very low heat, with meatballs; stir every 20 minutes or so to prevent sticking.
Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour and then add to spaghetti sauce.