October is National Farm to School Month

Farmers, like the Ruppert family of Currie, turn seeds that are planted into the rich soils on their family’s Minnesota Century Farm into food on the table. They raise traditional Midwest row crops including corn and soybeans, but they’re best known for their garden produce. The Rupperts provide fresh foods for eight school districts, three restaurants, 3 farmers markets, and various food shelves in the area.

“Our garden has grown in size as our kids have taken on more and more responsibility. Gardening is their full-time job from spring into fall. Once school is back in session, Kerry and I do the weekday picking and delivering,” says Kim Ruppert, who has served as Murray County Farm Bureau president for the past three years.

Raised in the city of Marshall, Kim discovered her passion for agriculture after marrying a fourth generation Minnesota farmer. The couple shares a desire for hands-on learning, as well as for higher education. Kim recently graduated with a degree in Agriculture Business from Minnesota West. Each of Kerry and Kim’s three children have a 529 Minnesota College Savings Plan that is funded through the produce they raise and sell. One might say they’re turning greens into greenbacks.

What started as a one-time sale has turned into thrice weekly farmer’s market stands in three communities.

Twelve years ago, Kerry’s parents raised more garden vegetables than they could use. They asked Kim and Kerry’s oldest daughter Haylee, if she would like to sell the produce in town and keep the proceeds. The 10-year-old netted $179 and discovered she really enjoyed interacting with consumers at the farmer’s market. The following year Kerry’s parents showed Haylee, Zachery and Katelyn how to plant seeds and tend a garden. They try to plant around the middle of April, weather permitting. Potatoes, cabbage, onions, beets, and carrots are some of the first things that are planted. Plants that need re-seeding, such as, watermelon, muskmelon, and cucumbers get done quickly so they mature at relatively the same time. Planting the garden this year was challenging with the cold wet conditions. Many items went in later and matured later.

The garden is an FFA Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) for 17-year-old Zach. A senior at Tracy Area Senior High School, he creates the crop plan and researches what varieties to plant. He keeps track of how many pounds of fruits and vegetables are produced, what sells where and to whom. Last year his SAE earned 1st at the regional competition and 3rd at state. He’s hoping to improve his ranking this year.

“Zach spends a tremendous amount of time weeding the garden all summer long,” says Kim. “We’re not certified organic, but we don’t spray for weeds or insects. We make our own sugar water using tomatoes or muskmelon and watermelon rinds in five-gallon pails along with four or five inches of water. The bugs are attracted to those pails, so that minimizes the insect damage to our garden produce. To attract bees to help with pollination, we plant Cut & Come Again Zinnias.”

Now that she joined the Tracy Area FFA this year, 13-year-old Katelyn is spending more time in the garden by planting. She also helps Kim with the marketing by contacting radio stations to promote the markets, as well as posting photos to the Ruppert’s Garden Produce on Facebook.

The girl who started it all is now an adult with a full-time, off-the-farm job. Haylee, 22, graduated with an associates degree in Agriculture Business and works at US Bank in Marshall. Her degree was funded by selling garden produce. She also is pursuing a nursing degree. Haylee lives in Marshall and enjoys helping in the garden as her schedule allows.

“The garden has always been on the home farm. We took it over once my parents moved to town,” says Kerry. “Gardening has become something our family really enjoys doing together. I had a garden of my own growing up, along with my mother tending her own.”

Their one-acre garden raises enough produce to feed their family plus hundreds of others in southwestern Minnesota. About eight years ago, they began selling in-season fruits and vegetables to local schools as part of the Farm to School program.

“Schools want large watermelon and muskmelon,” says Kim.

The Rupperts grew 3,500 pounds of muskmelons, and over 8,000 pounds of watermelon last season. Muskmelons ranged in weight from 7 to 13.5 pounds, and their watermelons weighed between 20 and 35 pounds. Some of the schools freeze carrots, peppers, and onions so they can incorporate locally grown foods into their lunch program well into the winter.

“We pick our produce when it’s ripe, which maximizes the flavor. We occasionally donate what didn’t sell at our farmers markets to local food shelves or nursing homes,” says Kerry. “We don’t like to see food wasted, so we try to take it where it can be used. When we heard there was frost in the forecast in early October, we picked the peppers and contacted schools to purchase them for freezing purposes.

In addition to green bell peppers, the Ruppert family plants and then sells the following fruit and vegetable crops: sweet corn, onions, potatoes, beets, carrots, zucchini, muskmelon, watermelon, cabbage, cucumbers and tomatoes. They purchase their cabbage, tomato and pepper plants locally. All the other crops are started from seed.

Ruppert’s Garden Produce is available weekly July through September at the farmer’s markets in Westbrook on Wednesdays, Walnut Grove on Fridays and in Currie on Saturdays. Kim and Zach also bake at least 30-40 loaves of zucchini bread each week to sell at the markets. This year they sold over 330 loaves. They still use the hand grinder and a 1970s-style mixer from Kerry’s mom to crank out the homemade sweet bread that brings customers from miles around.

“We’ve met so many great people at the farmer’s markets,” says Kim. “They’ve become more than customers to us. We’ve developed a relationship with them, and they like knowing where their food comes from. Some of them have even visited our farm and even toured our garden.”

While earning their own money has taught them the value of a dollar, Ruppert’s Garden Produce has provided the children with priceless learning opportunities.

“We’ve involved our kids in making decisions for our farm and garden,” says Kerry. “From the time Zach was 10, he’s really taken control of the produce business. It used to be a project, but now it’s a business. Zach doesn’t spend a dime of what he earns because he wants to attend college next year for precision agriculture.”

The Ruppert family enjoys working together, as well as playing together. All of them are involved with the Tracy Area Pool League. Weekly billiard games begin in October and ends in March. Kerry has been president of the Tracy Area Pool League for 30 years, and he’s been shooting pool with the same group of guys for 28 years. Zach and Katelyn also belong to the Tracy Area Youth League, which Kerry and Kim oversee from January to March. Haylee also shot pool in her youth. Katelyn also plays Jr. High basketball.

With their corn and soybean crop currently being harvested and kids’ activities to attend, the Rupperts rely on easy but delicious and hearty recipes to keep their family fueled. Today they’re sharing with us a family favorite recipe they enjoy making with the potatoes they raise.

Friday night means “Friday Night Lights” in many communities across the Upper Midwest. Last Friday Latham’s Regional Sales Manager (RSM) for Northern Wisconsin, Joe Salter, shared how skills he gained on the gridiron transferred to our sales team. This week we’re introducing you to Latham’s RSM for Northwest Iowa, Jeremy Joynt.

Jeremy grew up on an acreage in the farming community of Emmetsburg where he says he had the privilege of learning about agriculture from every neighbor and farmer in Great Oak Township. Because he lived only two miles from his grandfather’s and his uncle’s farms, Jeremy helped them with various chores from cleaning grain bins and walking beans to picking up rocks, baling hay and to working with pigs.

“Playing sports in high school and college taught me lessons that I still use today. I learned to dream big, to believe in myself and to grow from my failures,” says Jeremy, whose goal was to become a Division 1 (D1) athlete. “I put in a lot of hard work outside of practice. I learned that I had to create positive and optimistic thoughts to achieve personal and team goals. I also learned that everyone will lose at something some time in his life. It’s how you handle failure that determines your success. Champions learn from failure and are motivated to do better.”

Jeremy played four sports throughout high school. During his junior year, his school’s heavyweight wrestler had to have surgery on both his MCL and ACL. Jeremy stepped in as his replacement and helped the team win their third Wrestling Dual Championship. He was part of two high school teams that won back-to-back state football championships in 2002 and 2003. During his senior year, he focused more on football and track. That year he placed second in state and seventh at the Drake Relays in shot put.

Because he didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do upon graduating from high school, Jeremy chose to stay close to home. He attended Iowa Central Community College where he was a tight end (TE) for two football seasons. He graduated with his Associate of Art (AA) degree early, so he could transfer to Illinois State University and start spring football.

“Transitioning from a high school TE to a college TE at Iowa Central was not as difficult as I thought it would be,” says Jeremy. “We were more of a Zone/Power offense, so I was a blocking TE most of the time. The transition from my sophomore year to my junior year was the most challenging. I went from being a blocking TE to a TE used as a Y, H, and even in the slot.”

Not one to back away from hard work, Jeremy put in extra time running routes, studying the playbook, and watching game film. He learned what everyone’s responsibilities were on each play.

“Running out of a tunnel into a packed stadium is a feeling I’ll never forget,” says Jeremy. “The energy you get from the fans, your teammates, and the coaches is remarkable. Most importantly, you form life-long relationships after working side-by-side during two-a-day practices, walking to class, and traveling by charter bus or plane to games.”

Creating long-lasting relationships with customers who become your friends is what Jeremy enjoys most about selling seed.

“It’s really an honor to be welcomed onto someone’s farm because it’s where they have built traditions, raised their families, and learned many life lessons,” says Jeremy. “It’s my goal to help each farmer be profitable, so they can secure their legacy for the future.”

Jeremy’s professional goals align with those of Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, which has been a family-owned seed company since 1947.

“The company and the Latham family are known for their respect, honesty, and integrity. They truly care about their employees and their customers. They want to provide farmers with the BEST products available with a quality that can’t be matched,” adds Jeremy. “It’s phenomenal to have conversations with John, Shannon, Chris and the team they have assemble at gatherings. I really enjoy being part of the Latham Sales Team, which is filled with boots-on-the-ground team players that help farmers.”

The lessons learned from participating in sports and from selling seed are Jeremy’s legacy. He and his wife, Tashia, are raising three very active sons: William, 5; Oliver, 4; and Cormac, 3. William and Oliver are in wrestling and soccer. They especially enjoy the weekends they spend on the farm in southwest Minnesota where his wife was raised.

“Our boys love spending time on Grandpa Jim’s farm. From gathering eggs to feeding the cows or chasing cats, you’ll find our boys running from barn to barn,” says Jeremy. “It’s a MUST to check all pockets before they enter the house because it wouldn’t out of the ordinary to find a toad or frog in there!”

The Joynt family also enjoys spending time together outdoors. Their favorite activities are hiking, bike riding, fishing, camping and boating. Active families appreciate healthy meals that are quick to fix. Today the Joynt family is sharing with us one of their favorite recipes for Taco Soup.

While growing up in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, a change in seasons meant a change in sports for Joe Salter. This three-sport high school athlete wrestled during the winter months and played baseball from spring through summer. He spent every Friday night of the fall season on the gridiron.

Football became his passion. He played his freshman year at Mt. Scenario College. He then transferred to University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and played one year as a Blugold.

“The transition from high school to college is tough because the competition for each position is much greater,” says Joe, who played running back in high school. He started his college career playing wide receiver and finished playing defensive back.

“The camaraderie amongst the college football players and coaches is a close second to that of a hunting camp,” adds Joe, who also is an avid hunter and fisherman. “The competition in practice and level of play during games was awesome.  I’ve always been very competitive, and college football help fuel that. Playing sports makes you rely on others, and that helps build rapport and respect one another.”

While Joe says the competitive edge that sports creates helps create a drive within and that transfers into sales, he didn’t grow up aspiring to a seedsman. His career path includes a few unusual turns, but his background allows him to bring a unique perspective and understanding to his position as regional sales manager for Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds.

Joe originally majored in Physical Education but switched majors after he began working as a personal trainer while he was attending college. Upon graduating from college, he and a couple of buddies started a training studio and coached young athletes.

“I really liked the coaching aspect more than training, and being a coach allowed me to do both,” says Joe. After he and his high school sweetheart, Aron, married and started a family, Joe decided to take a job with a real estate division of a local construction company. That job provided health benefits and gave him the flexibility to continue coaching.

When that company downsized a few years later, Joe went another direction. His brother-in-law told him about a position in fuel sales at an ag cooperative where he was working. It was the spring rush when Joe started working at that co-op, so he ended up helping service customers.

“The hours were long. I spent most of them delivering and retrieving fertilizer spreaders and loading seed. After the spring rush, the Agronomy Manager offered me an Agronomy Sales position. I started with a few small accounts and enjoyed every minute of it,” says Joe. “I soon realized that seed sales was what I really wanted to do.”

Joe says he wasn’t looking for a job when he learned Latham Seeds was looking for a salesperson in Northern Wisconsin. He finds it rewarding to work for a family-owned business.

“I like that the owners of Latham Seeds and I share values. We’re committed to family and we’re vested in the community,” says Joe. “I don’t just want to sell you seed and run. I want to help you place products on your farm to help you succeed. I want to earn your trust and, in return, I want you to trust that Latham Seeds is not your average seed company.  We are a FAMILY that just happens to sell great seed products!”

Days for a regional sales manager can be long, but Joe maintains his active lifestyle. He and Aron encourage their kids to enjoy outdoor activities, which include but are not limited to shed hunting, fishing, baseball, football, wrestling hiking, kayaking, skiing, biking, boating and swimming.

“The outdoors has so much to offer! It’s easy to get caught up in our busy schedules and fail to enjoy other things in our lives. We enjoy spending time as a family outdoors, so it really doesn’t feel like exercise,” says Joe.

“Exercise can be simple,” adds Joe. “Set a schedule for exercise that is manageable for your lifestyle. Stay consistent and don’t be too aggressive out of the gate. The same goes for eating healthy. Eat foods that you like and enjoy but stop after your serving. In other words, ‘Don’t eat too much’!”

It’s common for this growing family to enjoy a salad bar when they’re at home on the weekends. Kids really will eat their veggies, says Joe. The Salter family likes to set out “fun salad toppings” like strawberries, blueberries, dried cranberries, snap peas, cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as hardboiled eggs , ham and turkey for protein. Their kids have a hand in fixing their own salads.

They also look for look for creative ways to enjoy traditional foods.

“One night I wanted to make meatballs for spaghetti. I was looking through meatball recipes and a couple called for shredded cheese. When I was in the process of mixing them, one of the boys said he wanted burgers instead. I skipped the crumbs and turned them into burgers with shredded cheese and it was a hit.  We also make a long burger and wrap it in bacon. That’s a hit, too.”

Grilled burgers are traditional fall tailgating fare across the Upper Midwest. Whether you’re getting ready for Friday night lights, College Game Day on Saturday or you’re eating meals in field during harvest, Joe Salter and his family are sharing a recipe that puts a creative twist on a traditional tailgating fare. Joe says grilled elk burgers are a family favorite because his kids helped create this recipe.

September is a bittersweet time of year for Mike and Wendy Kuehn (pronounced “keen”) of Belview, Minnesota.

It’s time to say farewell to summer and start preparing for the next season. The Kuehn family opens up their camper around the first of May each year and spends the summer months camping, boating and fishing. Labor Day is spent winterizing the boat and camper, so final preparations can get made for fall harvest.

“I was raised a city girl, so I really didn’t understand farming until I met my husband more than 20 years ago. I married a third-generation farmer, and I’ve learned to appreciate what farmers do. I’m so proud of my husband because he puts so much care into raising crops and cattle,” says Wendy Kuehn, who recently sold her Lavish Salon & Spa but continues to work there full-time as a cosmetologist.

Now that Wendy isn’t responsible for the day-to-day management of her own business, she’s putting extra energy into helping Mike grow their Latham® Seed dealership. They’ve logged many hours this summer, putting up field signs and checking the crops.

“We make a good team,” says Wendy. “I’m willing to get my hands dirty, and I really like social media.”

Mike says he appreciate the way Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds looks for ways to bring families together at company events. He also really likes the quality of Latham brand soybeans.

“We’ve had quality issues for years with other companies, so I can appreciate Latham’s quality,” says Mike. “I’m impressed with how quickly the Latham corn emerged. It was looking really good until it got hailed on, but it got good regrowth on it.”

You can follow along with Kuehn Seeds on Facebook. Wendy says she and Mike enjoy promoting family-owned Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds because the company shares many of their same values. Just as Mike is a third-generation farmer, the third generation of Lathams is managing their seed business. The Lathams encourage their dealers to bring their families to company events because they, too, appreciate the importance of faith, family and farming.

The Kuehns two teenage daughters enjoyed attending Latham Seeds’ annual dealer meeting, which was in early July held near Des Moines, Iowa.

“My daughters and I love to go to the city for dinner and shopping, but we enjoy the peacefulness of living in the country,” says Wendy. “I like the privacy of living in the country. I also love that our girls are being raised next to their grandparents. We live across the road from Mike’s parents, and that’s where we keep our cattle. When our girls were little, they’d go over to their grandparents and help Mike feed the cattle.”

Now that their daughters are in high school, they’re busy with school and extracurricular activities. Brianna is a senior at Lakeview High School. She enjoys drawing caricatures and plans to attend college for animation. Bailey, a sophomore, enjoys painting watercolors and cheerleading. Bailey was voted Varsity football cheer captain as a freshman and is serving again as captain this fall. In addition, Bailey is captain of the JV dance line.

“Mike and I are proud that are girls follow their hearts. They’re in their element when they’re doing theatre, dancing or drawing,” says Wendy.

Both girls are on the trap team, and Mike serves as assistant coach for their teams. Brianna participates in both fall and spring trap, earning a varsity letter. Bailey participate in spring trap. During the summer months, Mike and Brianna shoot sporting clays.

Trap shooting is an extremely popular sport in Minnesota. More than 330 high school teams, including more than 8,300 student athletes, participated in the 2019 Trap Shooting Championship held June 10-18 at the Alexandria Shooting Park in Alexandria. The Lakeview Booster Club donated funds, so members of the local high school’s trap team could attend.

Hunting is also a family tradition. Mike and his father have been deer hunting in Wyoming for the past 30 years. Mike’s dad and his cousin started taking hunting trips out west in the 1950s. Now it’s an annual outing for them, Mike’s brother-in-law and his sons, as well as a slew of cousins.

Mike’s ability to rough-it prompted he and his pastor to embark on a wilderness experience two years ago led by Duke Edwards of Pinedale, Wyoming. A “super minimalist survival expert,” Edwards has appeared on National Geographic Channel’s “Mygrations” program He also is pastor of Wilderness Church.

Mike and five others joined Duke Edwards on a hike six miles into the mountains with only the clothes on their backs and a knife.

“We made our shelters. We caught grouse by hand. We ate chipmunk that we caught in a deadfall trap. We were hoping to catch fish and tried making a fish trap with paracord in 40-degree water, but that didn’t work too well. We made bows and arrows. We made our own shelter,” says Mike.

Two large fires caused the group to abort their survival mission a day early as the forest had to be evacuated, but adapting to change isn’t anything new for the Kuehns or most farmers.

Farmers must adjust to an ever-changing industry. Mike’s dad had a cow-calf operation. Then about 10 years ago, their neighbor had three Maine-Anjou steers that he didn’t want to haul away. That was the begin of their Maine-Anjou enterprise, and Mike continues to direct-sell freezer beef.

“I enjoy the freedom of farming and like being able to set my schedule,” says Mike, who got a degree in aviation mechanics. He worked in the aviation industry for a few years before leaving to become a chemical applicator. He was glad for the opportunity to come home and farm because it has allowed him to spend more time with his daughters and to attend their activities.”

With the busy fall harvest season upon us, the Kuehn family is sharing with us a couple of their favorite meals.

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Crockpot Lasagna

• 1 box of uncooked “oven ready” lasagna noodles
• 1 large can/jar of spaghetti sauce/marinara sauce (We use the Garden Vegetable flavor.)
• 2 pounds of hamburger, brown & drained
• 2 bags of Shredded cheeses of choice

1. After you cook the hamburger, start with a layer of hamburger on the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Then layer the meat, uncooked noodles and cheese & sauce.
3. Make as many layers as possible.
4. Then top with cheese and cook on low for 4 hours. Delicious!

This is a fast, easy recipe for the moms on the go!

For traditional family gatherings, my grandmother, my mother and myself make rice hot dish. “It’s my favorite dish,” says Wendy. “This hot dish tastes so good on a cold night.”

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