Super Bowl Sunday is a little more than a week away, but already good-natured ribbing and game day speculations are underway.  Whether you’re planning to watch the big game (or just the commercials) with family and friends at their house or yours, the Rasmussens from Burt in North Central Iowa offer some tried and true hosting tips.

“Our approach is really to keep it simple.  We do much of the food prep ahead of time, so we can enjoy more time with our friends and family when they arrive,” says Cindy, who works part-time off the farm for an attorney and also helps with field work during the spring and fall.

Scott, the other half of this husband-wife team, is quick to share one of their secrets.  While I’m talking with Cindy, he walks over to the freezer and pulls out a Ziploc® freezer bag filled with Rye Bread Appetizers.  Now that’s my idea of “fast food”!

Keeping food on hand that can be fixed quickly when company drops in unexpectedly makes entertaining fun and easy.  Now that their three children have graduated college and are living on their own, Scott and Cindy look forward to their visits and also relish time reconnecting with their friends.

“All of our kids were very active in high school with sports and extracurricular activities like 4-H,” says Scott, who served as 4-H club leader for 11 years and coached their AAU basketball teams.  Cindy was a Sunday School teacher and Scott served as a trustee.  They both served as T-ball coaches when their kids were younger.

Adds Cindy, “It took some planning, especially during spring and fall, but we really wanted them to experience life outside of farming, choose their own paths, and earn a four-year degree.”  That being said, now our kids come home during spring and fall to help during the busy season.  They truly understand what a great life farming is and that it is the perfect setting for raising a family.”

The Rasmussen’s oldest son, Noah, graduated from Algona High School in 2000.  He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University and works for John Deere in Urbandale.  His wife, Rachel, also graduated from ISU with a master’s in public administration.  She works in human relations.  The couple has three daughters ages 8, 4, and 3 months.

The Rasmussen’s second son, Drew, graduated from high school in 2005.  He earned a degree in Industrial Systems Technology (Ag Systems Technology) from Iowa State University and is a shift foreman at the biodiesel plant in Algona.  He also helps Scott and Cindy farm and is looking forward to farming on his own someday.  Drew and his fiancée, Sierra, are planning an August wedding.

Daughter, Chelsie, graduated from high school in 2007.  She earned a degree in psychology from the University of Iowa.  She and her husband, Tom, make their home near Britt.  They both work full time plus Chelsie is taking classes through North Iowa Community College (NIACC) to become a physical therapy assistant.  They’re expecting their first child in June.

While their children were growing up, the Rasmussens had a farrow to finish operation in addition to their cropping operation.  In 2000, hog prices went to $8, so Scott was determined to find a way to make up for lost income.  With margins on the hog operation going from tight to negative, Scott went to work at Aluma Trailers in Bancroft.  He appreciated that company’s flexibility, so he could work around his farming schedule.  After a year of working at Aluma, Scott’s dad retired from farming.   Scott was able to continue working part-time and farm additional acres.  Then in 2008, they converted the barn into a heated shop where Scott enjoys maintaining his line of farm equipment and woodworking especially during the winter months.

“I really enjoyed working at Aluma and my boss was really good to me,” says Scott.  “He was one person who really helped make a difference. Cindy and I have really been blessed by the people who have helped us along the way.”  They mention the respect they have for the farm manager of the Stockwell Memorial Farm, who helped them start farming on their own, and for an elderly neighbor, who also chose Scott to farm his land when he decided to retire.

“We’ve learned to surround ourselves with good people, and that’s one of the reasons we enjoy working with Latham Seeds,” says Scott.  “The company is filled with good people.  I know that I can call the office and be connected with someone who has the answer to my question. I really enjoy Latham’s personal service, plus Latham® products really perform well.”

In their spare time, the Rasmussens enjoy fishing, boating, spending time with family and friends, and spoiling their grandchildren.  The couple also enjoys antiquing, refinishing and repurposing furniture.  They had a cabinet built into a buffet to camouflage a dorm-sized refrigerator.  They also put locking wheels on an island in their kitchen, which readily converts into a snack table for grandkids or extends their kitchen counter space if they want to set up a buffet line.  Both items make entertaining easy.

So that you can spend more time with friends and less time in the kitchen, today the Rasmussens are sharing two of their favorite recipes on TheFieldPosition.  Take it to the house next Sunday with Rye Bread Appetizers and Party Pretzels!

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As a young girl growing up in rural North Dakota, Val Wagner dreamed of becoming a big-shot lawyer and living in a metropolis.  Then she met a farmer (aka “Boss Man” on her Wag’n Tales blog) at the county fair, and well, her dreams changed.

Val and her husband, Mark, make their home in very rural southeast North Dakota on the land that has been in her husband’s family for more than 50 years.  Together, they’re caring for the land and livestock, raising their four sons and ensuring that farming will be their legacy.

“These four boys are the reasons I do what I do,” says Val, while addressing a group of seed company executives Thursday during the 25^th anniversary of the Independent Professional Seed Association (IPSA).  “Their opportunity to farm this land isn’t going to be lost on my watch.”

Val saw how times were changing. Ag literacy is a real concern, so she started Wag’n Tales to help create a better understanding of modern agriculture.  Her blog has allowed her to virtually “open the farm to everyone.”  She believes the most important things she does is answer questions that non-farmers have like: What are cows fed? How are cattle taken care of during the winter? What is it like when a calf is born?

“I usually don’t travel an hour past my farm yet my blog has been read around the world,” says Val.  Readers live in all 50 states plus 163 countries.  She literally has a world-wide platform to discuss topics ranging from “the Science behind Crop Technology” to “School Lunch Rules” and “Corporate Farming.”  Her tongue-and-cheek blog post about “How to Spend 10 Years Married to a Farmer” went viral with more than 10,000 hits on Facebook.

“I have a story to tell, and my story is unique to me,” she says.  “But like my fellow North Dakota prairie farm wife Jenny Dewey Rohrich says, ‘Your story may seem ordinary to you, but it’s extraordinary to someone else’.  The same is true for everyone else. Tell your story and become an advocate for agriculture!“

Recipes are another way Val connects with non-farm moms and others on her blog.  In honor of January Soup Month and as a tribute to the German-Russian Country in which her family resides, today she’s sharing a recipe for Knephla Soup.

Like many farmers, Lori Maurer of Royal in western Iowa repurposed old equipment and household items before #DIY was a trend on Pinterest.  Stepping into her warm kitchen is like walking down memory lane.

Windows salvaged from an old hog barn have become window pane photo frames, showcasing some of Lori’s favorite memories while her own three children were young.  The large bowl her grandma used to make homemade bread hangs on the wall next to the photo pane.  Nearby, an old wooden ladder from her parents’ farm has found new life as a decoration.

“I’ve always enjoyed finding new uses for old items.  It’s a fun way to preserve memories plus it can help decorate on a dime,” says Lori, who’s the youngest of 10 children.

Being resourceful is something Lori grew up doing and it’s something she and her husband, Jeff, have passed along to her children.  They’re the proud parents of three: Kevin, 26, who graduated from Iowa State University and recently joined the family farming operation; Mandy, 23, who also graduated from ISU where she met her husband Cole Danner; and Mitch, 19, who’s a sophomore at Iowa State where he’s majoring in Ag Studies with a minor in Agronomy.

This year the Maurer’s are literally “making Christmas.”  Now that their children are either married or have significant others, they decided to eliminate some of the stress and expense from everyone buying something for eight other family members.  Instead they drew names and will make a gift for that person.  Jeff is making something so special for Mandy that she’s sure to treasure it for a lifetime, and Lori’s gift for Cole is extremely thoughtful.

Providing experiences is a Maurer holiday tradition.  One year they gave their children a puppy named Pepper, who still makes her home on the farm although she prefers to stay on the porch rather than run with the younger dogs.  Another year Santa left a Kitty Cat in their living room; the Maurer kids couldn’t imagine how Santa got down the chimney with that!

“Our kids had so much fun riding their little snowmobile through wide, open spaces,” recalls Lori.  “The freedom to explore on their own is one of the best things about raising kids in the country.  Living on a farm with livestock also teaches them responsibility and life lessons.”

The Maurer’s also credit 4-H for helping their kids develop life skills.  All three showed club calves.  They were responsible for doing chores, balancing a budget and marketing their show stock.  Showing cattle helped them develop communication skills and allowed them to meet other youth with like interests from around the state.

“There’s always something to be done on our farm, but there’s always someone help,” says Lori, whose family raised hogs and crops when she was growing up.  She and Jeff feel blessed to be farming with two of their children, and Mitch comes home from college to help whenever he can.  He’s hoping to join the family farming operation in a few more years.

When everyone gathers together, Lori likes to whip up hearty, stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal that’s perfect during fall harvest or a cold, winter’s night.  Today she’s sharing one of her family’s favorite casseroles on TheFieldPosition.com.

P.S.  If you’d like to try making homemade gifts for the holidays, we’ve created a Pinterest board with several fun ideas.  Below are a few links to ideas for family activities.  Even if you don’t get them made before Dec. 25, you could make them over Winter Break and treasure them in years to come:

• Building snowmen for breakfast
• Ornaments you can make with your kids
• How to make burlap wreaths