June 21, 2007 at 3:08 p.m.
Almelund area farming dynasty honored as Chisago County Farm Family of Year
Almelund area farming dynasty honored as Chisago County Farm Family of Year
In recent years Extension has honored a sheep and vegetable farmer in southern Chisago County, a grain farmer from Rush City and a greenhouse operator from the Stacy area. This year the University is honoring an Almelund area family; Marty and Jody Johnson and their children Tyler, Trent and Kelsey.
While the Johnson farm, located 1.5 miles east of Almelund on Highway 95, is a full-time operation of 700 acres of corn, soybeans, and 40 milking Holsteins, all family members work off the farm and are heavily involved in community service.
Marty is a first responder, volunteer firefighter and has served as fire chief for the Almelund Fire and Rescue. On the morning of the interview for this story, for example, he had been on two rescue runs before 7:30.
Jody is a bookkeeper at First National Bank in North Branch. She enjoys the gardening and yard maintenance for the farm. One of her hobbies is quilting, and she has a network of friends in the community who share this passion with her.
The children work on the farm every day in addition to their own full-time commitments. Tyler is an electrician. Trent is studying Construction Site Management at Anoka-Hennepin Vo-Technical College and works at a local sod farm. Kelsey graduated from North Branch High School this spring. She participated in the district's Post Secondary Enrollment Option at Cambridge Community College for the past two years and will have a head start on her nursing degree when she starts the RN program at Winona State University this fall.
"I believe raising kids on the farm is a good lifestyle and teaches them work ethics," Marty said during the interview that included his dad, Ray Johnson. "All the kids have worked on the farm since they were small and have a great work ethic."
He elaborated on the children's first moneymaking venture which also was an education in Ag production and marketing. For several years the kids worked together to raise sweet corn and sell it at a roadside stand on Highway 95. It was hard, hot work, but Marty states with pride that Tyler, Trent and Kelsey purchased their own equipment and tickets to go to nearby Wild Mountain, and paid their own expenses for other youth activities.
Marty and his dad, Ray shared a fond recollection of Marty's own introduction to Ag economics. In the early 1970's the North Branch FFA had a livestock chain. An upperclassman would donate a breeding animal to an underclassman. The purpose was to help an upcoming student start a herd and return a breeding animal to the chain.
Marty was in ninth grade and obtained three gilts from a senior FFA member. As an additional incentive Marty's dad agreed to provide the corn to feed the hogs. "Marty had 200 hogs by the time he graduated," Ray said. "I had to tell him, we have to rework this arrangement because that is a lot of free corn."
Ray and Marty agreed that the hog experience proved one of the tenets for success in agriculture; enter a market when the price is low and sell when the price is high.
A logical question for a reporter to ask when sitting across the table from two men who have worked a Century Farm is how has farming changed?
"The size of the tractors and the amount of work you can do," answered Ray without hesitation. "In the 1950's we had a 1949 John Deere A (35 drawbar horsepower) and a 1952 John Deere MT (14-18 drawbar horsepower).
"We had an opportunity to buy some of grandpa's (C. Elmer Johnson) land but decided not to because there were some hills. That John Deere A just couldn't handle it," Marty agreed with regret.
"We've gone from an 8-foot disk to a 32-foot tiller," Ray said. "Our John Deere 8640 has 275 horsepower," Marty added, "and of course now, rather than wait for the newspaper, I check the commodity prices on the Internet when I come in for lunch."
Safety issues have changed, too. As a first responder Marty said he has been invited to some terrible accidents which have made me very aware and concerned about the results of increasing highway speeds as the county becomes urbanized. Farmers try to avoid traveling on highways with farm machinery whenever possible, he said. The Johnson family rents a field road for the sole purpose of being able to move their machinery among their 700 acres in safety.
One of the family's community volunteer efforts, the food concession at the Almelund Threshing Show, is a natural fit because of the Johnson's long-time residence in the area and Marty's involvement in the Almelund Fire and Rescue.
"There are several Johnson families, not related to each other, who are involved in the threshing show," Marty and Ray explained. "Each of the families has taken responsibility for a different aspect of the show, such as maintaining the land and buildings or demonstrating machinery. Our family really enjoys working together on the food stand, and along with the efforts of the over 30 firefighters and their families, that fund raising effort for the volunteer fire department is successful."
The County Extension Service usually recognizes the Chisago County Farm Family of the Year during a short ceremony at the county fair in July. This year however, because of the Johnson family's involvement in the Almelund Threshing Show, the award will be presented at the Threshing Show. Minnesota Farm Family recipients also receive statewide recognition during Farmfest in Redwood County August 9.
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