The Farm

John and Mary could not believe their luck, as John’s father had just bought them 160 acres of prime farmland in the heart of North Dakota and in 1916 that was a lot of land and even harder work. Day by day they worked the ground and over time they had themselves a beautiful farm!

Those were the humble beginnings of the Finken Farm back in the day. In that era farms were pretty much self-sufficient units meaning that you relied solely on yourself for everything you need. They had a dairy cow or two for milk and cream. Chickens and other livestock for meat and you raised your own grain for flour and to sell at market. 

1950's the farm is well established but only a few of these buildings still remain today

1984 Lots of trees removed and the addition of a machine shed behind the house

Through hard work and dedication John and Mary farmed the land, raised and supported 4 children on that 160 acres and added another 280 acres. One of the children, Wilmer, stayed on the farm after growing up and married Isabelle. They in turn raised 5 children on that same property in the same self-sufficient manner although now the acreage had increased to 1040 acres. 

 Sharon, Kathy, Dennis, Bob and Elaine were hard working farm kids as they grew up. All of them except one eventually left the farm to pursue other careers and lives of their own. Bob was the one remaining child who stayed on the farm and when his father became ill at the age of 58, 18 year old Bob found himself the caretaker of the farm and has been at it ever since.  
  

1995

1998

Bob married DeAnne, a farm girl who he had known since the 2nd grade and lived within a few miles away. Together they raised 4 children and increased their operation to over 6,100 acres of owned and leased property, 4500 of it tillable.

It is interesting to see how the farm has changed over the years. The progress in farm equipment, the buildings and the farming practices. In the early days they used to cut wheat with a hand  scythe hopefully getting an acre or two done in a day. Today they use combines which can cost upwards of $500,000 and can harvest 20 acres an hour.

2006 They added a quonset shed and a few grain bins to the east (right)

They no longer have livestock on the farm. Eggs, milk and meat are now bought at the grocery store as they focus on crop production for their income. 

Although they are successful, I would say it is far from an easy life. Hard work, sweat and prayers going into running a family operation like this. So much of what they rely on is out of their control. Mainly weather, but also national and global crop prices and unforeseeable equipment breakdowns all have an impact on their daily lives. 

This is our 5^th year of coming up here and so far this year we have been here a combined 10 weeks, longer than any other place. As we help out and work the fields I get a sense of what Bob has experienced his entire life. Working each acre of land foot by foot several times a year at less than 3 mph you get to know it intimately. The dips, the rises, the rock that is just too big to dig out, what crop was on there last year and the year before, where you jumped a big buck or a nye of pheasants. As these memories are created for me, I cannot help but think of how vastly small they are compared to the memories and years of hard work Bob and DeAnne have put into it. 

Driving the roads around the area we see this scenario played out time and time again, each acre of land having its own history, its own tale to tell. Some made it and some are fading off into the sunset. 

An old lakeside farmstead

Bob is the 3^rd generation on the farm, the 4^th if you count his great great grandfather who bought the property for his son and lived on the farm as well. He and DeAnne have lived most of their lives within a 10 square mile area of their farm and comparing our lives to theirs, they could not be more different. Both Barb and I were raised in more or less suburban environments with parents and our own careers being vastly different than Bob and DeAnne. But we are both mysteriously drawn to this lifestyle and these people. Maybe it is the sense of community, family and working with your hands. Both are board members of various organizations and deeply involved in the church. Hardly a day goes by they don’t have something going on that they have to go to a meeting or a function.

Bob and DeAnne have raised 4 children of their own. While two have moved away, Holly and Dylan are still living on (or within 3 miles) and are actively involved in the farm that make the 5^th generation. With Chris and Holly’s kids the 6^th generation is growing up right here on the same property as their great, great, great, great grandparents. Absolutely amazing!

2015 Chris and Holly built a house (bottom left)

If you look real close you can see our rig on top along side the bins!

2017 Chris and Holly built a new house (middle left) and had their old one removed.
The red barn is gone, even more bins on the east side.

Although we love our lifestyle, we cannot help but be envious of what they have and could see ourselves doing exactly what they are doing in another life. Of course I will be taller and built like John Wayne and Barbie? I will take her just as she is!

So what have we been up to the last few weeks? Two weeks of freezing temps and snow kept us out of the fields. But that does not mean the work stops. Instead of harvesting crops we pulled everything into the shop and spent time performing maintenance on the combines, changed the oil/fuel filters in the truck.

2 combines, the sprayer, quad tractor, 5th wheel, a truck and room to spare in this 80'x166' shop!

And thanks to our friends at RV Solar Solutions, we replaced the batteries in the rig having them  shipped directly to the farm! 

At 100#'s each they were a challenge to get into a tight space

All done and ready for some boondocking!

When the weather was somewhat bearable I got out and tore down an old fence line, picked rocks and got more duck hunting in. 

Barb has become quite crafty in the past couple weeks taking some old mason jars, painting them, distressing them, sealing and putting designs on them. They actually turned out really well!

A little paint, twine and flowers....

She put a sticker on the jar, painted over it and removed the sticker. 

Then placed a candle it in, very cool!

She also found some old barn wood and has also been doing on a couple of woodworking projects; a frame for a picture and a table top for Dakota's dog crate. 

Not quite finished but looking good so far!

Once the cold weather pushed out we again saw temps in the 50's, 60's and even one day that hit 70! We took full advantage of it and over the next 7 days we hit the fields hard harvesting ~900 acres of soy beans. For the most part I ran the grain cart and hauled beans to the elevator when we ran out of room at the farm. With every farm in the county at a stand still for the past two weeks there was a huge push to get the harvest complete. What happens when everyone brings their crops to the elevator at the same time? They run out of room as well and have to pile it up outside!

This pile is about 30 trucks worth of beans

I did get about 4 hours in the combine as well. There were some long, long days but as of 9:00pm Saturday night the last bean went into the combine and the harvest is done! 

View from the drivers seat of the combine

Now it is time go get the fields prepped for next year and see about getting out and do a little bow hunting for deer!