One woman has taken over the family farm her great-great grandfather started in 1883 with $500 and a team of horses... What led her to leave the city life behind and return to work the land in her rural community?
Host Jamie Duininck sits down with Rachel Arneson, a fifth generation farmer from the Red River Valley in Minnesota. Learn how succession planning can be helpful and why getting involved in producer organizations can contribute to little changes that have a big impact.
It’s an episode of the Water Table podcast you don’t want to miss!
Chapters & Episode Topics:
00:00 Today on the Water Table Podcast
00:50 Welcome Rachel Arneson
01:11 Where in the world is Halstad, MN?
01:47 All the crops: Sugar beets, wheat, corn, soybeans…
02:30 Sugarbeets carry the farm
04:00 The best wheat crop
05:00 Sugarbeet reports
06:00 Sole proprietor and how it all started
07:30 The importance of education
08:30 Getting back to the farm
10:03 Succession planning
11:40 Working in the dirt
14:09 Appreciating life on the farm
14:45 The long process of succession planning
16:06 The trickle-down effect
19:40 Taking smaller bites
21:44 On the board
23:54 What have you learned from the exposure?
26:40 The importance of mentors
28:00 The challenges of finding employees
31:13 They’re not making any more land
32:00 What is your impact?
About the Guest:
Rachel Arneson is a fifth generation farmer from Halstad, Minnesota. She earned a Master’s degree in Liberal Studies from the University of Minnesota before returning to the family farm in 2012. Rachel is currently raising a two-year-old daughter, as well as growing corn, soybeans, wheat, and sugarbeets.
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