The Doug and Deb Ristau family has been named Fillmore County’s 2016 Farm Family of the Year by the University of Minnesota.
Doug and Deb purchased a 320-acre farm in 1987 with a small 30-cow Herford herd, which they purchased from the previous farm owner, and were part owners of a 60-cow Holstein herd with Doug’s parents. In 1995, they began custom raising Holstein heifers for up to seven different herds. The milk cows were sold in 2000. In 2005, they put up two 1,200 herd hog finishing barns. Later, they bought Doug’s parents farm and another acreage from a neighbor.
Today, D&D farms currently owns 560 acres and rents an additional 180 acres of cropland and 90 acres of pasture. They also raise 240 acres of corn, 175 of soybeans, 25 of oats and 100 acres of hay. They have 85 Simmental and Simmental/Angus cross beef cows in their spring calving herd and 35 in the fall calving herd. All three of their children have a registered Simmental herd which they care for and show at various shows in the state. Doug and Deb also custom raise about 600 pigs a year and have a small 20-ewe sheep flock.
Each family member has a say in the major day to day activities along with the purchasing of bulls and cows. Doug is responsible for the daily chores, planting, spraying, hauling, drying and baling of crops. Deb has a full-time job for Fillmore County and also does a lot of the combining in the fall and chores for the sheep. Kelsey (daughter) knows most of the cows by heart and is responsible for most of the recordkeeping on them. Katie (daughter) helps with the crop decisions and works with the registered herd. Brady (son) will be a junior in high school and does a lot of field work and with his 4-H and FFA involvement, shows a lot of cattle throughout the year.
Doug has served on the Preston Dairy & Farm Association for the pat 15 years; the Fillmore County Cattlemen’s Board as president for the past two years, is a current member of the State Cattlemen’s Association, is a member of the Minnesota Simmental Association, and serves on the church council. Deb serves on the church council, Fillmore Central School Board, is the high school senior class advisor, and is an EMT for the city of Preston. Kelsey is a special education teacher for the Fillmore Central school district, as well as a 7th grade basketball and volleyball coach. She is a past Fillmore County Beef Princess. Katie works for Hefty Seed Company in LeRoy, Minn. She serves on the Fillmore County Fair Beef Board, is an EMT for the city of Preston, is a past Fillmore County Beef Princess, past MN State Simmental Beef Queen, and is a graduate of South Dakota State University. Brady is active in high school sports, 4-H, FFA, and showing cattle.
The Ristau’s are past recipients of the Fillmore Couny Beef Producer of the Year award and also the State Simmental Commercial Producer of the Year.
The Ristau family is one of the many farm families from around the state being honored by the University this year. The families will be officially recognized in a ceremony Thursday, August 4 at the annual Minnesota Farmfest on the Gilfillan Estate near Redwood Falls. Profiles of the 2016 honorees and information on the recognition event can be found on the U’s farm family website, http://mnfarmfamilies.cfans.umn.edu.
Families receiving honors were selected by their local county Extension committees based on their demonstrated commitment to enhancing and supporting agriculture.
The farm families represent each county participating in the program. They were chosen by local University of Minnesota Extension committees. “The farm families receiving this year’s honors exemplify what makes Minnesota agriculture strong. They bring innovation, science. and hard work to farming. They care greatly about the land and animals and delivering quality products to consumers worldwide,” said Bev Durgan, dean of Extension. “The University of Minnesota takes pride in honoring these families.”
The Ristau family was recognized locally on Sunday, July 24, at the Fillmore County Fair.
Along with Farmfest, University of Minnesota units sponsoring in this award include University of Minnesota Extension, the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
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