NEVER TOO BUSY TO LEND A HAND

When I met Dean Thompson in Baudette, Minnesota, on the Canadian border, he had just dropped off cattle at the Lake of the Woods County Fairgrounds. The fair was to begin the next day.
I followed Dean’s truck and empty cattle trailer to the family farm outside town, stopping briefly to let his 17-year-old son, Zach, drive a combine onto the gravel road in front of us. Towering birches and pines surrounded a lush pasture, filled with sleek black Angus cattle (and one Simmental!). Then, we turned down the lane at the Thompson Farms sign toward home, where his wife, Tillie, was waiting.
Evolving enterprises
While growing up on his parents’ farm, just over a mile away, Dean began raising chickens. “When I was a kid,” he recalls, “I started with rabbits, then I traded them to someone for chickens, and then it just went, ‘Boom!’ ” By the time he was 16, he had a 13,000-egg incubator. “One year,” he remembers, “I brought 60 pens of poultry to the county fair.”
Tillie was raised in Warroad, Minnesota, about 35 miles west and north of Baudette, and was involved in 4-H, preparing her for Zach’s 4-H years.
In 1998, when they were newly married, Dean and Tillie bought a 160-acre farm and started a hatchery. Their 32,000-egg incubator supplied birds to many other hatcheries and farm stores, in addition to local clients. “We would basically drop-ship our chicks to their customers,” Dean recalls.
In 2004 they moved to the farm across the road; it’s where they reside today. “We had been hatching chicks for quite awhile, and we were to the point where we could either grow the hatchery or do something else and start a family,” Dean says. A few years later, Zach was born and they transitioned to a registered black Angus seed stock operation.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In

Bugs on the Ranch
Working with a National Geographic photographer opened Jaclyn Wilson's eyes to the vast diversity of insects that call her Nebraska Sandhills ranch home.

The ‘Khaki Farmer’ Embraces Technology
Jason Haglund is a fifth-generation Iowa farmer, tech enthusiast, and founding member of Rural Policy Partners.

From Field to Flight
Here are some tips and suggestions to consider when adding a drone to the farm.

A New Aid in Navigating USDA Grant Applications
Taranis launched a new program to help farmers apply for conservation practice funding.

Kubota Introduces MX4900 Utility Tractor
Their largest cabbed series is available with hydrostatic (HST) transmission.

It Starts With a Plan
Recent livestock disease outbreaks spotlight biosecurity measures.

Vermeer Silage Balers
The Vermeer Pro G4 silage balers can produce bales ranging 36-72 inches in diameter, and 48 inches in width.

Bale Handler ATV Loader
A quick and easy way to load an ATV onto a flatbed truck.

Are Probiotics Right for Beef Cattle?
\"Good bacteria\" in feed or supplements can support digestion, and perhaps crowd out harmful bacteria.

Should Land Go Into a Disclaimer Trust or Pass to the Spouse?
Problem: A widow wonders if it's too late to fix an estate plan that made no provisions for their one farming son.