Heers claim Farm Family of the Year honors on Owatonna

The University of Minnesota Extension Office has named the Heers family Steele County’s Farm Family of the Year. The Heers, from left Marsha, 52, Bob, 51, Matt, 23, and Nate, 20, are pictured on the family farm.

By WENDY REUER

wreuer@owatonna.com

OWATONNA — There is no free ride in farming.

No one knows that better than the boys of the Heers family — a family recently named Steele County’s Farm Family of the Year by the University of Minnesota Extension.

When Bob Heers got started in farming, he rented 60 acres of land from his uncle. His father and grandfather had begun farming in this area after the elder Heers moved to Steele County in the 1950s.

The farm began as a 280-acre farm consisting of cattle, hogs, corn, soybeans, oats and hay. Today the farm consists of 2,600 acres of corn, soybeans and peas and is home to 10,000 finishing pigs a year.

In 1978, Bob Heers graduated from the University of Minnesota in Waseca and returned to the family farm where he farmed with his father until taking over for himself in 1998.

“I could have done whatever I wanted to do, but I wanted to farm,” Bob said.

His new bride, Marsha, grew up on a New Richland farm and met Bob while also in college at the university, but she had no intention of returning to the farm at that point.

“I did not want to marry a farmer,” Marsha said with a laugh. “But I guess it worked out.”

Now their two sons, Matt, 23, and Nate, 20, plan on also going into the family business. They are also taking the same route as their father, renting the same 60 acres that Bob started on to get a feel for the land and their future.

Matt graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2009 and returned home to help on the farm. Before graduating college, he even bought his own 80-acre farm. He and his fiancée, whom he will marry next month, also bought a home in Owatonna.

Nate is currently finishing his degree in bio-products and bio-systems engineering and working those same 60.6 acres.

They two sons said there was no doubt farming would be their future.

“Farming is not really a job. It’s a lifestyle,” Nate said. “You’re living it.”

And there isn’t much Matt doesn’t love about the life.

“There are so many different things in farming. You’re never really doing the same thing every day. You’re doing something different each day. It’s all the work you put into it. You’re your own boss. You’re working with the land, working with your hands.”

Although the future of the Heers farm is certainly on the path, the industry has had a bumpy ride at times as farming is dependent on so many different factors and not everyone is lucky enough to return to their own farms, something Bob says, does concern him.

“I worry about it a lot. There are no new farmers. Although (my sons) are new, they grew up on the farm. It’s almost impossible for someone to get out of college and say I want to go to work on my own farm,” Bob said.

The industry continues to grow and change with the times.

“People are probably out of touch with the amount of money it takes to farm. It’s really become a big business,” Bob said.

Still, the family hopes to keep expanding the operations as the Heers sons come back.

According to Amy Sarne with the University of Minnesota Extension office, the Farm Family Recognition Program has been done every year since 1980 to honor farm families throughout Minnesota for their contributions to the agricultural industry and their local communities. Of the 73 counties participating, all of the honored families have made significant contributions to Minnesota agriculture and their communities.

To the Heers, such an honor was a surprise.

“We were very surprised,” Marsha said. “We didn’t do anything special.”

Although he admits he has been reluctant to leave his beloved work at home, in recent years Bob has been even more active in the community. He is a former board member of the Owatonna School District’s Ag Advisory Council, and Ag Star Advisory Committee. Presently, he is a board member of the Steele County Farm Bureau and Community Bank Owatonna. He is a member of the Steele County Pork Producers, Minnesota Corn Growers, Minnesota Soybean Growers, Elks, and Our Saviors Lutheran Church. In 1994, Bob was also honored as the Steele County Jaycee’s Outstanding Young Farmer.

Although both sons are returning to the farm, Bob admits he won’t be retiring too soon. Still, he will be passing along as much as he can.

“It’ll be a while before I retire but I want to turn over as much responsibility as quickly as possible,” Bob said. “It’s what my dad did with me. It gives them the chance to make their mistakes and learn from them.”

The Heers will be honored at the 2010 Farm Family Recognition program which will take place on Aug. 5 beginning at 1:30 p.m. at Farmfest in Waseca.

Wendy Reuer can be reached at 444-1565.

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Member Opinions: By: TheMole on 7/24/10 congratulations!! It is a big undertaking to be a farmer!!! Enjoy your honors. By: pookah on 7/25/10 I'm friends with a brother of Bob's. Great family, hard working, lots of integrity. The area is full of integrity as I also know their neighbors to the east who used to farm. Farmers seem to understand the tenets of what makes America great - strong individualism, grounded to the earth, all of the things Jefferson spoke of and would be proud to see right here in our own area. Congrats to the Heers family. God Bless! By: modelmom13 on 7/26/10 Where can I sign up be a candidate for city family of the year??? By: stjohnlabawb on 7/27/10 Congratulations, Bob to you and your beautiful family. Your Cousin Barbara Ann sent me this link from the Owatonna paper. I am Jean's sister and I live in Austin, Texas. The last time I saw you, your older son was less than a month old. I know your Mother is so proud of you. Congratulations again to you, your lovely wife and your sons.
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