From Hogs to Harvest: How One Minnesota Family Embraced Change on the Farm

Rachael and her husband, Matt, farm corn and soybeans alongside their two sons in southern Minnesota. They didn’t always, though.

Years ago, Matt and his brother began their journey in agriculture by purchasing a farrow-to-finish hog operation from a retiring farmer. Though both had grown up on the farm, the brothers launched this operation independently from their dad. At the same time, Rachael was working full-time as a special education teacher. Over the years, the farm evolved. They transitioned from farrow-to-finish to wean-to-finish hogs, weathered both good and bad years, and slowly began purchasing and renting land. Eventually, crop farming became an important piece of their operation alongside the hogs.

But a few years ago, the Kormans reached a turning point. The workload had grown overwhelming, and something had to change. They made the decision to sell the barns to a neighbor who wanted to start farming but didn’t own land. It was a full-circle moment—just as a retiring farmer had once given Matt and his brother their start, the barns now provided another family with the same opportunity.

That change opened the door for the next chapter. Rachael and Matt went all in on crop farming. They bought out Matt’s brother’s share of the operation, took over Matt’s father’s land when he passed, and never looked back. Rachael left her teaching career to join the farm full-time, managing the bookwork while also working side by side in the fields during planting and harvest. Their two sons are also deeply involved, making the farm a true family effort.

Reflecting on that shift, Rachael says there is a lesson to be learned: “You are doing things you never thought you could do. You do things scared, and you can do it.”
One of her biggest adjustments was moving from a structured teaching schedule to the nonstop, often unscheduled demands of farming. On the farm, the work never really ends—there’s no shutting the lights off at 5 p.m. and heading home. Farming isn’t just a business; it’s a lifestyle lived around the clock. And while the challenges are constant, the rewards make it worthwhile. Rachael treasures raising her kids on the farm, watching them mature into meaningful roles in the operation. She also loves working with retired farmers they bring on during harvest. Watching them light up as they climb back into equipment, hearing their stories, and seeing their pride in continuing the work they devoted their lives to is something she looks forward to every year.

The transition from hog farmers to crop farmers was not an easy one for the Korman family, but when asked if she would go through it all again, Rachael doesn’t hesitate. “Yup,” she says. “It taught me so much about being okay with the plan.” Even when she didn’t know what the plan was, the lessons and the life her family built from change have been worth it.

And to think—it all started with some pigs.