Hello! My name is Lauren Biegler. Our family lives near Lake Wilson, Minnesota, on my husband’s family farm. His name is Bryan and we have three children – Alaina, Aubrey, and Wesley. We also have the resident farm dog, Bernie, and the kids adore our cat, Leona, and the many outdoor kitties!
How long have you been involved in agriculture and farming?
I grew up on my family farm in Iowa and worked in the agriculture industry before meeting Bryan and moving to this farm, so we both have pretty much been around farming and agriculture our entire lives. On this farm we grow corn and soybeans and some occasional small grains. Both Bryan and my family farms have been in our families for over 140 years.
What is something you would like to share with those outside the agriculture and farming community?
One thing I always want to express to consumers and those outside of the agriculture industry is how much we really have in common. This is a unique job, but the challenges and rewards of most professions differ widely and often misunderstood by others too. We are trying to raise a family by doing something we love. We still have to go grocery shopping, run kids to sporting events and other activities, be involved in our communities, find time to spend together or take vacation, and countless other things just like any other family! How that looks can be a little different than families living in a more urban area, but our family is more like any other family than different.
How has farming and agriculture played a role in your children’s’ lives?
I appreciate our kids being raised on a farm. They help where they can and care about the farming activities that happen year round. I don’t know what the future holds for them – and our farm – but I am happy they will have this knowledge of agriculture to carry with them throughout their entire life. If they never farm or work in agriculture that is just fine by me, but I am glad that their upbringing will go with – wherever life takes them! I hope they will always use their experience to inform people about agriculture and farming and know where food comes from – and feel great about the people behind the food system in our country. That they know farmers just like us are the ones raising food and they feel confident about the safety of that food.
What goes on around the farm in the spring compared to other seasons?
Every season on the farm brings unique activities. Spring, of course, is planting. As a general rule, if we could be planting by the middle or end of April, that would be ideal. We would like to finish planting by the end of May if the weather allows us to get it all in the ground. Summer brings a whole host of different activities for everyone. Rock picking, spraying, and picking our sweet corn (yum!). Fall is the other big season on the farm with harvest. All hands on deck there. Winter – while seemingly the slowest of the seasons – is actually one of the most important. It’s where we invest the time evaluating what went right or wrong from this past year and planning for the next growing year. Making all our decisions about seed, fertilizer, chemicals. It’s truly the time of year that is completely under our control. We can plan and execute to the best of our abilities, but mother nature will always have the final say when it’s all said and done. All we can do it is give it our best shot! Throughout all these seasons, I still have to be wife and mom to my family – no matter what is going on or how it’s going.
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