OWATONNA, Minn. — The Glenn Johnson Family of Clover Glen Farms has been named Steele County’s “2019 Farm Family of the Year” by University of Minnesota Extension.
Glenn Johnson and Deb McDermott-Johnson run Clover Glen Farms near Claremont. The Johnsons began their farming career in 1979 by purchasing the family operation where Glenn grew up. They relocated to Claremont (Steele County) in 1993, which was an intentional migration from Carlton County following the agriculture crisis of the 1980’s.
The operation has changed throughout the years. The milking herd was 100 percent Guernsey at the time of purchase, with Holsteins added to the operation in 1988 and Brown Swiss added in 2011. Today, Clover Glen Farms milks 70 cows and has 90 heifers on the farm as well. They also run 220 crop acres, growing their own inputs of alfalfa haylage, corn silage, and dry hay.
Glenn and Deb stay busy on the farm. They are both owner/operators, splitting the farm duties and both managing daily operations. Glenn takes care of nutrition, feeding, herd health, and reproduction, as well as their cropping systems. Deb takes care of the young stock and keeps the farm’s records.
The farm actively supports dairy production agriculture, hosting Steele County’s Breakfast on the Farm twice, providing animals for Owatonna’s Culture Fest, Family Festival, Early Childhood Holiday Open House and the FFA barnyard.
The Johnsons have hosted Cow Camp for twelve years. Cow Camp is a hands-on experience for young people to learn about life on a dairy farm. Students work their way through “Rookie Camp” and “Pro Camp”. Pro Campers exhibit their animals at the Steele County Free Fair. To-date, a total 179 students have participated in the camp program, attracting youth from as far away as Florida. For each of the last several years, the Johnsons have had as many as 26 students showing cattle. In 2015, an impressive 42 head of cattle were taken to the Steele County Free Fair. The Johnsons are proud of their campers – students have won honors in the county 4-H dairy interview competition, won state fair trips, and participated on dairy judging teams. Cow Camp has produced three county Dairy Princesses and several Dairy Ambassadors to-date. Twelve Cow Campers have gone on to join 4-H with three of them winning national dairy conference trips.
Families are selected as the Farm Family of the Year by their local county selection committees for demonstrating commitment to enhancing and supporting agriculture and agricultural production. “These farm families are a major driver of Minnesota’s economy and the vitality of Minnesota’s rural communities,” said Bev Durgan, Dean of University of Minnesota Extension. “The University of Minnesota is proud to recognize these farm families for their contributions to agriculture and their communities.”
Clover Glen Farms will be honored during the Hall of Fame ceremony at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 13th at the Steele County Free Fair. They will also be recognized during the state-wide Farm Family of the Year recognition ceremony at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 8th at the annual Farmfest near Redwood Falls. 2019 honoree profiles and additional information about the recognition events will soon be posted on the University’s Farm Family website, http://mnfarmfamilies.cfans.umn.edu/.
Farmfest runs August 6th to 8th at the Gilfillan Estate, near Redwood Falls, MN. Event hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Along with Farmfest, University units sponsoring the recognition event include University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
— Claire LaCanne
Agricultural Extension Educator
Rice and Steele Counties
University of Minnesota Extension
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