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By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Copy Editor
After the tornado that devastated much of downtown Hartland in December 2021, L & D Ag Service moved into a brand new building at 602 Railroad Street earlier in March of this year.
Matt Staloch of Staloch Construction began work on the new building in the summer of 2022.
During construction, L & D Ag was housed in an Albert Lea building, rented from Gary Budach of New Richland. “We started moving a couple weeks ago,” said Travis Routh, who bought the business from its founder, Larry Nelson, who retired in 2015.
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By TRISTAN JENSEN
Editorial Assistant
Aaron Phillips, one of the new members of the NRHEG School Board for 2023, leads a busy life. He is regional sales manager for 360 Yield Center, a career that regularly sends him traveling, working trade shows, visiting dealers, and leading dealer trainings. “There isn't such a thing as an average day for me,” he explained. On top of his job, Phillips is assistant coach for the varsity baseball team at NRHEG, which his son plays on. Andrew, one of Phillips' four children, has received a scholarship to play Division 1 baseball at South Dakota State University next year. For the last four years, Phillips says, one of his hobbies has been traveling nationwide for baseball with Andrew, who has also played on the Minnesota Blizzard team. Phillips' youngest daughter, Faith, is in eighth grade and participates in numerous school activities and sports, so Phillips is also spending his time supporting her. His leisure activities of choice are snowboarding and snowmobiling, as well as hunting; he also helps out on the family farm when he can. “Yeah, I got enough to do,” Phillips says.
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
Good food, conversations, and stories were shared during the annual Farm and City Luncheon March 16, hosted by the Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce at the Mill in Waseca.
Following a lunch catered by the Pheasant Cafe, the following families were honored with awards:
Farm Family of the year (FFOY); Cedar Crate Farms, Dan and Lara Zimmerli of Waldorf.
The FFOY award goes to a Waseca County food producer involved in the community. This family has made significant short-term progress and/or innovative contributions with their agricultural endeavors and has demonstrated a commitment to enhancing and supporting the fields of agriculture and production. The Zimmerlis will be honored and recognized among farmers across the state at Farmfest this summer.
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
During the 2023 Waseca County Farm and City Luncheon Thursday, March 16, local Mark Bernard was recognized as a leader in area agriculture and honored with the “Active Farmer” award.
“I was a little surprised by the nomination,” Bernard said after the program. “When I was first nominated it was before Covid. I thought, well, they probably forgot about this thing. And, you know, it took a little time to go through the process. It gave me the chance to reflect on my career.” Bernard mentions that 40-some years is a long time to reflect upon, and that doing so caused him to think about how much has changed.
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By ELI LUTGENS
Publisher/Editor
The most distinguished ag award given out Thursday at Waseca’s Farm and City Luncheon went to Dan and Lara Zimmerli of Waldorf. Cedar Crate Farms was selected by the Minnesota Extension office as Waseca County’s Farm Family of the Year.
“Thank you so much,” Lara said during her acceptance speech. “We're honored to have a seat at the table. It seems like larger operations tend to get awards, which makes it humbling for our small acres to be selected.”
Cedar Crate is a small-scale, intensive and diversified vegetable farm. They successfully market their products directly to the community through the Mankato Farmers Market and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The Zimmerli’s grow over 90 varieties of produce on about 3 acres of land. Besides growing the produce, the couple sells their crops directly to community members.