Don Gibson
AGRONOMY
Aly Dieball Junior Holstein cont ’ d
Aly is an eighth grader at Sibley East . At school , she participates in tennis , track , band and student guides . She is a constant member of the A-honor roll in school and has danced for 12 years . Aly also is active with the Minnesota Holstein Association and has been involved with 4H since kindergarten , where she currently serves as treasurer .
In the future , Aly would like to attend the University of Minnesota and become a veterinarian . The talented and incredibly busy 13- year-old keeps herself going by following her motto :
Stuewe Farm - Farm Family of the Year
“ Try your hardest in everything you do so you know you did your best .”
For the past three years , Aly has followed the wise words of her own and succeeded . She plans on participating in the speech competition as long as she can . Aly will attempt to make it four straight first-place finishes in state and four-straight trips to the National Junior Holstein Convention .
Next year ’ s competition will be in Washington . There ’ s a good chance Aly will hop on a plane and head west to represent Minnesota once again next June .
The University of Minnesota Extension office named the Stuewe family of Cologne as the 2016 Carver County Farm Family of the Year .
The award is annually given to local farm families around Minnesota . It is presented to families who are involved in agricultural production and are engaged in their agricultural communities .
Paul Stuewe and his wife , Sue , have two children , Dan and Clare . Paul has served on the County Dairy Board and the Mid-County Coop Board .
Sue has been involved with the Carver County Dairy Association for six years . The organization represents farmers in Carver County in parades , hosts food shelves in June and December , and runs a Dairy Booth each year at the Carver County Fair .
Dan graduated from Ridgewater College with a concentration in dairy management and currently works full time on the farm .
Clare is attending South Dakota State University for nursing this fall . In high school , she was involved in FFA and was named one of the Carver County Dairy Princesses in April .
The farm where the Stuewe family resides and works on has been in the family for three generations .
“ The farm started out in the 1920s ,” Paul Stuewe said . “ My grandpa started it and my dad took over shortly after World War II . I took over in 1991 .”
A typical day on the Stuewe farm begins around 6:30 a . m . with milking of their 80 cows . The morning chores are usually finished around 9:30 a . m .
“ We basically do just dairy ,” Stuewe said . “ There will be some grain to sell , but not a whole lot . Most of the acreage covers feed , since we ’ re milking roughly 80 cows . We have room for 120 , and we ’ re working our way up there .”
Stuewe and his family attended Farmfest , Aug . 4 to 6th in Redwood Falls . All of the counties in Minnesota were represented at the event . The Stuewe family was presented with their official 2016 Carver County Farm Family of the Year plaque in Redwood Falls .
“ We are very honored to represent Carver County ,” Sue Stuewe said .
“ Not too many people can say they have two generations working on a farm , so that kind of makes it fun ,” Paul Stuewe said . “ I guess [ the award ] means we ’ re doing a lot of hard work .”
Don Gibson
Don Gibson joined the Mid- County family on June 6 . “ His experience is exceptional ,” general manager Bill Reimers said . “ Don has worked in different parts of country and has gained knowledge of many different crops .” His best feature , according to Reimers , is his interaction with customers . He is very personable , and he naturally gets along with the customer .
He grew up on a farm and went to high school in Waverly , Iowa . He says the upbringing influenced his decision in going into the agronomy field .
His knowledge and experience with plant nutrition , aids him in his agronomy sales . In fact , it ’ s kind of his hobby . When he ’ s not working , Gibson spends his time looking after plants with hydroponics . Hydroponics is the art of growing plants without soil . He is able to do this with a nutrient solution that is delivered to the roots . With this solution , the plants are allowed to uptake food with little effort , rather than searching and extracting nutrients in soil .
On the job , Gibson meets and works primarily with new accounts for Mid-County , an important position in expanding the Co-op ’ s name , business , and brand .
Customers will receive vast knowledge , advice , and help from Don Gibson and the rest of the agronomy sales staff .
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