By Kris Folland, Field Services Manager
Located between Thief River Falls and Goodridge, Minnesota, Brad Barth Farms is a testament to teamwork, timing, and innovation. While Brad and his wife, Joyce, grew up in the area and both have deep agriculture roots, the opportunity to be back “home” and farm was a journey over twenty years in the making.
Early Days
Brad grew up near St. Hilaire, Minnesota. His father operated a crop dusting plane and Brad, as young as five years old, was his right-hand man. Brad was very good at directions and would ride his Honda 50 to the field to flag each pass. He was paid a penny an acre and loved the work. We almost take GPS for granted today, but prior to its invention teamwork was necessary and highly valued on the farm.
Fast forward to college: Brad graduated with a degree in accounting and went on to work as an accountant for seventeen years. Joyce received a degree as a dental assistant, a career she worked in for many years. During this time, Joyce and Brad raised their son and three daughters in the Moorhead area.
Call of the North
Around 1997, the desire to farm started to take hold, leading them back 120 miles north to where they grew up. They had family land there that was expiring out of the Conservation Reserve Program. They bought a 9380 Stieger tractor and an Ezee-On field disk and started working their ground. Nearby landowners took notice and were quick to hire Brad and Joyce to custom disk their land. The seeds of farm growth grew quickly.
Joyce says one evening stands out: She had finished disking a mile-long field. It had grown dark. Her vehicle was on the opposite end of the field. This was before cell phones. She made the long walk back to her car alone. Crossing a deep ditch, listening to the coyotes’ howl, she told herself, “Brad and I need to plan this teamwork a little better!”
The farm mostly grew wheat, soybeans and even some certified organic production. Brad tells the story of how the next seed production idea was planted, “I wanted Granite wheat seed and was visiting with my local seed supplier and grain buyer, and he said there is none available. I made up my mind right there, we are going to grow seed for ourselves and the area. I am always looking for ways to add value and improve our farm.”
Shift to Seed Production
Brad contacted MCIA. He and I met and had extensive discussions. Brad decided to purchase registered seed. His certified production was cleaned at Swenson Seed, in nearby Oklee, and sold to his grain elevator, an MCIA-approved seed conditioner and bulk handler. After visiting Swenson Seed and owner Ray Swenson’s operation, Brad again met with MCIA and Forsbergs, Inc., of Thief River Falls, a supplier of seed conditioning equipment. Within twelve months, his own MCIA-approved seed conditioning facility was up and running.
Brad says, “I cannot express enough how much I admire Ray Swenson and I look to him as a mentor. I know it may seem like we could be competition with each other, but he has been so kind and helpful I cannot thank him enough. He has forgotten more about the seed industry than I will ever know.”
Brad Barth Farms today grows certified wheat varieties that they sell and supply to many area growers and MCIA-approved facilities. NDSU wheat releases such as Faller and Prosper and University of Minnesota releases such as RB07, Linkert, Shelly, MN-Washburn, MN-Torgy, and MN-Rothsay have led the way. Brad says his seed customers that also are grain elevator buyers want quality varieties that also have yield and straw strength and do well in this region.
Brad and Joyce have also grown conventional soybean varieties such as Traill, along with glyphosate-tolerant soybeans from NDSU. Today, almost all their soybean seed production is herbicide tolerant for a private company and that has worked very well. They also added 200 acres of irrigation this past year. Brad stated, “with this farm and these projects we must thank our long-time employee, Corey Larson. He has been my right-hand man for many years.”
Industry Leadership
Brad is finishing his sixth and final year on the MCIA board of directors. He served five of those years as the board’s chairman. Serving on the board was a great learning opportunity. He gained insight into the many areas of seed production in the state and across the country. Hosting the AOSCA annual meeting in Minnesota was a highlight for Brad and Joyce. Meeting other growers of certified seed of all kinds of crops—from cotton to peanuts to wheat—was both enjoyable and eye opening.
Looking to the Future
The future is bright for Brad and Joyce they say, “With nine grand kids and one son farming nearby, the farm and seed business will eagerly continue. We love what we do and are so fortunate to have children and grandchildren. We make it a priority to stay connected and visit our four children often and they have blessed us with their wonderful children.”
As our visit was wrapping up, and on cue from Brad, one of his grandchildren exclaimed, “Teamwork makes the dream work!”