The marathon runner

Joe is volunteering here for a youth baseball game. Joe is not only a full-time farmer, but also a full-time sports fan. When one hears the word marathon in Elkton, the first person one thinks of is Joe Sudtelgte. He is not only a marathon runner, but one of the best in the country. Joe has run the Boston marathon twice. It is not only one of the oldest and most prestigious marathons in the country, but it is also the only marathon one has to qualify to enter.

Lance Armstrong ran the New York marathon this year in just under 3 hours. He ran a great race and did a good job. Joe has run marathons in 2:29. Now, I know they were not the same race or same year, but one can see the class of runner he is.

A second chance at life

Marv came to Elkton from Mankato, Minnesota to farm south west of town. Marv farms his farm more like a flower gardern than a farmer. He stops the tractor and pulls any weed he may have missed spraying. Oh! goodness, one better not see a stone or rock in the field.

Over the holidays when most of us were out celebrating Thankgiving, Marv was at the Mayo Clinic fighting for his life. Life gave him a second chance. Now, Marv is working at building up his strength at Lake Crystal Health Care Center so he can get back to his normal routine.

A full day's work

An old saying says, "When the cat's away, the mice will play." But, when the boss is away, these farmers don't play. Their dad is out in Montana trucking, but that does not stop Kash and Turner from putting in a full day's work on the farm.

Young farmers

Kash and Turner taking a little break... just long enough to answer a few questions. If any of you watch Elkton play football, you'll see Kash out there helping the team win.

A cell phone call away

I asked Turner what they would do if they ran into a problem and didn't know the best way to handle it. He said, "we'd just pick up the phone. The answer is only a cell phone call away."

Feeding the cattle

Turner is putting a little mineral salt out for the cows. It sure doesn't take the cows long to find it. It is like they can smell it in the air.

Fall pasture

Rick is out working his cows and looking for ones that will soon be calfing. It is that time of the year in the fall when the cows should be all out to pasture.

Sorting cattle with a backhoe

Some farmers have gone from a horse to a four-wheeler to herd cattle, but here we find Rick sorting his cattle with his backhoe. He has Lenny working the gate.

Farmer on the road

I took a ride with Charlie in the country where he had to deliver feed. I was hoping to get a few pictures of him working, but he would not stop working long enough to let me take them.