"Pipestone System Allowed Us to Make Room for Our Kids"
June 10, 2010
What’s a family farm without more family? Larry Klumb of Ethan, SD grew up working with his dad and granddad as they raised pigs. His earliest memories include wisdom learned from his grandma. The way he sees it, the ideal farm spans generations but his family’s generational farm of today wouldn’t be possible without Pipestone System.
“I’ve achieved my number one goal: creating enough income to include two sons in the farm. Pat (Larry’s wife) and I wanted to set the table big enough to support three families. But we couldn’t find enough additional land to farm.”
Then a local feed company representative introduced the Klumb family to Pipestone System. Larry didn’t need an introduction to the pig business, of course—it’s something he’s done all his life. He and son Shannon owned 220 sows in a labor-intensive operation that wasn’t making enough money to keep Shannon in the business.
In order to make more money in pig production on their own, Larry knew the next step would have been building a gestation barn and hiring an employee. How would paying yet another person underwrite Shannon’s cost of living?
Larry Klumb credits the Pipestone System with "making room at the table" for his sons to farm with him. Left to right: Pat, Larry, Ben, and Shannon Klumb of Ethan, SD.
|
The System offered a smart solution to labor and income issues. Larry really liked the idea of a owning a share in a System that would fill his barn with healthy weaned pigs. First, though, he had to convince two important people: the banker and Pat.
“My wife couldn’t picture buying into a building we wouldn’t be able to see when we woke up in the morning. She thought I was nuts until we took a trip to visit Jim and JoAnn Veldkamp and Mike and Cyndy Baustain in Minnesota,” Larry remembers.
The Veldkamps and Baustains are among the original System shareholders so they could provide Pat with real-world examples. “Cyndy and JoAnn understood Pat’s concerns. But since they both worked with the pigs and they could tell her ‘now we work half as hard but make twice as much money!’”
More information ultimately convinced the local banker to endorse the System concept so the Klumb family could move ahead. Larry, Pat, and Shannon became shareholders in the Dakota Superior barn. Later when the other son, Ben, joined the operation, he bought into the Blue Stem barn.
“This is the best the thing we could have gotten into!” Larry announces. “It’s so easy to manage our grow-finish operation here on our farm versus managing our own sows.”
“And we’ve had a lot of help along the way from Gordon (Dr. Gordon Spronk) and Doc Kennedy. You know how it is,” he says. “Plenty of people claim they’re gonna help you but most just want to help themselves. The Pipestone System management team really helps us.”
Now that there are more dollars coming in than going out, Larry’s table has room for his children. And he recalls something he learned growing up surrounded by family. “Grandma said she didn’t mind if I forgot to say ‘Please’ so long as I always said ‘Thank you.’ I owe the Pipestone System folks a big thanks!”
go back