Corn. Soybeans. White, light red and dark red kidney beans. Sweet corn. English garden peas. Navy beans. Snap beans. The Belgrade, Minnesota, farmer grows most of those crops in both conventional and certified organic systems. He raises hay to support the farm's Black Angus cow-calf operation. Some calves are sold to a feedlot, and some are finished and marketed through direct beef sales to local consumers. He also has a side hustle in commercial rental properties with a partner.

His wife, Ashley, is a doctor with a functional health practice and a self-help book author. Add in three lively children, ages 8, 6 and 3. Life is ... busy.

DTN readers will get a chance to learn more about how Rath manages this diversified farm and still finds life balance throughout the 2026 season in a feature called View From the Cab. Also reporting will be Chris Weaver of Finksburg, Maryland. Read a profile of his farming enterprises here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

In its 22nd year, View From the Cab explores geographic differences in the farming regions with an emphasis on agronomy. The farmer volunteers also put voices to a number of rural issues.

FAMILY FIRST

So far, this spring might have Rath questioning his chosen profession. Winter is hanging on like a bad cold in central Minnesota.

Rath, however, has perspective. Graduating from North Dakota State University in 2011 with a degree in agriculture engineering, he spent 15 years working for companies such as John Deere, Bobcat, CNH and Polaris.

"I had great experiences and was traveling the world, but our family was growing, and I wanted to be more intentional about my career path," he said. Juggling full-time work with farming worked for a while, but the opportunity to take a deeper plunge came when his parents, Dennis and Mary, showed interest in retirement.

"There was always the feeling that there wasn't enough to make a go of it without a part-time job. This seemed like my opportunity to go with it and grow it," he said of the family business.

The point that Rath Farms is a family operation truly matters to the 38-year-old young farmer, and that feeling is rooted in lessons of resilience.

"The fact that I am even here and able to do this is a bit of a miracle," he noted.

A third-generation farmer, he lives on the same homestead where the first generation started, but it was a tough beginning. Rath's grandfather, Henry Albert, was sidelined early in his career after falling so ill from a mosquito bite that he never farmed again. Rath's grandmother, Marlys, had five young children at the time and was able to keep the farm afloat.

"Dad (Dennis) was 12 and he planted the whole farm -- about 240 acres back then -- by himself when that happened. I can't imagine doing that," he said.

"Over the years, Dad helped keep the farm going and eventually met Mom (Mary). And they grew the operation to give Ashley and me a chance to start our own story." Both of his parents worked off-farm jobs in addition to farming to make that happen.

Today, Dennis remains a full-time farm employee with Mary pitching in where needed. In addition, Rath says about eight friends, neighbors and relatives work part time throughout the year when needed to manage the farm, which is spread over approximately 2,200 acres.

WATER WORKS

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recognizes 11,842 lakes in the state, and 10 of them sit within 20 minutes of Rath Farms. While that makes for an occasional nice getaway, the glaciers that formed those lakes also had a hand in this region's agricultural destiny.

Rath Farms sits in an area known as the Bonanza Valley. Irrigation technology has transformed this part of Minnesota, a former glacial riverbed. Sandy soils and a deep aquifer have proven valuable for vegetable production -- although pumping demands have increased enough that water reserves are now closely monitored to measure recharge.

Approximately 85% of the farm is under center-pivot irrigation. "It's both a blessing and a curse if you want to do anything in the summer," Rath said. "Our plans revolve around whether it is raining. Otherwise, we're irrigating."

Spring brings its own requirements. All irrigation systems must be serviced and ready to move before doing fieldwork.

To understand how much water access has changed fortunes, Rath recalled the oft-told story about his grandfather installing a silo on the farm with a capacity local critics said would never be filled. Without irrigation, making a crop was far from a sure thing in the early days of the farm.

By contrast, last year Rath landed a first-place state win in the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) yield contest by producing 278.08 bushels per acre (bpa) in the conventional irrigated class with the 97-day relative maturity hybrid Croplan CP3790VT2P.

Here, field sizes range from 15 acres to 190 acres with an average falling around 55 acres. Most commodity corn travels about 40 miles to either an ethanol plant or feed mill. Two vegetable plants are located within an hour of the farm. Peas and sweet corn are grown under contract for Seneca Foods. Kidney beans are delivered to Bonanza Bean (one hour away) or head farther down the road to Chippewa Valley Bean (about three hours away).

"Geographically, we are right in the middle of somewhere. But it is more common to have traffic backed up from a piece of farm equipment than actual vehicles. We are also 40 minutes from being able to get almost any part needed," he said.

Farmers who grow corn and soybeans would likely be surprised by the amount of equipment necessary to grow specialty crops such as edible beans and peas. Add organic equipment for weed control to this farm's machinery needs. Shed space and equipment maintenance requirements are real, he noted.

In this northerly location, there's no reason to panic on planting dates, yet. So far this spring, a few English peas have been drilled. Kidney beans are planted near the end of May when temperatures are consistently in the 70s for several days. Field corn is planted as soon as the fields are fit. Organic production is planted after weeds flush -- typically late May. Sweet corn is planted in June. If peas are planted early enough and harvested before July 4, soybeans can follow as a double crop.

"My planter usually stays hooked up from early April through mid-July," he said.

This year, the cattle mostly cooperated with only a few stragglers left to calve before fieldwork fires up in earnest.

DIVERSITY MATTERS

Keeping the operation diversified definitely adds more complexity, Rath admitted. "But it is the measure I took in order to shield us from market downturns and policy changes in certain segments. Usually when one thing is down, another is up," he said.

Rath said his engineer personality shapes his operating style. "At first, I wondered how I was going to make money. But I started building spreadsheets for inputs and expenses and sales -- basically everything I do -- and that helped tremendously," he said. Spreadsheets also help map out cropping scenarios years in advance.

"Some of the vegetable crops are restricted in how often they can be planted, and our rotations must reflect that," Rath explained. "We have access to turkey manure, but we need to handle applications differently for certain crops. Chemical restrictions can be very stringent on food-grade crops, and there are carryover restrictions from the previous years to consider.

"Organic production requires dedicated acres. And, I need to make sure we have enough acres to meet contracts," he said.

A written mission statement that reflects the family's vision and values includes the focus on multiple, profitable income streams to weather market downturns. Written goals include the desire to farm 2,500 acres by 2027 and to own 2,000 of those row-crop acres by 2038. Plans are to grow the cow herd to 200 head.

"The main message I want the public to see in this series is it is possible to raise a family in rural America, on a farm, with large-scale food production. Our intent is to make a living, as well as produce high-quality products for our consumers while continuing to care for the land," he said.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

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