Ag United News
Farm Family of the Year -- The VanDerVliet Family
Farming is a family affair for the VanDerVliets of rural Colton. Patriarch Rod VanDerVliet has been raising cows and crops on the family farm west of Colton since 1976.
“All the kids grew up in 4-H and FFA,” he says. The love of the land was passed on to his son, Ryan, who joined the farming operation full-time after graduating from Tri-Valley High School in 1998. Rod’s daughters, Lisa and Lori, are also involved with the family farm. Today, all three children live within three miles of the family farm with their own families.
The Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Agri-Business Division named the VanDerVliets the Farm Family of the Year. The VanDerVliet family will be recognized as the Chamber’s Agri-Business Division Farm Family of the Year at the Mayor’s Round-up & Sale of Champions of Friday, Jan. 25, during the Sioux Empire Farm Show. They will also be honored in April at the Agri-Business Division Annual Meeting.
The VanDerVliets have been operating the Triple RJ feedlot corporation for one year. The name reflects the men in the VanDerVliet family: Rod, his son Ryan, his son-in-law Ryan, and his son-in-law Jamie. The family started the feedlot to expand the farm operation, Rod says.
“With land prices raising, we wanted to do something that would also pay for itself,” Rod says.
The VanDerVliets have a diversified grain and livestock farm west of Colton. They raise dairy calves and finish about 900 dairy steers in a monoslope cattle barn and open lots. The barn is unique in its design, using a row of self-feeders along the side of the barn to feed the cattle.
In the last 30 years Rod has seen farming change with technology. It’s more business-like than ever, he says. Ryan agrees, citing the growing cost of farmland as a major hindrance.
“I’m working hard to give my kids the opportunity to come back to the farm, if they choose,” Ryan said. “I just like being around the animals and the farming lifestyle.”
With six grandchildren under the age of six, Rod would like to see the family farming tradition continue with the next generation.
“I enjoy the flexibility of the job and being out in nature,” he says. “It’s something the whole family can be involved in.”
Family:
Rod and Lois VanDerVliet; and their children: Ryan and Sarah VanDerVliet; Lisa and Jamie Johnson; and Lori and Ryan Fods; and their grandchildren: Rhegan Oberg, 6; Tyson VanderVliet, 4; Weston VanDerVliet, 3; Parker Johnson, 1; Devin Fods, 1; and Clara VanDerVliet, 3 months.
Hometown:
Colton, SD
Occupations:
Rod and Ryan farm full-time; Lois is a registered nurse at Sanford Health; Sarah teaches ag education at Tri-Valley High School; Lisa works at Home Federal Bank; Jamie works in construction; Lori works at US Bank; and Ryan works for the City of Colton.
Community/Agriculture Involvement:
Rod has served on the Colton Farmers Elevator Board for more than 20 years and the MCWC Rural Water Board; Ryan serves on the township board; the entire family is involved in numerous community organizations and activities.
For more information, see: www.siouxfallschamber.com
