By Jolene Farley
The Lyle and Sharil Rollag family, Beaver Creek, has been honored as the 2002 Rock County Farm Family of the Year.
The annual award recognizes outstanding farm families from across Minnesota for their contributions to agriculture and their communities.
The award came as a surprise to Lyle. "I didn't even know we were in the running," he said. "We didn't do anything out of the ordinary that would qualify us to be Farm Family of the Year or just to receive any reward."
Sharil was also pleasantly surprised. "I was excited, especially for Lyle. He has worked hard on the farm," she said.
The Rollags will be honored at a reception in the Twin Cities Thursday, March 7.
Lyle and Sharil and their three children Thomas, 11, Alaina, 9, and Sean, 7, operate an 850-acre corn, soybean and oats farm near Beaver Creek.
The Rollags also produce alfalfa and cattle, and they custom feed hogs and are partners in a 80-head cow/calf operation.
As a regional representative for the Minnesota Corn and Soybean Growers Association, Lyle is a liaison between state and county organizations. He serves the counties of Nobles, Rock, Pipestone, Murray, Lincoln, Lyon, Jackson and Cottonwood.
Sharil works for the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development at the port of entry dispensing information to travelers.
Lyle also volunteers on the local ethanol plant board and the Rock County Fair Board. Sharil volunteers at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School. The family is also active in church activities.
Lyle has his own views on how farming has changed in recent years. "You can't just go out and plant and harvest," he said. "The whole thing is much more complicated than that... from knowledge of government programs to belonging to value added ventures, times change. You change with the times or you may get left behind."
It's difficult for someone to farm the way his father and grandfather farmed, in Rollag's opinion. Farming hasnÕt changed for the better in recent years for those who are more aggressive, farming is just different.
It used to be you could fix your financial mistakes by working longer hours, according to Rollag.
"That doesn't necessarily hold true anymore," he said. "We don't control our own destiny the way past generations did. We only make up 1 percent of the population. We are pretty low on the food chain... even though we supposedly control that food chain."
Rollag urges farmers to get involved with local farming groups to make their voices heard. "It doesn't seem like on your own you get much accomplished," he said.
Farmers can be hurt worse by a bad piece of legislation than by bad weather, according to Rollag. "Farmers cannot control the weather, so they might as well try to control legislation," he said.