Carlson Says No Regrets in Farming Career

For three generations and counting, the Carlson family has owned and farmed land in Dixon County, Nebraska. Now, Verl and Carolyn Carlson manage 232 acres of farmland.

The family's land originated with Verl's grandfather, Fritz Carlson. After emigrating from Sweden, he purchased 80 acres in 1916. In 1920, his grandfather purchased 80 acres of land-grant land from Carolyn's maternal grandfather. The third 80 acres was purchased in 1932 by Verl's father, Delmar Carlson. In 1974, Verl and Carolyn purchased the farm from Delmar and Eunice Carlson. When Verl and Carolyn retired, they sold about 7 acres with farm buildings.

In 2016, the Carlson family farm received the Nebraska Pioneer Farm Award by the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation and the Nebraska Farm Bureau for 100 years of owning the land.

Despite moving more than 500 miles away to retire in Colorado with his wife, Verl Carlson said his farm blood runs very strong.

"I would do it all over again," he said as he reflected on his career.

Carlson bought his first car, a used '49 Chevy, with money he made constructing U.S. government grain bins one summer. After his last day of high school, the teen drove straight home to take the tractor out and disc the field.

The Carlsons met during high school and have been married for 64 years. He noticed "the lil redhead" when she was a freshman and he was a sophomore. The two began dating a year later, making dates out of Verl's basketball games and other school activities.

After returning from serving in the U.S. Navy, Carlson took over the farming operation from his dad in 1958. He started out using his dad's old equipment to care for the row crops. Eventually, he upgraded both his equipment and his modes of farming.

The couple ran various farming operations and raised three children, daughter Tammy and sons Jeff and Dirk.

Dairying was a big part of the farm operation which grew into a Grade A dairy operation. Along with three other dairy farmers, they supplied milk for Fremont for 10 years. He also continued growing crops and started custom combining for other neighbors.

Yet after 10 years of successful dairy farming, Carlson decided to sell his dairy herd in order to spend more time with his young children. Over breakfast one morning, he told his wife about his plan.

"My wife said, ‘We'll starve to death if you sell the herd.' And we didn't," he said chuckling.

With the help of two young sons and automated feeding equipment, Carlson switched to swine operation producing 500 head of market hogs per year.

Yet, life on the farm wasn't always pleasant for the family. From his childhood, Carlson remembers the family's garage burning after an open carburetor started a fire. He remembers a thrashing machine operator accident where someone was killed when a steam engine exploded. He said another memory is when he and his dad watched two B24 bombers collide in midair over a nearby field during World War II.

Carlson also remembers 1984 as a particularly hard hitting year for the farm economically. The youngest Carlson son, back at home after two years at UNL asked his dad, "Will there be a farm for me to farm when I finish college?" Carlson said he answered him with an honest "I don't know." He said while he was "squeezed for profit at the time," eventually things got better.

What makes all the hardships worth it to Carlson is his love of farming. He also said his neighbors became his best friends.

Despite starting out as the youngest farmer in the area in 1958, Carlson said he grew to be an integral part of the Northeast Nebraska farming community.

"You turned around and helped a neighbor when they had a problem and hoped they'd come and help you if you had a problem," he said.

The couple enjoys visiting with their family in their Colorado cabin near Grand Lake. And the next generation of Carlsons continue to farm the land.

Verl has one saying: "They are not making any more land. Owning land is one of the best decisions you can make."