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On the wheel
Sletto makes homemade yarn
GARFIELD — The fiber-bearing animals at Shepherds Bay Farm have helped Terry and Kathy Sletto fulfill their dreams of spinning yarn. Using a wheel from the 1800s, the Slettos spin wool from their animals.
The farm is home to sheep, llamas, rabbits and a few friendly barn cats that all serve a special purpose.
The sheep herd is made up of 40 Shetland sheep who produce high-quality wool, Kathy said. The farm is home to 30 Angora rabbits, which grow hair long enough to be spun into yarn. Kathy waits until the hair is around 8 inches in length before she trims it off the animals.
Marine computers to Minnesota cattle
O’Neill’s military discipline serves in beef, crop operation
MARION — Dennis O’Neill has always wanted to be a farmer. His family has farmed in southern Minnesota for over 145 years and owned land for over 125 years. As he prepares for the operation to move from the fourth to the fifth generation, he is grateful for everything that has brought his farm through hard times, including the support of his wife, Bridget, their children and grandchildren, and of his own time in the U.S. Marine Corps, working with early iterations of computers.
“In the military, you were assigned stuff to do (and) were expected to get it done, carry through and follow through,” Dennis said. “When I started farming, I had to do it; I had to stick to it, get it done no matter all the issues. … Some years, it’s been very tough to pay for this land and keep going forward. I truly think a lot of people would’ve given up before, but we stuck to it. My wife has been the greatest partner in the world.”
