By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Kara and John Zimmerman of Northfield have been selected as Rice County’s Farm Family of the Year.
Their farm, just outside the city, is primarily turkeys, but also includes row crops of corn and soybeans. They grow both heavy toms and heavy hens for Ferndale Market in Cannon Falls.
John is the owner and primary operator, Kara is a full-time CPA, while their school-age son Grant helps out wherever he can. John’s mother Karen helped out with farm operations in the past.
John was the 2014 president of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and the Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council. He also served several years on the board of directors for Minnesota Agricultural Rural Leadership (MARL).
Currently, John is the chairman of River Country Cooperative in Inver Grove Heights. He was the 2024 chairman of the National Turkey Federation and is currently a member of the Executive Committee. John is also chairman of the National Turkey Federation Foundation.
The farm’s turkeys are so well-regarded that two of its toms made the trek to Washington, D.C., in November, where they received a pre-Thanksgiving pardon from President Joe Biden. The University of Minnesota Farm Family Recognition Program
honors farm families from throughout the state for their significant contributions to the agriculture industry and their local communities.
The Farm Family Recognition Program has honored Minnesota farmers since 1979. It is coordinated by University of Minnesota Extension, the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Farm Families are recognized at Farmfest in August.
The Zimmerman family home farm was settled by August Zimmerman in the 1870s near Northfield, Minnesota. It started as a mixed crop and dairy farm until the 1950s when John’s father Chuck started raising turkeys. John is the second generation to raise turkeys and the farm is in its fifth generation.
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