Do you know a farmer that is an organic and a conventional farmer, one that embraces different systems to fit personal farming choices? Carolyn Olson, originally a city girl from Champlin, Minnesota, turned Cottonwood, Minnesota farmer is just that, an organic crop farmer and conventional hog farmer. She explains her farming choices below in her own words. I met Carolyn a couple of years ago when I spoke at an AgChat Regional conference in Rochester, Minnesota. I was struck by Carolyn’s compassion, kindness and the way she explained how she farms with her husband, Jonathan.
Since then we have mostly stayed connected through social media while developing a trusted friendship, rooted in quick notice prayer requests and stories we exchange at all hours of the day. I cherish her friendship and respect her outreach efforts to advocate for food and farming choices and explanations she gives in both organic and conventional farming. 
Her blog, Carolyn CAREs, along with Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram are all places for you to connect with her and get to know her as a woman in agriculture.
Carolyn speaks her mind on her blog and as a trained speaker. In addition to her farming, she intertwines her faith, her commitment to her husband and marriage, the joys and struggles of parenting which includes three adult daughters and a new son-in-law, along with a new journey into being a foster parent into her sharing.
Carolyn with Senator Klobuchar, used with permission from Minnesota Farm Bureau
Earlier this month, she ran for a district seat on the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation’s State Board of Directors and won. Women in agriculture will never be seated at a board of directors table if you never try to run for a seat. Carolyn did just that and it makes me proud to see, knowing it sets an example for others to be encouraged to run.
Meet Carolyn Olson from Cottonwood, Minnesota.
What is your role in agriculture today? I farm with my husband, Jonathan. I run tillage equipment in the spring and fall, run the combine, and help out where needed.
How has agriculture shaped your life? I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis. I had relatives that farmed, but had very little personal farm experience. When I married Jonathan, I moved to the farm, and fell in love with agriculture. It is now my passion. I love talking about it, advocating for it, and working in it. That passion has grown into leadership positions in my county and state Farm Bureau, becoming a trained agriculture speaker, a blog, and agvocating over social media.
The Olson Family by Tony Miller Photography
What excites you about your community? The people. We live in a pretty strong Norwegian and Belgian community. Family and relationships are so important. When tragedy strikes, our community comes together to comfort the hurting. It is also pretty exciting to see young people coming back home to work or farm and be closer to their families.
When was the last time you tried something for the first time? On November 21, 2014, I ran for our district seat on the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation’s State Board of Directors. It still hasn’t sunk in that I won! My faith is super important, and I was confident that I was being called to serve on the board, but I still had to step way beyond my comfort zone to campaign and work for the position. I’m looking forward to the challenge, and serving the members in my district!
What do you do to encourage others? Who/what serves as a source of encouragement for you? I try to be there for others…listening when they need to vent, giving advice when they seek it, laughing and/or crying with them.
My biggest source of encouragement is my husband, Jonathan. We’ve been married for 26 years. We pray together, work together, play together, and support each other in our activities. He’s the first person I go to when I need a shoulder, or reassurance. Besides Jonathan, I have a great network of friends, both in agriculture and outside of ag. Some I mostly communicate with via social media, but that doesn’t make them less of a friend.
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? There are so many great agri-women, it is almost impossible to choose one. Each one has a different set of gifts that are valuable! My current mentors are Katie Pinke and Emily Zweber when it comes to agvocating with grace. For foster care, my mentor is my friend, and now daycare provider, Dani Brower.
If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be? Jonathan and I started transitioning to organic crop production in 1998 after grain buyers kept asking if the food grade soybeans we were raising were organic. They talked about the growing market, and they were looking for farmers who could raise beans for their contracts. We talked about it, asked a ton of questions of others who had already transitioned and attended events at a nearby experiment station before making the decision to start transitioning a 40 acre field. We transitioned slowly, making sure we could handle the work load, and were 100% certified before picking up more land in 2008. We were once again 100% certified organic in 2011 after the 36 month transition period ended. We went into this process thinking it was a great economic decision for our farm. We have fallen in love with the process of organic farming, and we like how it fits with our land and management style.
A key component to our system is our hog manure. We have been custom finishing pigs for our neighbor since 1992, starting with a little inside/outside lot for the pigs, and growing to two 1200 head curtain sided barns. When we decided to transition to organic farming, we also made the decision to continue raising pigs indoors. We live in Minnesota, where the summers can get hot, and the winter can be super cold. The pigs are more comfortable, and naturally healthier when raised in our barns than they were when we had an outside lot. It is also easier to capture the manure to use on our fields when the pigs are in the barns.
The way we look at it, this is one area where organic and conventional work perfectly together. It’s all about keeping an open mind, and embracing the systems that fit your management style and soil or location. It doesn’t matter if you are farming 1 acre or 10,000 acres. You need to be able to make the choices that best fit you, not your neighbor.
What makes you smile? Our 3-year-old foster son brings so much joy along with the extra gray hair. A year ago, Jonathan and I went through the certification process to become foster parents. This is our first long-term placement, so we’re pretty new at this. It is a big jump to go from our daughters, who are all in their 20’s, to a 3-year-old boy! Unlike farming, we may not see the results of our labor with foster care. We can give structure, boundaries, and a lot of love, hoping that we are truly making a difference in the life of the child.
Thank you, Carolyn for sharing your farming diversity and perspective as a leader for women in agriculture!
Below are links to all features in this 30 Days of Women in Agriculture series. Take the time as you can to visit each of them and get to a wide swath of women in agriculture. Each has a unique story and perspective. Plus there is this holiday treats baking giveaway to enter until Saturday afternoon, November 29, 2015! November 30 will bring one last Women in Agriculture giveaway for you!
Day 27: My Mom, Jane Lukens, From GriggsDakota
Day 26: Simple Sweet Treats Baking Giveaway
Day 25: Caitlin Antle Wilson, Next Generation in Arizona and California’s Lettuce Growing Family
Day 24: Minnesota’s Fierce Agvocate and Farmer, Karolyn Zurn
Day 23: An 80 year-old California Lemon Farmer, Elaine Cavaletto
Day 22: 5th Generation Florida Peanut and Herb Farmer Sarah Carte
Day 21: From City Girl to a Nebraska Feedyard Foodie, Anne Burkholder
Day 20: Lodge Enamel Cast-Iron Dutch Ovens Giveaway
Day 19: South Dakota’s Agri-Cultured Artist Jodene Shaw
Day 18: North Dakota’s Ag Teacher and Mom That Lives with Prairie Perseverance
Day 17: Iowa’s Corn, Beans, Pigs and Kids Meet Val Plagge
Day 16: From a Farm Dream to Reality Meet Pennsylvania’s Sally Scholle
Day 15: 9th Generation Californian to Arizona Beef Lovin’ Girl
Day 14: Minnesota Farm Living’s Wanda Patsche, a hog and crop farmer
Day 13: California Agvocate and Tree Fruit Farmer Karri Hammerstrom
Day 12: South Dakota’s Positively Passionate Amy Pravecek
Day 11: Canadian Mom and Monsanto’s New Social Scientist, Dr. Cami Ryan
Day 9: Illinois Farm Mom & AgChat Foundation Executive Director Jenny Schweigert
Day 8: Sixth Generation Canadian Farmer Patricia Grotenhuis
Day 7: Innovative Annie Carlson and Morning Joy Farm’s NEW Bread and Soup CSA
Day 6: Keeping It Real Through The Lens Of A Farm Girl: Erin Ehnle
Day 5: Sustainability Expert, Cancer Survivor and New Mom, Dr. Jude Capper
Day 4: A Next Generation of Women In Ag, Meet Michigan State’s Taylor Truckey
Day 3: Valiant Val Wagner of North Dakota, farmer, mom, wife, paralegal and student
Day 2: North Dakota’s Sarah Heinrich, television farm broadcaster and rancher
Day 1: Wisconsin’s Carrie Mess AKA Dairy Carrie, farmer, advocate, blogger and speaker
Introduction: Why Am I Blogging About 30 Days of Women in Agriculture
After reading this blog I felt the need to again speak what I feel. My family and I moved to Minnesota almost four years ago from a pretty bad part of Connecticut we had the chance to give our kids a better life and that is what we did not knowing what was going to happen we took a leap of FAITH packed up our four kids a U-Haul truck and left we had some money saved and new we would find a job some how when we arrive shortly after getting to MN my oldest became friends with an exchange student that was with the Olson family and before you new it we were blessed to meet them, Jonathan invited us to church and from then on we became friends I have never been so warmly welcomes by complete strangers this family is a miracle to us we do not have any family but we do know Carolyn is a woman that words can not describe, any thing she gets involved in she will make amazing things happen she is so bright and gifted and so caring she and Jonathan are godparents to our granddaughters and will soon be godparents to our son that we are adopting and he will carry Jonathans name I am so blessed to be able to have her as a friend and a part of my family and so very proud of her. God Bless You Carolyn you are loved.
Oh, Lisa! You know how to make me cry! We are blessed by you, Shawn, the girls, and now your son. I’m so happy you made the decision to move to Minnesota! Love you!
Very informative article thanks for this.