It was so dry the first growing season after Todd and Melissa Ellwein purchased their farm three miles west of Barnard in northeastern South Dakota that almost nothing grew.
The Ellwein family includes Melissa and Todd (middle), who farm with their son, Carson, and son-in-law, Casey Cox.
The Ellwein family calve late spring which also allows them to implement the Sandhills Calving System – instead of calving indoors the cows begin calving season in one pasture. Every two weeks all the bred cows are moved to a new pasture, leaving the newborn calves and their mothers behind.
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The Ellwein family raises cattle and crops in Brown County, South Dakota.
See more photos of the Ellwein family and read about more South Dakota families on the South Dakota Farmers Union website.
