The Freitags put their roots down in south central Nebraska in 1889. Nate’s great, great, great grandfather and his family immigrated from Germany to search for a better life on the prairie. We still marvel at the amount of effort it took to survive - they grew over an acre (a football field) of potatoes! Even in the nursing home, Nate’s grandma still remembered the names of the draft horses her dad used to farm prior to tractors.
A 5th generation farmer, Lonny farmed alongside his parents Verdell and Leora. Making money on the farm was challenging and they tried raising just about every kind of animal there was: chickens, ducks, peacocks, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, etc. Eventually Lonny talked Verdell into raising popcorn in the 1980s to earn better pay on limited acres. Numerous times, Verdell swore he’d never raise it again because popcorn frequently blew down and was difficult to grow. Luckily they stuck with it and we continue to build on their legacy!
Leora combining wheat with a 7-foot Massey Harris combine in the mid 1940s