Humbled by their dairy responsibility

FOLEY, Minn. — Being a dairy farmer and assisting those in need around him go hand in hand for Brian Rahm and his family.

“I try to help people out when I can and everyone around here tends to do the same,” Brian said. “We had a lot of adversity of our own, with a barn collapse and a shed burn down, but we persevered.”

Brian and his wife, Andi, and their three children, Maya, Marnie and Malorie, milk 120 cows and farm 600 acres near Foley. Brian’s parents, John and Kathy, help during the growing season, and then spend their winters in Florida. The Rahm family was named the 2025 Benton County Farm Family of the Year.

“It is humbling to know we are responsible for so much with the land, animals and the products we produce,” Andi said.

John agreed.

“We don’t do anything different than anyone else,” he said. “We take care of the land and animals and they take care of us.”

The Rahms raise their own youngstock, steers, chickens and horses. The older two Rahm children help around the farm, and all three are in 4-H, where Andi is a volunteer.

“My wife did horse camps for a few years,” Brian said. “It is exciting to watch the kids at the fair do well with their projects. The kids like it when their friends come over and they get to show them the animals.”

Maya is also currently serving as a Benton County dairy princess.

“Ever since I was young, I looked up to the dairy princesses,” Maya said. “I knew one day I would have the opportunity to be a dairy princess.”

The Rahm family farm was started in 1950 by John’s dad, Lawrence. John took over in 1970 and Brian joined the operation full time in 1997, officially taking over in 2005.

“All of our kids helped on the farm; we are definitely a family farm,” John said.

Over the years, the farm has seen many changes. A new barn was built, a double-6 parlor was installed and the herd grew from 60 to 120 cows in 1979. Three silos were also built that year to add extra feed storage for the larger herd.

“I like being around and taking care of the cattle,” Brian said.

Since 2021, Brian has utilized cover crops on his corn silage acres.

“We had a pretty bad drought that year and someone mentioned using rye as a cover crop to get more feed,” Brian said. “I was impressed by how well the crop did the following year. I liked that it added more organic matter to the soil. It is better than leaving the ground bare.”

Brian said using cover crops has made his soil softer and healthier, and that they will continue to utilize cover crops in the future.

Although Brian has taken over ownership of the farm, all three generations of Rahms have roles on the farm. John stays active on the farm and gets as much tractor driving time as he can.

“Fall was always my favorite time of year,” John said. “You get to see how the year turned out.”

Maya and her sisters help their dad with the livestock chores, and as a high school senior, Maya is looking to pursue a career in agriculture after graduation.

“My future will for sure involve agriculture and I want to help farmers,” Maya said. “I’m thankful I grew up on a farm because it brought me so many connections and taught me so many life lessons that I would not have had otherwise.”