Susan Roettinger Ritchie & Peter Roettinger - Columbia County Century Farm

This farm's legacy traces all the way back to Norway, where an ancestor emigrated from before arriving in Wisconsin in 1861. He officially purchased the farmland a few years later, in 1864, and built the operation from scratch on sandy and clay soil, eventually constructing nine outbuildings on the property. One of those original structures, a tobacco shed, is still standing today. The family also has a proud history of supporting the country's war efforts, from raising donkeys for the World War I effort to Pete's father serving in the Pacific for two years during World War II. Today, the farm is represented by siblings Susan and Pete Redinger. Their family moved to Wisconsin from New York in 1953, and officially purchased the farm in 1957 from Oscar Ryerson, their mother's uncle. Susan even took on the daunting task of filling out the 87-page deed and paperwork required to get the farm officially recognized. Now, Susan lives in Arkansas and Pete lives in Texas, but despite living out of state, the siblings return each spring, summer, or fall to keep up with maintenance, including painting the buildings and updating an old chicken coop. While visiting, they stay in the original farmhouse, which they humorously describe as "two steps up from camping." Now retired, Pete is heavily focused on maintaining the buildings and keeping the farm entirely out of debt, and both siblings have already made plans to ensure the farm is safely passed down to the next generation. You can catch more Century and Sesquicentennial farm stories by visiting MidwestFarmReport.com, brought to you courtesy of Compeer Financial.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.