Generation

5th Generation Farm

Farm History

Our farm was homesteaded in April 1891 by my great-great grandfather which makes my wife and myself the 5th generation of Carstens to live and farm our original home place. We have been lucky enough to be able to raise our children in the house I grew up in which was built by my grandfather in 1945. Noelle, age 21, is a junior business major and volleyball player at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon. Matt, age 18, is a freshman studying turf grass management at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Julie, like many modern farm wives, works off the farm as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist for a nearby school district.

Farm Future

Our farm’s future is truly tied to the past. I still have in my files on an original soil conservation plan my grandfather put together with the assistance of the local conservation district in 1946. In my opinion conservation is the first step towards sustainability. Technology has been the key ingredient which has allowed agriculture to have the option to initiate and change to production systems which will allow future generations to produce quality products on healthy soil. Finally, it is my hope and belief that future generations will embrace change and continually be willing to adapt new technology which will surely only enhance the sustainability of our family farm.