Photos by Jim Tate The Werkman family received Century Farms recognition at the 2024 Lyon County Fair. Family members include, front, Kayla and Dalton Werkman and their sons Brayden and Corson. They are shown on a John Deere purchased by the second owners of the farm, Edgar and Minnie Dahlquist, which has been passed down to other family members over the years.

Kayla and Dalton Werkman are happy raising their two sons on the family’s Century Farm 10 miles northwest of Russell.

Their two children are Brayden, 12, and Corson, 9, and they’ve gotten involved with agriculture this year by growing their own beans.

The boys rented 40 acres from Kayla’s uncle, Daryl Neels, and put in a crop for the first time. “They planted beans and combined them, got their check, and paid their expenses,” said Werkman. “That’s been fun to watch.”

The farm was purchased by Peter and Christine Dahlquist in 1901. Peter Dahlquist was born Per Olsson on April 6, 1854, in Fairlop, Sweden. He changed his name to Per Olsson Dahlquist when he joined the Swedish military. He journeyed to the U.S. at 25, and changed his name to Peter Dahlquist when he arrived in America. He met his wife, Christine, along the way. They arrived on Ellis Island in 1881.

The farm was originally 40 acres and was passed on to Peter and Christine’s son Edgar Dahlquist and his wife Minnie. From there it was passed down to their daughter Carol and her husband Raymond Neels, who passed it down to their son Daryl and his wife Kathy Neels. Kayla and Dalton Werkman took the farm over from Daryl and Kathy Neels seven years ago.

As a nod to the family lineage, the farm is called Dahlneelman Farm, a combination of Dahlquist, Neels and Werkman.

The size of the operation has increased over the years, and now in

cludes 1,600 acres. They grow corn, beans and small grain, and raise feeder cattle and hogs. The original house is gone, replaced with a house that was moved from Tracy, some 30 miles away, in 2016.

Kayla is a financial analyst for US Bank in Marshall. She dated her future husband at RTR High School and then Dalton went to technical school for plumbing. When they were first married they lived on an acreage on the east side of Russell. “Dalton would help a neighbor on his farm and then my uncle Daryl (Neels) told him that he was looking for help. It all worked out,” she said.

The family received their Century Farms plaque at a recognition event at the 2024 Lyon County Fair. They took a family photo on a John Deere tractor originally owned by Edgar and Minnie Dahlquist that’s been restored and passed down through the family.

If there’s one enduring mystery on the farm it’s a large rock that sits in a pasture. “It has ‘Springvalle’ carved into it and we can’t figure out what that means,” said Werkman.

She’s very proud to receive the Century Farms recognition. “It means a lot to the family,” she said. Scott, married to Denise and they have eight children, Bryce, married to Crystal and they have one little girl and Dan, married to Chelsey and they have three children, making this farm operation is truly “family style.”