Wingard Farms

Elk River, Minnesota

Wingard Farms started growing potatoes in 1918, and more than 100 years later, farming is still the family business. Four generations in, the Wingards grow 900 acres of potatoes, soybeans and seed corn. Because they’d love to one day be a fifth-generation family business, the Wingards make sustainable practices like water conservation a priority. They’ve been growing on the same land since the 1950s and plan to continue to do so for decades to come.

“We’ve been farming this ground for 70-plus years, and we don’t want to go anywhere else,” fourth-generation family member David Wingard said. “This is where our farm is. So we’ve got to look to the future. I’ve got daughters, and I’ve got nephews. If they want to grow the business and be a part of this, then we’ve got to look at different things to keep this going and keep the yields where they need to be so we can keep farming this ground for another 70-plus years.”