Leaving a farming legacy in Wright County
STARRLA CRAY
Associate Editor
In the 1950s, Gary Diers was named an FFA Chapter
Star Greenhand at Howard Lake High School. Now,
60 years later, his granddaughter Mikayla Thorson
has earned the same honor. The award is given to
one freshman involved in FFA each year.
“I still have my jacket, and it still fi ts,” Gary said.
Gary and Mikayla recently posed together with
their matching FFA jackets, both dark blue with gold
lettering.
Mikayla, 15, joined FFA when she was a seventh-
grader at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted School
District. Now a sophomore, she is enjoying every
aspect of the program.
For Gary, FFA and vocational agriculture were
added to the high school curriculum in the 1956-
57 school year, after having been absent for several
years.
“I was a freshman that year,” Gary said. “I always
knew I was going to be a farmer, so Vo Ag and FFA
were just natural.”
Gary didn’t participate in sports, so FFA was a
way for him to get more involved. Also, it was one of
the few ways to learn about public speaking at that
time.
“That [public speaking] is something I have used
all my adult life,” Gary said. “It also created a lifelong
interest in parliamentary rules for the conduct of
meetings.”
Gary is a proponent of lifelong learning, and
encouraged his children to attend college. Mikayla’s
mother, Colette, studied at the University of
Wisconsin-River Falls, and explored other majors
before discovering that farming was her true
calling.
“I’m very thankful for [the opportunity to attend
college],” Colette commented. “I never would have
met my husband or understood the passion that I had
for the dairy industry if I hadn’t.”
Colette and her husband, Andy Thorson, are the
fi fth generation on the family farm in Waverly, known
as Diers Corporation. The farm was established in
1874 by Colette’s great-great-grandfather. Colette’s
parents, Gary and Linda, are still active in the day-to-
day work, helping with crops, property maintenance,
and more.
“Our job is to try to get it to the next generation,”
Andy said.
Diers Corporation currently farms 900 acres (650
acres owned), and milks 250 cows. Milking is done
twice a day, in a double-12 parlor. Having the larger
parlor has been a big benefi t, according to Colette.
The farm used to have a double-four parlor, and
milking took 16 hours per day, plus set-up and clean-
up time. Now, milking is done in about six hours
(three hours per time), in addition to about two hours
of preparation/cleanup work.
“I’ve always loved the cows, and I love the people
that I work with,” Colette said. “It’s more about the
2
Senior
Gary Diers of rural Waverly and his grandaughter,
Mikayla Thorson, have matching FFA jackets.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
people in the industry. It’s an industry-wide standard
for dairy farmers; they just have that unique per-
sonality for compassion, understanding, and work
ethic.”
The cows all have names, and the family can tell
them apart by their faces, spots, personalities, and
even their udders.
“We had 200 cows when I was milking them, and
I knew every one of them by name,” commented
Gary, who had been helping with milking up until
six years ago, when he turned 70.
This year, Diers Corporation was recognized as the
Wright County Farm Family of the Year. The family
was chosen by the local University of Minnesota Ex-
tension committee based on demonstrated commit-
ment to enhancing and supporting agriculture.
Gary Diers, 76, became a Chapter Star Greenhand in
the 1950s. Now, his 15-year-old granddaughter, Mikayla
Thorson, is following in his footsteps.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
All the cows at Diers Corporation in Waverly have names. They were busy snacking while the family had their photo
taken. Pictured are Andy and Colette Thorson, their 11-year-old daughter Victoria “Tori,” and Colette’s parents, Linda
and Gary Diers. Victoria’s sisters, Mikayla (15) and Malorie (13) aren’t pictured, since they were showing cows at the
Minnesota State Fair that day.
Connections November 2018
PHOTO BY STARRLA CRAY
Senior Connections HJ.COM