About Us

About Yost Farm

In 1874 John and Catherine Yost, along with their infant son John, immigrated from Malmedy, Germany to St. Paul, MN (after Germany’s defeat in World War I, the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to concede territories, including Malmedy, to Belgium). The town is also the site of the Malmedy Massacre, where 84 American prisoners of war where murdered by their German counterparts in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II.

Once arriving in the U.S., John and his family resided in the Como Park area of St. Paul where he worked on the railroad. In 1876, after two years of work and money saved up, the family headed west and through the Homestead Act, settled on 160 acres of land in Dublin Township near Murdock, MN.

During the early years of Yost Farm, the primary cash crops were oats, flax and wheat, it was not until the 1930s that corn eventually found it’s way into the crop rotation, followed by soybeans about two decades later. In the early 1960s the farm began feeding beef cattle. Presently, Yost Farm specializes in growing corn, soybeans and alfalfa. The farm also operates a custom harvesting business, manages feed inputs for local dairies and runs a trucking fleet.

Our Goal

To play a role in bridging the information gap between the general public (consumers) and farmers. To promote the sustainable and environmentally-friendly farming practices used by farmers as they confront the challenges of feeding a hungry world while providing consumers with the products that they need, want and desire.

Consumers’ Growing Appetite for Information

Today individuals have instant access to knowledge through the transfer of information through digital platforms such as websites, social media and mobile apps. Currently, approximately 40 percent of the world’s population has access to the Internet, up from less than one percent in 1995. In 2005 there were one billion Internet users, by the end of 2014 that number will have tripled to three billion. In the U.S. over 80 percent of individuals use the Internet, with nearly 75 percent of them using social networking sites.

Disconnect Between Farming and the General Public

In 1870 farmers represented 53 percent of the labor force in the United States. By 1920 that number was cut in half to 27 percent, by 1950 it was only 12 percent, in 1980 it was a little over three percent. Today less than one percent of the more than 325 million people living in the U.S are employed as farmers.

Food Insecurity

With current global trends in diets and population, projections predict that agricultural production will need to increase anywhere from 60 to 110 percent to feed the world by 2050.