Pictured: Jared, Cole, Todd, and Garv Vis, with Cole’s German Shepherd, Rip. They are pictured here with one of their trucks, in the shop on Highway 75.

By Jill Fennema –

Farming is more than a job. Farming is a heritage that is passed down from generation to generation. Working the soil and asking it to bear fruit is both a joy and a burden, whether you’re the land owner or the tenant.

For the Vis family, it’s a calling that they are glad to fulfill each day as they work together.

“We don’t own a stitch of land, but we get to farm every day,” Todd Vis said.

Garvin Vis worked on his parent’s farm growing up. Arie and Jennie (Vos) Vis farmed near Leota in the 1950’s and 60’s. In 1966, Garv was called up to serve during the Vietnam War. He was stationed on a small ship in Mayport, Florida. His wife, Bonnie (Corbin) moved there with him and they were soon joined by a new baby they named Todd.

When they came back from Florida in 1968, Garv’s parents were selling all their farm equipment and moving to town. Garv remembers his mom saying, “We are going to move to town and starve!”

Garv took a job as the hired man at Kooiman Farms, south of Chandler along Highway 91.  The operation was owned by Pete, Adrian, and Wayne Kooiman.  He  and Bonnie took up residence on a neighboring acreage, where they could live rent free while Garv worked for Kooimans.

For the next 25 years, Garv helped with all the farm operations – from feeding cattle to cultivating and planting.  Todd grew up at Garv’s side and was joined by three sisters – Melanie, Tricia, and April. When he got older, Todd also worked for Kooimans and for other farmers in the area.

Todd sat in the tractor while Garv took a short break from chopping. He was too young to drive in 1974, but still loved to be in the tractor.

Garv, Todd and Melanie

Garv Vis with his daughter April when he started custom farming.

Todd graduated from Southwest MN Christian High School in 1986. He studied diesel mechanics for two years at Willmar Vocational School, before taking a position as a truck mechanic at Freightliner in Sioux Falls. He married Julie Hillers whom he had met through a young adult’s group in Sioux Falls.

In 1992, the Kooiman partnership was dissolved. Garv and Bonnie and the girls, who were teenagers at the time, moved to Leota and Garv started custom farming on his own by Hardwick.

Dr. Stuart Sybesma of Pipestone owned land near there and that winter he approached Garv about custom farming his land.

“That was the break I had been looking for,” Garv said. The first year, Todd helped out, using his vacation time from work to come help Garv harvest. The next year, he and Julie moved to an acreage southeast of Leota and Todd and Garv began working together.

In 1997, Todd and Julie moved to their current acreage along County Rd. 10 (241st Street), west of Leota. They have three children – Cole, Jared, and Holly.

Working alongside his son every day was a welcomed change for Garv. They have always gotten along well and even when mistakes were made, they learned to put those things in the past and move on.

“Things did not always go smooth,” Garv said. “But I never thought that it wasn’t going to work.”

In 1999, they revamped a hay shed along Highway 75, five miles north of Pipestone and made it into their shop. Much of the land they farm is in that area and having the shop there has worked out well. That was also the year they switched to narrow row planting.

Vis Farms operates out of this shop on Highway 75 north of Pipestone.

Todd and Julie’s son Cole graduated from SWCH in 2014, and went on to Ridgewater College in Willmar with a degree in Farm Production.  Jared graduated from SWCH in 2017, and went on to Southwest Technical Institute in Sioux Falls to study diesel technology.

In the 1990s, Garv and Todd custom farmed and they hauled manure from hog barns to fertilize the land they were farming. The income from that work was enough to provide for both their families.

In 2018, they stopped their custom farming agreement and started renting the land instead. That was also when Cole joined the operation and Garv started to pass the baton to the next generation. In 2021, Jared joined the partnership.

The Vis family farms with John Deere tractors and a Claas combine with a 24 row corn head. In this photo, a coyote narrowly escapes in front of the combine.

Cole lives two miles north of the farm shop and headquarters. Jared is married to Haley Pap. They live close to Luverne and welcomed a new baby last fall.