Amidst Tragedy, Two Sisters Rally to Save Their Family Farm

In farming communities, there is a longtime tradition of passing down farm land from one generation to another. But what happens when tragedy strikes? One family in Lamberton, Minn. rallied to keep things running when the patriarch of the family farm, Perry Altermatt, died in a boating accident.

According to Kare11, The farm began in the hands of Mark Altermatt's father. When the time came, the farm was passed to Mark, and then into the hands of Mark's son, Perry. When his son tragically passed away in a boating accident, the 1300-acre family farm stood in danger of collapse.

But Mark took a chance and asked his granddaughters a simple question, "Do you want to farm?"

Even though neither of the girls knew anything about farming, they jumped at the chance to carry on their father's legacy. Now, they just completed their fifth harvest and plan to continue at it for the long-haul.

You can learn more about their amazing story in this video.


Naturally, the girls don't complete the entire harvest on their own. Family and friends have been more than happy to help them out. In fact, their uncle, Scott Haas, drives from the Twin Cities to help them get the harvest in.

Sadly, this isn't the first time this family went through tragedy. The Altermatt's other son, Doug, died in the 1980s in a skid loader accident on the farm.

Since their father's death, both girls married on the farm and became mothers. But all these changes haven't changed their dedication to keeping their family farm running for years to come.

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