Arneson Farms in Minnesota: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Arneson Farms in Halstad, Minnesota, is a fifth-generation Red River Valley farm of just under 4,000 acres growing sugar beets, hard red spring wheat and soybeans. DTN/Progressive Farmer profiled the farm and Rachel Arneson in its America's Best Young Farmers and Ranchers coverage. The farm sits in the heart of Minnesota's sugar beet country.
| Location | Halstad, Red River Valley, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Founded | Fifth-generation farm; great-great-grandfather Ole Viker first farmed these soils |
| Sectors | Sugar beets; hard red spring wheat; soybeans; occasional corn |
| Scale | Just under 4,000 acres, with about 650 acres of sugar beets in a typical year (DTN/Progressive Farmer) |
| Why it is elite | Large-scale Red River Valley sugar beet and grain farm profiled by DTN/Progressive Farmer as part of its young farmers program |
| Ownership | Family-owned; Rachel Arneson runs day-to-day, parents Ray and Jacqueline own much of the land and equipment, and her brother Jesse farms full time |
| Official website | DTN/Progressive Farmer profile (no operation website found) |
History of Arneson Farms
According to DTN/Progressive Farmer, Rachel's great-great-grandfather, Ole Viker, first farmed these soils. Rachel, 36 when profiled, is a fifth-generation farmer who runs the farm day to day.
Her parents, Ray and Jacqueline Arneson, own much of the land and equipment, and her brother Jesse also farms full time. The profile describes how the family handled changes of practice and responsibility within the farm.
What Arneson Farms Grows and Raises
The farm grows sugar beets on about 650 acres in a typical year, plus hard red spring wheat and soybeans, with corn occasionally. Sugar beet acres are a defining enterprise of the Red River Valley, where heavy clay soils and long summer days suit the crop.
At just under 4,000 acres, the farm sits well above the average Minnesota farm size. A rotation with beets, wheat and soybeans spreads workload and disease risk across crops.
How Arneson Farms Makes Money
Sugar beets
Sugar beets are the specialty crop that sets Red River Valley farms apart, and the farm grows about 650 acres in a typical year.
Spring wheat and soybeans
Hard red spring wheat and soybeans are the main grain and oilseed crops and rotate with the beets.
Rotational flexibility
Corn is grown occasionally, which lets the family adapt to prices and rotation needs.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Arneson Farms
Rotation is a business tool. A mix of sugar beets, wheat and soybeans spreads risk and labor across the year.
Younger leaders can take over gradually. The profile shows Rachel running the farm day to day while her parents still own much of the land and equipment, a staged approach to succession.
Few things say Red River Valley like heavy clay, a long fall beet harvest and the unspoken rule that nobody leaves the field before the trucks do. For a break from piler schedules and sugar content numbers, visit farm.FM for farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, including gentle teasing about spring mud and cousins who always arrive after lunch.
farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, also runs Tractor Tunes, a country music lineup for farmers. For a sample of the writing, try the archive of one of its staff humorists.
How to Contact Arneson Farms
Website: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2023/12/01/resistance-becomes-trust
No official website, address or phone was found for the operation, so this links to a DTN/Progressive Farmer profile, November 2026. The article does not state that the farm won an award.
Arneson Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- DTN/Progressive Farmer profile - America's Best Young Farmers and Ranchers feature
- Minnesota Farm Bureau on sugar beets - Overview of sugar beet farming in Minnesota
- USDA Census of Agriculture - Sugar beet and farm data from NASS
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - Search sugar beet acres by county
- USDA Farmers.gov - FSA loans and crop insurance programs
Arneson Farms FAQ
Where is Arneson Farms?
It is in Halstad, in the Red River Valley of northwest Minnesota.
How big is Arneson Farms?
DTN/Progressive Farmer reported just under 4,000 acres.
What does it grow?
Sugar beets, hard red spring wheat and soybeans, with occasional corn.
Who runs it?
Rachel Arneson, a fifth-generation farmer, runs it day to day with her parents and her brother Jesse.
Arneson Farms shows what a fifth-generation Red River Valley sugar beet and grain farm looks like at scale. For the state's other leading operations and programs, read the Minnesota farms guide.