Stout Family Farm in Minnesota: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Stout Family Farm in Pipestone County, Minnesota, is a Century Farm started in 1907 that now farms 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans, finishes hogs in three barns holding 4,400 head and runs a custom manure application business. It was among the University of Minnesota Extension Farm Families of the Year, as reported by Farm Progress in 2021.
| Location | Pipestone County, southwest Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1907, as a Century Farm started by the grandfather of Ted Stout |
| Sectors | Corn and soybeans; contract hog finishing; custom manure application |
| Scale | 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans; three finishing barns with combined capacity of 4,400 hogs; about 18 million gallons of manure applied a year |
| Why it is notable | Century Farm and University of Minnesota Extension Farm Family of the Year honoree |
| Ownership | Family-owned by Ted and Joan Stout; next generation lives on the farm |
| Official website | Farm Progress report on Minnesota Extension Farm Families of the Year |
History of Stout Family Farm
Ted Stout's grandfather started the farm in 1907. Ted's parents, Bob and Lucien, farmed next, growing corn and soybeans, milking cows, feeding fat cattle and keeping a few hogs and chickens. They also ran a successful seed corn business, Stout and Heesch Seeds.
Ted began farming in 1984 with some cropland and a few Suffolk sheep. After marrying Joan in 1987 he started a commercial ewe flock that grew to 500 head, and sold the sheep in 2018. Hogs came in 1993, when the first of two 1,000-head finishing barns was built, followed by a 2,400-head barn in 2005 that brought capacity to 4,400. A custom manure hauling business was added at the same time. Son Darrell and his wife Megan live on the farm and help after their other jobs.
What Stout Family Farm Grows and Raises
Crops and hogs are tied together. The family farms 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans in rotation, and the hog barns generate manure that supplies nutrients to that cropland. The finishing barns are run under contract: the family custom-feeds pigs for Spronk Brothers of Edgerton, according to the Extension feature.
Manure is also a service line. Through J & T Waste Management, which the family owns and operates, Joan and a part-time crew custom-apply about 18 million gallons a year. Joan also works full time in the applied research division at Pipestone Management. The sources do not publish hog sales, grain yields or customer lists.
How Stout Family Farm Makes Money
Contract hog finishing
The three finishing barns, with room for 4,400 hogs, are fed under a custom arrangement for Spronk Brothers of Edgerton. A contract finisher supplies buildings, labor and management while the hogs belong to another party. The family has not published payment terms and none are estimated here.
Custom manure application
J & T Waste Management applies roughly 18 million gallons a year, a service that adds income beyond the family's own acres and keeps equipment and crew busy outside planting season.
Corn and soybean rotation
The 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans are the base crop business, helped by manure nutrients from the barns. The family's history of Stout and Heesch Seeds also shows a past in seed corn.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Stout Family Farm
First, diversify around what the farm already produces. Hog barns create manure, manure supports crops, and a manure application business turns a byproduct into a service. Each enterprise supports the others.
Second, change the mix across generations rather than all at once. The Stouts added hogs in 1993, expanded in 2005 and sold sheep in 2018, adjusting enterprises while keeping a Century Farm in the family.
A farm that has gone from sheep to hogs to custom manure on the same Century Farm ground deserves some credit for flexibility, and Pipestone County probably has opinions about all of it. When the barns are fed and the fields are done, visit farm.FM for farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, including affectionate teasing about ewes with a mind of their own and the odd spring wind off the prairie.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact Stout Family Farm
Website: https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-life/extension-honors-minnesota-farm-families-of-the-year
No official website or public business contact details for the operation were found, so this links to a Farm Progress report on University of Minnesota Extension honorees, November 2026. Figures come from that report and may have changed.
Stout Family Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Farm Progress: Extension Farm Families of the Year - Honoree summary including Stout Family Farm
- University of Minnesota Extension Farm Families - Extension's Farm Families of the Year program
- Minnesota Pork Board - State pork producer organization and checkoff
- Minnesota Department of Agriculture profile - State agriculture facts and figures
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - County and state crop and livestock data
Stout Family Farm FAQ
Where is Stout Family Farm?
It is in Pipestone County in southwest Minnesota.
How old is the farm?
It was started in 1907 and is recognized as a Century Farm.
What does the farm do?
It farms 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans, finishes hogs in three barns and custom-applies manure.
How do I contact the farm?
No official website or business contact details were found. The linked Extension honoree coverage is the best verified reference.
Stout Family Farm shows how a Century Farm in Pipestone County stays current by linking crops, hogs and manure services. To compare it with other leading operations, read the Minnesota farms guide.