South Dakota Farmers Union Celebrates the Vedvei Farm Family

August 24, 2016 – By #South Dakota Farmer Union

Emerging from the show ring with a big smile, first time 4-Her, Hadlee Holt, 9, was greeted by her parents, Corrie “Vedvei” and DJ Holt, with a big hug and sighs of relief.

 It was nerve-racking to watch, but seeing that smile was priceless,” explains Corrie of watching her daughter show for the first time.

 A third-generation 4-H alumnus, Corrie says it’s exciting to see her daughter continue the family legacy of 4-H involvement and showing registered Charolais cattle.

“When I look back and think about all the life lessons I learned growing up on the farm, showing cattle and working alongside my sisters to help my mom and dad ­ DJ and I want those same experiences for our girls,” Corrie says of daughters Hadlee, 9, Bentlee, 5, and Cambree, 1.

 At 35, Corrie has not missed a single South Dakota State Fair. Her parents, Al and Deb “Wienk” Vedvei, recall bringing their firstborn to the state fair as a young baby ­ the family camping in a tent.

 Today, they camp in air conditioned campers, which made Corrie’s decision to pack up her firstborn, Hadlee, and bring her to the State Fair four days after she was born, an easy one.

 “We all grew up showing,” says Deb, 57. “The State Fair is our chance to reconnect with friends we only get to see once a year.” “It’s like a big family reunion,” Al, 58, adds.

 Today, the family is working cattle together on their farm near Lake Preston. Hadlee and Bentlee watch a safe distance from the chute.

 “Helping on the farm is my happy place – working calves with my family is one of my favorite days of the year,” explains Corrie, who splits her time between the farm, a full-time career with Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) as a Soil Technician and recently launching Ag Buddy, a publication all about agriculture for kids.

 DJ works for Al full-time ­ a career he began a few months after meeting Corrie at a National Charolais Show in Texas. Corrie and DJ met in 2000 and married in January 2002.

 “I’m grateful to Al for this opportunity to work with cattle full-time.

 Without him, I wouldn’t be able to do this,” explains DJ, who grew up in Ozark, Arkansas.

 Like Corrie, he spent his teen years showing registered Charolais cattle. “I moved here in January, so a lot of their friends gave me a hard time, asking why I’d move to South Dakota.”

 “I remember the first week DJ was here; it was negative 20 outside and he was sitting across from dad at the kitchen table and asked, ‘Do we go out on days like today?’” Corrie remembers, laughing.

 Al says employing DJ just made sense.

 “This is how I’ve secured my legacy,” explains Al, a third generation Kingsbury County farmer and cattle producer. “It’s our opportunity to pass this operation down to the next generation. My legacy won’t be left by what I do or have done, but by what the next generation does on this farm ­ whether it’s with crops or cattle.”

 Al added that he was given a similar opportunity by his father-in-law, Arnold Wienk, when he and Deb got married. “When we started dating Arnold offered me a summer job to work for him custom baling. I got paid $1 a bale.

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Last Modified: 08/24/2016 7:53:29 am MDT