Amanda Ellen Photography The Deutz family consists of Allen and Kathleen and their children: Samuel, Autumn, Elsie and William.

MARSHALL — On the Deutz family farm in rural Marshall, everybody has a job — even their own little business.

Samuel, 11, takes care of 50 egg laying hens. On a daily basis, he feeds the hens, collects the eggs and sells them.

Autumn, Samuel’s twin sister, helps wherever she is needed. Elsie, 8, and Williams, 6, have their jobs as well. And Kathleen, the mom, does the marketing for the farming operation when she is not working as a special education teacher.

And Allen Deutz, the dad, is working hard to keep the family farm relevant in a challenging agricultural landscape.

The hard work has paid off for the Deutz family. They were named the 2018 Lyon County Farm Family of the Year back in August.

Allen Deutz’s parents, Paul and Fran, also work on the farm. They purchased the farm in 1985 from Allen’s grandparents and lived there until 2010.

“It’s actually a fourth-generation farm. It will be a century farm here in 2020,” Allen Deutz said. “My great-grandfather (Franklin) purchased it back in 1920. My grandpa (Franklin) moved on it in 1926. He lived there his whole life. My dad (Paul) took over in 1974”

Allen Deutz’s great-grandfather emigrated from Germany in the 1880s and settled in Lyon County. He purchased the farm in Fairview Township in the early 1900s. In 1920, Franklin purchased the farm that is now the family home farm.

Allen says farming is just in his blood.

“It’s one of those unique situations. On my mom’s side, her mom and dad were farmers, her grandpa and grandma were farmers. It goes back, as far as we know, all generations were farmers.

His wife does not come from a farming background. She is originally from New Mexico and they met while both were studying at Southwest Minnesota State University.

“I think she likes it better now that we are not dairy farming,” Allen Deutz said. “Dairy farming was a very intense occupation, especially when you are a smaller dairy. There is just no way to get around the labor end of it. You are up early and you are working late. It’s a seven days a week and holidays. If you are on vacation, you are usually constantly calling, hiring someone. It costs you money for everything that went wrong.

“She likes the farm to table. We have been at the Marshall Farmers Market this last summer. I think that’s another end she likes as well. That customer interaction — talking about what we are doing on the farm, talking about the practices and how we raise our animals.”

Allen has been involved with the Lyon Count Soil and Water Conservation District for the last eight years. He also works as a fieldsman for Southwest Minnesota Farm Business Management Farm Business Management Association through the University of Minnesota Extension.