Barnum family honored

The Jelinek family of Barnum has been named Carlton County's 2020 "Farm Family of the Year" by the University of Minnesota.

Carol and Peter Jelinek purchased an old dairy farm near Barnum in 2001. They brought their five horses and one goat and made a home there. Eventually, the Jelineks added a couple of lambs for their boys to raise as part of their 4-H involvement. Those lambs quickly led to a flock of about 35 ewes. Later, Carol and Peter purchased two nubian goat kids from a cousin in New York and started a goat herd that later became a Boer goat herd of 35 to 40 meat goats.

The farm is now home to the goat herd, a Morgan horse, a donkey and four chickens. The meat goats are raised for a long list of clients who enjoy goat meat. The Jelinek family has enjoyed showing goats at the Carlton County fair.

Carol oversees all animal management, from daily feeding, stall mucking and delivering kids in the spring. Peter runs the machinery, moves bales, fixes fences and takes care of many other tasks. Until they graduated from college, Peter and Carol's sons, Nicholas and Nathan, helped with a variety of chores.

Carol served as chairperson of the Build the Barn effort in Carlton County, which joined 4-H, community members and the Carlton County fair board to improve the 4-H show experience at the fair. She served as chair of the Carlton County Extension committee and was a member for six years. She has continued to be active in 4-H as a leader and volunteer. Carol was president of the Barnum PTA and is the president and former vice president of the Willow River Education Association.

The Jelinek farm was a featured stop on the Sustainable Farming Association's GrazeFest a few years ago and the Jelineks are members of the American Boer Goat Association.