NorthwestJuly 23, 2000

Jodi Walker

GENESEE -- The Odberg farm is not only a business, it's a family's history.

"You have to love farming," says Eric Odberg, the fourth generation on the family wheat farm near Genesee. "You can't do it or be successful unless you really love it and it's in your blood."

Odberg, 30, considers himself one of the lucky ones. His father, Ellis Odberg Jr., simply handed the farm over to him when he returned home in 1993.

"When I graduated from college he was pretty much ready to hand over the reins."

He was able to do all the day-to-day planning about cropping and chemicals and also the bookkeeping. And he made his share of mistakes.

"It is very challenging. The learning curve is pretty big."

Odberg learned from his mistakes, though, and his father stayed around to lend a helping hand in busy times. He also talked to other farmers and attended seminars and crop tours.

Farmers today need to know more than how to work the ground, he says. That was one reason he got a degree in political science from Pacific Lutheran University.

He realized what he learned could be applied to the global issues farmers now face. Farmers in rural Idaho and Washington are in daily competition with growers around the world.

Odberg knew for a long time he would return to the farm, but the transition actually started when he was still a toddler, when the farm was incorporated in 1973.

"(Incorporating) was very beneficial as far as tax implications and handing the farm down," Odberg says. "I think it is definitely the way to go."

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Incorporating farms was a popular trend in the 1970s and '80s. The goal was to continue ownership over time and keep farmland together by decreasing the chance of having to sell part of it, according to the senior Odberg. Incorporating allows the owner to change without estate taxes.

While the younger Odberg did things his way when he took over, he kept some things the same -- like Carl Strohm, the hired hand who has been working on the Odberg farm for 42 years.

"He pretty much thinks the farm is his and that's good," Odberg says.

Having an experienced hired hand and input from his father helped Odberg continue the success of the farm.

His wife, Malia, helped get the farm into the technological age by doing the bookkeeping on a computer. Aside from her help with the books, she is great emotional support, he says.

"I don't know if I'd be able to do it without her."

His mother, Pat, also has been instrumental in the farm, he says.

"She kind of ties things together."

His goal is for his 8-month-old son, Ethan, to have the opportunity to farm.

"That's in our mission statement."

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