Mankato Free Press: Farmers keep it humble as a Farm Family of the Year (Fischer Family)

6881507b2d003 — Gavin, Craig, Bryce, Elizabeth and Logan Fischer in 2023 in front of their keystone prairie species, the American bison. The family farms in Sleepy Eye and is being honored, along with other county designees, as a 2025 Farm Family of the Year by the University of Minnesota. Eighty-six families are being recognized Aug. 7.

SLEEPY EYE — In 2013, Craig and Elizabeth Fischer got married and one of their wedding gifts was a bison.

It came with the stipulation that they buy one more, as bison are herd animals, Craig Fischer said.

“Two weeks after we got the first one we bought three more through the Minnesota Bison Association,” he said. “And our herd has been evolving ever since then. We now have about 100.”

The couple operates Sleepy Bison Acres in Sleepy Eye and got introduced to bison farming in 2009 at the Minnesota State Fair. There they met their bison mentors, Jim and Connie Stannard of Byron.

“That’s where I got bit by the bug,” Fischer said. “I started looking into raising bison and what it would take. I was trying to see if it made sense for us.”

The fifth-generation farming family has made a name for themselves, being honored as a Farm Family of the Year in Brown County by the University of Minnesota. Eighty-six farm families are being recognized Aug. 7. The Fischers will be at the ceremony during Farmfest near Redwood Falls.

Of their achievements, Fischer said: “I like to say I’m in the top 100 in the state,” he said. “I kind of joke with people that we’re in the top 100 but, well, there’s 100 of us. I’d rather stay humble than be humbled.”

Fischer is the fourth-generation farmer and he and Elizabeth’s sons, Bryce, 10, Logan, 8, and Gavin, 5, are fifth-generation farmers of the Alfred “Fritz” Fischer farm. The boys own bison and help with farm operations.

The Fischers farm with Craig’s father, Steve, mother Elaine, brother Keith and uncle Mike Seitz. Elizabeth’s parents, Duane and Mary Havermeier, help out as needed.

Over the years, the Fischers have created a vertically integrated operation producing bison, corn, soybeans, small grains, pasture-raised pigs, egg-laying chickens and guinea fowl.

Today, farmers have modern tools available to them that make their work more convenient, he said.

“Tractors, equipment, electric fence — we have tools that my great-grandfather would have given his left arm for,” Fischer said. “So a lot of the things we’re doing are the same as what great-grandpa did. It’s just a little easier to do the labor these days with the equipment that we have available to us.”

At Sleepy Bison Acres, they use adaptive rotational grazing, cover cropping and no-till farming, doing what Craig’s great grandfather did, but with modern tools.

“We’re just relearning what our ancestors knew previously,” Fischer said.

They were early adopters of the Minnesota Ag Water Certification Program and the farm operates as both a production and education space. They host field days, school groups, 4-H clubs and customer events. The Fischers sell at farmers markets in Mankato, Prior Lake and St. Paul.

Elizabeth operates the Sleepy Bison Grill, a food trailer serving farm-fresh bison at state fairs, rodeos, powwows and business events across the Midwest. Customers also buy from their website and stores.

“Yeah, we do an event where there are 300,000 people,” Craig Fischer said. “So we get in front of quite a few people. The Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa, promotes themselves as the world’s greatest county fair. We’ll also be at the Nebraska State Fair this year. We do fairs and events around the Minnesota region.”

He enjoys raising the former beasts of the prairie. “Bison are very athletic and I think you have to respect them,” he said. “It’s something different. As a retired baseball player, I like the athleticism and the challenge. But also the peace and quiet that they usually carry.”

The sheer size of bison can be intimidating, he said, but each animal is selected based on personality.

“Bison are kind of like people,” he said. “They all have a different demeanor. We do select our bison for different traits, so if there’s ever an issue as a family-run farm, we remove the issue if necessary.”

The demand for bison is slowly growing. The Fischers help new Sleepy Bison Acres’ customers when it comes to preparing bison at home. Most customers have a limited experience of eating bison, Craig said.

“The stat I’ve heard is that less than 1% of the population in the United States has eaten 1 pound or more of bison in the past year,” he said. “So a lot of our customers either have had bison to a limited extent or have not cooked it for themselves before. So we end up trying to help them have a better experience. That’s what really pushed us toward serving bison through the Sleepy Bison Grill.”

The Fischers also are members of the Minnesota Bison Association, the National Bison Association, Minnesota Grown, Minnesota Farmers Union, Practical Farmers of Iowa, The Land Stewardship Project and the National Independent Concessionaires Association.