"Beyond the Belt" with hobby farmer, Mark Pfeifer
Mark Pfeifer’s farm is located outside of Lidgerwood, North Dakota, which is about an hour away from WCCO Belting’s manufacturing facility in Wahpeton. Learning about Mark’s hobbies while visiting his picturesque country property with a beautiful home, a barn, horses, and a chatty parrot, was truly a treat. Here is what he had to share with us about how belts impact his ability to keep his five horses fed and his property in shipshape.
Mark has about 15 acres of hay to bale for horse feed, an activity that’s been on his task-list for over quarter of a century. Since retiring from Bobcat (a company that manufactures compact equipment) a couple years ago, Mark has discovered many ways to expend his newfound freedom. On top of maintaining the property and the daily activities of taking care of the animals, he and his wife travel near and far to trail ride with their horses and revel in the beauty of midwestern nature. Mark is quite the wildlife photographer, and has a fruitful garden with herbs, berries, and greens. A man that won’t let anything go to waste, he showed us how he repurposed his old baler belts for his garden.
Although his many hobbies keep him busy, making round bales to feed his horses is his main priority. Since installing new WCCO baler belts on his baler equipment, Mark has been impressed with how they perform, “The WCCO baler belts were a big improvement for my baler. It’s great that WCCO still makes belts for a machine that’s 35 years old.” When asked how effective baler belts impact his operation, Mark replied, “Good belts make a tight bale, and my baler has to work just as good as a guy who does 200 bales!”
Whether it’s baling, gardening, wildlife photography, or trail riding, Mark is a very passionate hobby farmer and we were glad to see he is taking full advantage of retirement. Thanks for showing us your beautiful home, Mark. WCCO Belting is glad our products can support your ability to keep your animals fed and happy.