According to a family history in a Ward County centennial book and a South Prairie publication, Lawrence Erickson immigrated to N.D. from Norway in 1911 with his parents, farming in the Drady community in Burt Township, Ward County.

Lawrence Erickson and his wife, Nellie, later they purchased the current farmstead south of Minot. Their son, Larry, and his wife, Claryce joined his parents in farming and became partners with them, forming the Diamond T.

Jon Erickson, son of Larry and Claryce Erickson, has lived on the Diamond T Ranch his entire 62 years, and his wife, Eleanor, joined him there when they got married shortly after high school.

There are currently two houses on the farmstead. One for Jon and Eleanor Erickson, and the other is for the current operation leads Luke Erickson and his girlfriend Renae Harrison.

Submitted Photo Luke Erickson kneels next to a newborn calf on April 10 at Diamond T Ranch, south of Minot.

Luke Erickson has lived on the farmstead the entirety of his life, as well, at 38 years old. He graduated from Minot High School as a basketball star in 2004, heading off for the University of North Dakota for business and history.

He was nearly finished with his degree when his family informed him that his grandfather was ill and they needed assistance back at the farm. He dropped his classes and returned home.

However, the knowledge that he gleaned from his time at the college was still helpful in running the farm, so it was not a waste.

Luke Erickson also received an internship opportunity in Washington, D.C., for a political office, but while he was back home helping his family, he ended up breaking his back. The injury prevented him from taking the trip.

Once his spine healed, he felt he had better opportunities on the farm at the time than anything college could offer him.

Ciara Parizek/MDN The Ericksons have been raising Hereford cattle for several decades. The current herd is shown on the ranch on April 29.

Jon Erickson has two other children, an older son and a younger daughter, but neither of them have any interest in the farming or ranching life. Luke Erickson’s brother teaches theology and religion in Ireland and their sister is a fashion designer based out of Denver.

Renae Harrison moved to North Dakota from a small town in Michigan. She knew for a very long time that her place in life was in the farming and ranching world, but she did not have an in.

At first, she moved to South Dakota, then saw a position opening in Mandan for a cattle buyer. It was in one of the cattle sale rings that she met Luke Erickson.

“I thought he was really cute,” Harrison said.

They hit it off and she began helping him with his family’s farming and ranching operation.

Ciara Parizek/MDN Two Black Angus calves spent a cloudy morning in a ditch created by years of running water at Diamond T Ranch on April 29.

“I always felt in my blood and my soul that I should be a farmer or a rancher,” Harrison said. “I just knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

She loves every minute of it, taking care of the cattle, ducks, chickens, horses, cats and any other animals that she happens to sneak onto the farm.

The farmstead had a greeter for a while, part of Harrison’s impulsive love for animals. He was a turkey named Mr. Gabaghoul, and he loved walking up to people with Harrison’s German Shepherd dog, LeDoux, to say hello. Unfortunately, something got ahold of him and the farm’s only greeter is LeDoux.

The Diamond T Ranch’s operation handles mostly cattle, having both Hereford and Black Angus. Not wanting to put all of their eggs in the same basket, they also sell calves and do a little bit of farming. The females are kept and bred while the steers and calves are sold.

In addition to the ranching side, they do some farming, planting crops like wheat, barley, canola and soybeans. They usually start planting around the middle of May or whenever the fields dry up. Whichever one comes first.

Some years, the cattle pays for everything and they have a cushion. Other years, the opposite is true, so they made the decision to be involved in more than one agricultural area to cover all of their bases.

“WIth ranching and farming, we don’t have to put all of our eggs in one basket, per se. … Honestly, with how the economy is going, it’s getting really difficult for family farms to make a living,” Harrison said.

With so many different things going on, it is easy for something to be missed or forgotten about. To ensure that doesn’t happen, Luke Erickson and Harrison stay in touch with each other and Jon Erickson about everything in a text message group chat.

“Communication is key to keeping things running tip-top shape. Otherwise, we would be a discombobulated mess, to put it bluntly,” Harrison said.

No one has designated duties, either. If something needs to be done, the first one who is available to take care of it is always the one to get the job done.

With everything that goes into a farming and ranching operation, there will always be a chance for things to go wrong. Harrison said it is rare that they have hiccups. The issues they run into the most are blown tires or other things of that sort.

With living out in the country, it is not uncommon for predators to be lurking in the dark. To keep the coyotes and other animals at bay during dark evening checks, they take a 22-gauge rifle with them.

Calving season is a very busy time for ranchers, checking to be sure the calves are being born healthy and easily. If one particular female is having trouble giving birth, Harrison and the Ericksons will step up and lend a hand.

Periods of time to sleep are far and few between, as well. Harrison noted only getting two to four hours of sleep multiple nights, but she does not let the hard work of her career choice discourage her.

“Some days I want to quit, and think I can’t keep going, but somehow I muster up the energy to get things done,” Harrison said.

“I’ve never had any other ambitions than to farm and ranch, as cheesy as that sounds. I always knew that I wanted to be in the agriculture field, but wasn’t sure how to get started within it. I came from a city family in Michigan, so when I told my parents I wanted to be a farmer and rancher out West, they thought I was crazy.”