One farm, one family, 100 years

COPELAND — One farm, one family, one hundred years. 

Houck Farms has hit the centennial milestone and aims to continue growing and harvesting as they keep focused on a family creed, “If you take care of the farm, it will take care of you.”  

In 1924, S.L. Houck and his family made the trek from Cheney, Washington, to Boundary County to farm nearly 500 acres in the Kootenai River Valley.  

Marvin O. Houck recalled the trip in 1988, calling the 1924 trip “almost a disaster” as Uncle Artie Ryker’s Dodge could hardly stay on Turner Hill Road as they continued down the valley road with no breaks.  

The Houcks had to make three trips from Cheney (in southwestern Spokane County) to the north of Bonners Ferry as they transported family, a household, livestock and machinery. After a carriage broke down and the family spent eight days on the road, milking cows and separating milk all the way, being soaked through from a rainy day at Drainage District 4, they made it to their new home. 

Having gone through two severe floods, bank moratoriums, refinancing the drainage district and paying off the construction bonds, the Houck family overcame those challenges and have continued the stewardship of their land ever since. 

100 years later, Houck Farms now covers 2,000 acres and its products are purchased both locally and as far away as Japan. 

Family ownership and land holdings have remained in the Houck family, which has multiple generations still farming and caring for the land.  

“We always enjoyed harvest, riding in the combines and working at the grain elevator,” Cindy Houck Haagenson said.  

“My first memories of the farm were driving out with Dad during harvest and spending the day with him at the granary; there was always so much going on,” Randy Houck said.  

“At 100 years, it is a family legacy we’re proud of and is worth the effort to maintain — it’s a lot of work but it is home,” Sharon Houck Hood said.  

Many other family members keep that connection to the land and the family legacy.  

“I’ve spent time visiting 16 countries, two years in Japan and 15 other countries, the house on the hill and all around it are the place I return to,’ said Edward “Duane” Houck, son of Edward Houck and grandson of S.L. Houck. “Visiting always feels like returning home,” Kalina Houck Torrez said.  

“We learned the tenets of work on a farm. Go above and beyond because,” Mike Hood, grandson of Marvin Houck said, “a job worth doing is worth doing well. Pitch in when someone else is working; many hands make light work; and at the end of the day, there is no reward like a job well done.” 

To some, these may sound like platitudes, but for the Houck family and the descendants of S.L. Houck, they are the words they carry from generation to generation.  

No farms, no food 

Despite the little financial compensation that comes with farm and land management, Houck Farms recognizes the importance of providing quality food products and the necessity for feed for livestock.  

“We recognize the work, market volatility, and uncertainty of Mother Nature related to farming but believe the rewards of continued farming exceed other possible scenarios,” Houck Farms family members wrote when applying for centennial status with the state of Idaho.  

Houck Farms continues to operate farming the original acreage and acreage acquired over the years and leased acreage. Over the century, they have used emerging technologies and updated standards, such as crop rotation, in order to continually better steward the land.  

Their products stay local and go abroad.  

The farm’s barley is sold locally, much of it going to Woods Hay and Grain in Bonner County. Their wheat is shipped to Pacific Northwest Grain Growers for seed and is also exported. When the Kootenai Valley turns yellow with canola, Houck Farms then ships the product to Moses Lake for oil and meal. 

Timothy seed is raised for General Grain and Feed in Bonners Ferry and to Montana or Moses Lake, where it is cut, pressed and containerized for export to Japan for that country’s dairy herds.  

In order to further encourage and support agriculture and food production in Boundary County, Houck Farms and the family have been avid supporters of 4H and FFA and invest in the local community.  

Houck family members thanked the many families, businesses and organizations that have supported and strived with the family farm over the past 100 years. 

Dyck's Auto, McGregor, Pape/John Deer, Wood’s, General Feed and Grain, University of Idaho and Community Title to name of few from a lengthy list.

    Houck Farms dates back to 1924 when S.L. Houck and his family made the trek from Cheney, Washington, to Boundary County to farm nearly 500 acres in the Kootenai River Valley.
  

    Houck Farms has celebrated its 100th year in operation as a family farm in Idaho.
  

    Members of the Houck family pose for a group photo on the family's farm.
  

    Des Voigrces, Fred Mason, and Ed and Marvin Houck are pictured binding wheat in 1928.
  

    S.L. Houck is pictured on the family farm.
  

    Ed Houck is pictured in this old family photo.
  

    Family members are pictured at a dinner celebrating the farm's centennial.