‘SUNRISE TO SUNSET’

If you’ve ever taken in the Farmer’s Market in Owatonna in recent years, there is a good chance you have tasted the products of this year’s farm family.

Pang and Sher Vang have become a regular fixture in the southeast corner of Central Park for the past 15 years. Each week from May until October they bring the fruits of their labor from a six-acre garden.

But that’s not all they bring.

They also come with family members—and a lot of them— who help prepare, display and sell the vegetables. There are eight children and spouses, 22 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild, most of whom live in the Twin Cities, who help Pang and Sher on a regular basis.

“They all help out,” Sher Vang said proudly. “Sometimes they help on the farm as well.”

The Vangs have turned their farm into a thriving operation where they grow 20 types of vegetables and flowers, all hand-picked mostly by Pang and Sher. Some of the favorites include cabbage, lettuce, green beans, potatoes and beets. They also have tomatoes, cucumbers and peas, though Sher says they’re not looking so hot this year.

They are being honored as Steele County’s “Farm Family of the Year” by the University of Minnesota Extension. They received the award at last week’s Farmfest near Morgan. The Vangs were also recognized at Tuesday’s opening of the Steele County Free Fair.

Their journey to become the county’s top farm family started 15 years ago when they moved from St. Paul to a farm in Havana Township.

“Too little land, too expensive,” Sher Vang said of living in St. Paul. “We needed a bigger garden.”

While Peng and Sher speak limited English, other family members help interpret.

After arriving in the area, they began growing a whole array of veggies in their garden to sell at the Farmer’s Market. Pang also worked as a janitor at Owatonna High School for many years before retiring in 2022.

Pang and Sher’s story began unfolding in Laos during the Vietnam War. By 1988, they decided to not stay in the war-ridden country and fled to the U.S. with their children. At the time, they had six children ranging in ages of 2 months to 11 years old. They made the bold move without any money and no English skills.

“When they came to the U.S., it was a sense of relief because of the war,” said Janey Vang, who is married to one of Pang and Sher’s sons. She noted they focused on hard work, learning the English language and building a new life in America. “There were lots of opportunities for them in the U.S.,” Janey added.

For the Vangs, life in the U.S. initially proved to be a struggle, mainly because of the language barrier. Once the children got into the schools and learned English, they came home to teach their parents. Janey said English has been difficult for her in-laws to learn and went as far to say that it’s the hardest language they have ever encountered.

Pang and Sher are fluid in Hmong and also speak Laos. The young family members now speak mostly English and understand Hmong, though they do not speak it.

“We try to support them as much as we can,” Janey Vang said.

Language hasn’t been the only struggle for the Vangs. At one time, Sher felt depressed because she couldn’t support the family, Janey said, noting farming brought the Vangs back to their roots as it reminded them of simpler times before the war.

“She went back to her roots as it gave her a sense of purpose,” Janey said.

Despite having six children of her own and two jobs, Janey Vang comes down to Owatonna from her home in Farmington most Saturdays to help her in-laws with the Farmer’s Market. 

She said her in-laws are “super excited to be the Farm Family of the Year.”

Janey said it’s special to see that Pang and Sher have found their passion in gardening.

“They are out there from sunrise to sunset,” she said. “I’m exhausted just looking at it. It’s hard labor work.”