Confronting COVID
Interviewed recently at the farm near Kennedy, Minn., Kelly, 63, said he had always taken COVID seriously. Kelly is diabetic, one of the underlying conditions that makes the pandemic deadly.
The Erickson family has been in Kittson County, Minnesota, since the early 1900s. They established their farm at Kennedy, Minn., in 1936, where they raise sugar beets, wheat and canola. Photo taken Jan. 25, 2021, at Kennedy, Minn. Mikkel Pates / Agweek
“When you live in rural America, of course it doesn’t impact you like the nightly news does,” he said. Kelly tried to wear masks. He took a COVID test in October 2020 and tested negative. His son and farming partner, Scott, 40, and his wife, Brynn, had been exposed.