While some of these businesses don’t last beyond the first generation or two, a Farnhamville-based tiling and excavating company is helping a new generation of young families to grow their future in rural Iowa.

“It’s great to work in a family business like this,” said Trevor Larson, 35, who owns The Larson Corporation with his younger brother, Brett.

In September 2022, the Larson brothers purchased Vosberg Enterprises Inc. from another pair of brothers — Jeff and Gary Vosberg.

Trevor Larson had worked with Vosberg Enterprises for a number of years, learning the ins and outs of both the farm drainage and machining sides of the company from the Vosbergs. The summer after he graduated from high school, he got a summer job at Vosberg Enterprises, building anhydrous trailers.

-Photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Trevor Larson, who co-owns The Larson Corporation in Farnhamville, is shown here in the shop. The Larson team uses the machines in the spacious shop to repair equipment and fabricate a variety of items, including Gator Spacers. Gator Spacers are bolted to the wheels of all-terrain utility vehicles to track row crops better.

“FC Cooperative, which used to be based here in Farnhamville, ordered the trailers,” said Larson, a 2008 Prairie Valley High School graduate who grew up near Moorland. “We were assembling and painting three a day.”

After that summer, Larson enrolled at Iowa State University and planned to become a high school biology teacher. His ties to Vosberg Enterprises, however, continued to open up more opportunities.

“I liked how there’s always something new,” said Larson, who decided a teaching career wasn’t in his future. “We’re always solving the next challenge or building the next thing.”

Building on 90 years of success

Vosberg Enterprises’ roots run deep in the Farnhamville area. George Vosberg founded the company in the 1930s, and it was a family business from the start.

-Photo by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby
Along with tiling, excavating and other services, The Larson Corporation is an authorized dealer for Green Mountain Grills (GMG) wood-pellet barbecue grills and smokers. The Larson Corporation team includes (left to right) Bryce Gustafson, Brett Larson; his wife, Josie Larson; and Trevor Larson. In 2022, the Larson brothers (Brett and Trevor) purchased Vosberg Enterprises Inc. from another pair of brothers — Jeff and Gary Vosberg.

“My Grandma Sally ran the machine, and Grandpa George installed the tile,” said Gary Vosberg, whose father, Erwin, became the next generation of the family to own the business. Through the years, the Vosbergs also bought Buske Manufacturing, a Gowrie-area business that fit well with the machine shop division of Vosberg Enterprises.

Today, The Larson Corporation, housed on the northeast edge of Farnhamville in a former Massey Ferguson dealership, carries on a tradition of manufacturing, tiling/farm drainage and excavating for clients in Calhoun County, Pocahontas County, Webster County, Boone County and beyond.

“They’re carrying on where we left off,” Gary Vosberg said. “It’s great to have a new generation take over the business and support more families in the area.”

Conservation to innovation

Shortly after Vosberg Enterprises became The Larson Company, the Larson team worked with the Iowa Soybean Association on an oxbow restoration project in west-central Iowa in the fall of 2022. Oxbow restoration is part of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, a statewide plan to improve water quality. Oxbows can reduce nitrate in the water by around 50 percent, according to the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance.

Oxbow scars are “u-shaped” stream beds that fill with eroded sediment. They often end up being wet spots in a field. They typically have consistently low yields, or they fill with water part of the season, only to dry up later. Restoring oxbows means digging out sediment back to where the creek bed used to be. Restored oxbows provide fish and wildlife habitat, plus they help improve water quality, which impacts drinking-water supplies.

“This kind of work can play a big role in conservation,” Larson said.

The Larson Corporation also assists farmers and landowners with their ag drainage/tiling needs. “We’re tiling whenever the crops aren’t in the field and the ground isn’t frozen,” said Larson, who noted that tile’s durability depends on the soil type and how the tile was installed.

To identify the best locations for tile lines, Larson’s team uses LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to create detailed elevation maps of fields. Along with modern technology, tiling involves a fair amount of history.

“You never know what you’re going to dig up,” Larson said. “Some of it hasn’t moved since the days of the glaciers. We’ve also dug up plenty of old whiskey bottles, cow and horse bones, and foundations of old barns and houses.”

While some tiling companies charge per acre or by the line, The Larson Corporation charges by foot of tile installed. Every junction is an add-on.

“We give customers their tiling maps,” said Larson, who added that The Larson Corporation uses a drone to take photos of the field after the tiling project is complete. “It’s their field, and we figure they deserve to have this information.”

When the team isn’t working on tiling or excavating projects, they’re probably working inside. The Larson Corporation’s spacious shop has an array of machines, including MIG (metal inert gas) welding, a variety of hydraulic presses, a CNC-guided press brake and CNC-guided plasma cutting table, a Stamco 8-foot sheer capable of cutting quarter-inch sheet steel, and a “Little Iron Worker” with a variety of hole-punching dies.

The team uses these machines to repair equipment and fabricate a variety of items, including aluminum Gator Spacers. Available in a variety of styles and sizes, Gator Spacers are bolted to the wheels of all-terrain utility vehicles to track row crops better.

“We’ve got them on our Gators,” said Larson, who noted that Gator Spacers make it easier to drive down 30-inch rows. “They’re really helpful when we’re doing tile fixes in the spring and don’t want to break off the young corn.”

The Larson Corporation works with a variety of John Deere dealerships to market Gator Spacers to customers in Iowa and surrounding states. The Larson Corporation also sells Green Mountain Grills (GMG) wood-pellet barbecue grills and smokers, along with barbecue seasonings and wood pellets. The company has been an authorized GMG dealer since the spring of 2024.

The Larson Corporation’s team appreciates the chance to build their business, raise their young families in rural Iowa and serve area farmers.

“We have customers who’ve worked with this company for years,” Larson said. “It’s great to grow with them.”