It’s 2:30 a.m. The phone rings. North Dakota farmer Roger Gussiaas answers it as he automatically opens his e-mail. This is something he does every night. It’s part of being in a business that requires 24-7 attention with clients who live in parts of the world where the workday is already well under way.

Besides raising 4,500 acres of crops with his son, Brock, near Carrington, North Dakota, Gussiaas operates an export business, selling oilseeds to buyers in nine countries. It’s the result of a decision he made in 2004 to expand his farm operation by diversifying instead of adding acres.

“I love marketing and international travel and learning about the rest of the world,” he says. “I wondered if I could sell things overseas.”

With growing awareness of the health benefits of essential fatty acids, he felt there would be a good market for flax and borage, and that overseas markets would have less competition.

“We started with our first customer in Spain,” Gussiaas says. “From there we went to South Africa, and we continued to expand the business. Now the export business is bigger than our farm.”

Running The Farm

Gussiaas has time to run the export business because he has good help. After earning a degree in agriculture economics, Brock, 24, returned to help on the family farm.

“I’m more involved with the farm,” Brock says. “I do all the marketing of inputs and crops.”

The Gussiaases raise wheat, barley, soybeans, sunflowers, borage, and flax.

“Brock does a good job marketing grain with the futures market and options, and helping set up spreadsheets for pricing for the export market,” Gussiaas says.

Brock has help from Valentine and Ilie Cibartaneu, brothers from Moldova. At a time when it was difficult to find local workers, the brothers were hired seven years ago through the Communicating for America Exchange Program.

Over the years, the Gussiaases have hired local people as well as 25 people from other countries.