WOULD YOU PICK rock, walk beans, clean up pig or cow muck? Joe and his crew will.
I can, too, as I’m experienced. But I have no desire to return to those farm tasks that are now only long ago youthful memories.
Recently, I saw a sign, more like a note, posted by Joe on a convenience store bulletin board in Redwood Falls, deep in the heart of southwestern Minnesota farm country. I grew up in that area, on a crop and dairy farm.
Like Joe, I worked the land and labored in the barn. I picked rock, which is exactly as it sounds—walking fields to pick rocks from the soil and toss them onto a wagon or loader. Rock removal is necessary so farm equipment isn’t damaged during crop prep, planting and harvesting. It’s hard, dirty work when done by hand.
Likewise, walking beans is hard, dirty, hot work. That job involves walking down rows of soybeans to remove weeds and stray corn plants, either by hand or by hoe. At least that’s how I walked beans back in the day. Today that may involve spot spraying herbicides.
And when I worked corn fields, it was to detassel corn for the Dekalb seed company. I arose early, boarded a school bus with a bunch of other teens, arrived at a corn field and proceeded to walk the corn rows pulling tassels from corn plants. Dew ran down my arms, corn leaves sliced my skin, sweat poured off my body as the day progressed under a hot July sun. Of all the jobs I’ve had, detasseling corn rates as the most miserable, awful, horrible, labor intense work I’ve ever done.
I’d rather shovel cow manure. And I did plenty of that along with other animal-related farm chores.
If Joe and his team are willing to take on tasks that are labor intensive, hot and smelly, then I applaud them. We need hands-on folks who are not afraid to get their hands dirty, to break a sweat, to do those jobs that place them close to the land. Jobs many other people would not do.
I don’t regret my farm work experiences. I learned the value of hard physical labor, of working together, of understanding that what I did was necessary. Certainly farming has changed, modernized in the 50 years since I left the land. Machines and computers make life easier.
But sometimes it still takes people like Joe and his crew to plant their soles on the earth, their feet in the barn, to make a farming operation work, even in 2024.
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Amazing work our farmers do to keep our food supply going. I applaud your work as a child. thank you. To all those Minnesota farmers thank you!!
Kathy Gwillim
Thank you for thanking farmers. Too often they are not appreciated as they should be.
I so admire Joe and his crew for putting it out there and looking for the work that you know firsthand, is very hard and exhausting. as you said, there are some jobs that still benefit from the human interaction, and there are probably less people who are willing to do the work these days. as you described, it taught the value and challenges and hard work, and earned your respect for those who continue to do it.
That’s exactly right, Beth.
I just loved this, after having a similar, half-my-lifetime experience. My greatest reward for raising my children on the farm was when my daughter thanked me for instilling in her the work ethic that her peers visibly lack. She now holds a doctorate in nursing with the Mayo Health System, and I’m so proud of her.
Dennis, I wish I had expressed the same gratitude to my dad as your daughter expressed to you. Yes, growing up on a farm teaches us about hard work and so much more. You have every right to feel proud of your wonderful daughter. You taught her well and she carried those lessons into life with her.
Bringing back the memories for me in your post today 🙂 Detassling corn was right up there with baling hay and cutting wood (how many times can you move bales or wood – many and many more times – ha!). For me the best of farm life was just the freedom to explore and go on adventures on the land and then of course the animals, especially in baby form – ahhhh! I enjoy the community aspect too – we all helped each other out – farming, watching the kids, cooking the meals, etc. Happy Day – ENJOY
You are a farm girl through and through. Everything you write resonates with me. 🙂
I like that handwritten note posted at the convenience store. I wonder who Joe is. I hope he found work. Those are hard jobs.
I hope Joe finds work, too. Clearly, he’s not afraid of hard physical labor.
Farm work is certainly hard and dirty work. The corn detassel you did for Dekalb sounds miserable. I didn’t grow up on cropland, but we had huge gardens to feed our big family, and we raised cattle, pigs, chickens, rabbits, pigeons, and other animals. I have no desire to go back to that kind of work, but I’m thankful for the people who do it, even with all the modernization.
Like you, I appreciate what I learned by working the land and feeding animals, but have no desire to return to this work. Thank you for sharing your farming experiences.
I hope Joe gets a job! 🙂
That would be good!