Grandma’s helping hands

HINCKLEY, Minn. — Throughout the summer, Betty Soens’ grandchildren come to visit and help her on the Soens family farm.

“I have 14 grandchildren and they all help out,” Betty said.

Most of her grandchildren live nearby and visit the farm regularly to spend time with their grandmother and cousins. Two grandchildren are in college, but the rest help whenever they are around. Betty milks 34 cows in a tiestall barn near Hinckley.

“The kids help me milk, scrape, sweep the barn, and feed cows and calves,” Betty said. “The boys help with field work and some of them work on the tractors. They all pitch in where needed.”

The farm is the home farm of Betty’s husband, Gary, who also works full time in construction in town. The couple took over the farm from Gary’s parents in 1985.

“I like farming because I am home and don’t have to go anywhere,” Betty said. “Gary is home in the winter and helps on weekends.”

The Soens farm 600 acres and raise all their own youngstock at another farm with a large pasture. The heifers are brought home shortly before they are due to calve.

“I do all the milkings unless I am in the field making hay or something,” Betty said. “The kids all step in where needed, either in the barn or out in the field.”

Betty’s daughter, Jackie, lives next door. She has a large garden on the farm, where she raises produce to sell at a roadside stand on the highway next to their home. Jackie helps on the farm when the family makes hay. The northern Minnesota climate allows the dairy to get 2-3 cuttings of alfalfa each year.

Some of the grandchildren who live nearby stop by the farm every day, while those who live further out spend a few weeks at the farm in the summer. Veronica Bork and her seven siblings come to the farm whenever they get the chance.

“I help milk, clean the barn and feed the calves,” Veronica said. “I like helping Grandma on the farm.”

Hudson Bork helps by driving the tractor and fixing things around the farm. Trent Soens, Jackie’s son, is at the farm every day.

“I milk every morning with Grandma,” Trent said. “I also take care of the chickens and ducks.”

All the grandchildren step up to help whether they are at the farm for a couple of hours or a couple of weeks at a time.

“I live 45 minutes south of the farm and I look forward to coming here for a few weeks every summer,” Samantha Soens said.

Because of their involvement on the farm, Veronica and Samantha are currently serving as Pine County junior dairy princesses. Betty said she is proud to see the girls represent the dairy industry and that her granddaughters look forward to the different events throughout the summer.

“I definitely like working in the ice cream wagon that (our county) has, as well as going to fairs and parades,” Veronica said. “I also enjoy the public speaking skills that I have learned while in the dairy princess program.”

While the grandchildren do not show any of the animals at the fair, they each have favorites they name and give special attention to at Grandma Soens’ farm.

“The grandchildren are learning to work and they do a good job,” Betty said. “When your parents tell you to get to work, it’s one thing. When Grandma tells them, it is another thing, and they get right to work.”