Teamwork gets rocks rounded up

FREEPORT, Minn. — This spring, the Job family got a hand with spring rock picking after winning the 25th annual rock picking contest sponsored by Magnifi Financial and Dairy Star.

David Job milks 55 cows at his family farm south of Freeport. He also raises 260 acres of corn, oats and alfalfa on the sesquicentennial farm.

Every year, David and his son, Jon, rock pick their fields and David’s wife, Alice, drives the tractor when she can. This year, the Jobs were able to rock pick faster with the help of volunteers from Magnifi Financial and Dairy Star.

“It felt so good to get so much done in one day,” Alice said. “I joked with David that we should do a reunion of this next year.”

Alice registered the couple at Magnifi Financial in Freeport. The timing was good for the Jobs family. Alice had an allergic reaction and was hospitalized from April 28 until May 3, which slowed their progress in the fields.

“I register every year and was excited to finally win,” Alice said. “I was in the hospital when they called to tell me we won.”

Besides for Alice’s hospitalization, the weather also did not cooperate. With off-and-on showers in the forecast for much of central Minnesota this spring, finding a day and time to get the rocks picked was hindered.

On May 28, David had two tractors and wagons ready to go for the 10 volunteers from Magnifi Financial and Dairy Star. The group split into two and got to work. David took a team and headed to one field, while Jon took the other half and went to another. What started as a sunny day later turned as the clouds grew dark and the wind picked up. Light rain accompanied the pickers for the last hour of their day in the field, but they were still able to get the job done.

After four hours of picking, the Jobs were officially done picking rock for the year. In total, 80 acres were picked for rock that day. When the teams were done, they enjoyed a meal of brats, sloppy joes, fruit and cupcakes to reward their efforts.

“Now, all I have left is to plant (corn on) 35 acres, which I will get to later this week,” David said.

Jon helps on the farm and works at Munson Feed Co in Melrose and Freeport Farm Center when not attending classes at Ridgewater College in Willmar, where he is studying ag mechanics. His brother, Phillip, attends North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.

David, the fifth generation on the Job farm, started farming full time after graduating from high school. He began acquiring the farm from his parents, Louis and Matilda, in 1999. Though they do not help on the farm, Louis and Matilda still live on the farm site. 

“It was a good opportunity to get into farming back then,” David said. “It was what I knew.”

The farm has been in the Job family since 1866. In addition to dairying, the family had operated a sawmill on the farm as a side business until 1986. The cows are milked in a brick tiestall barn that was built in 1946 after the original barn burned down.

With help from the volunteers, David can continue with his spring and summer field-work more quickly.