paid 19 percent interest on some of it. A lot of guys weren’t able to hang on to their land back then because of the high interest rates and bad crop prices. But I was fortunate I’d bought it early enough and at a low enough price, I was able to keep going for a while,” Jim said. To put groceries on the table, he took off-farm jobs a couple of winters, working at Supreme in Sioux Center and overnights at Alkota in Alcester, while Judy was home with three little kids. Jim started his cow-calf herd about the time his dad retired in the 1980s. But Rolfe continued to help Jim and worked just as hard after retirement as he did before. “Later on, I was able to rent some more ground and expand the operation. It was a struggle until about five years after I started renting that ground. Then it started to come together.”
After graduating from AlcesterHudson High School in 1995, Jeff studied general agriculture at South Dakota State University before moving back to Hudson and buying some cows of his own. “Jeff’s got the majority J.A. and Anna Pierce moved from Wisconsin to Dakota Territory in 1878 of the cows now,” Jim and established River View Stock Farms which was east of the former town said. “I’m trying to get of Eden. Eden later moved a mile north and became Hudson. Pierce’s out of it, but he won’t daughter, Julia, later married the herdsman, Robert Cole. let me out all the way. I think he’s afraid I about a mile-and-a-half of ground won’t go out and check cows and bordering the river plus additional calves at night anymore.” land along Pattee Creek. “When it’s flooding, it’s plenty,” he said. “We’ve got fewer cows right now,” Jeff said. “The flooding was pretty In addition to farming and caring hard on our pastures down by the for the cows, Jeff stays active river. We’ve got a lot of fence to fix serving on the Hudson Fire and a lot of weeds to control. It’s Department and as an EMT on the amazing how many weed seeds ambulance crew. Otherwise, he the river drags in.” They have spends a lot of time chasing Aidan,
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July 2021 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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