Region farmers
recovering from illness glad to see Farm Rescue
HALLIDAY,
N.D. - Gary Stern was busy calving when Farm Rescue pulled into his farmstead
north of Halliday in the southwest region of the state on April 14.
“We've got more than 100 calves on the ground already,” said Gary, who farms
with his son, Cory. “I'm trying to get my fields ready for planting, too, but
I'm losing two full days every week while undergoing kidney dialysis in
Dickinson.”
Farm Rescue is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that helps farmers
suffering from a serious illness, injury or whose farms were struck by natural
disaster. The group is helping 25 farm families with seeding and will help more
with harvesting.
Gary came down with an infection last fall that spread to his kidneys. When his
kidneys shut down, Gary had to begin dialysis at the hospital which is about 50
miles south of his farm. He will recover and be able to get off dialysis, but
meanwhile he's glad to have the assistance of Farm Rescue.
“It's a little early than I normally seed, but having Farm Rescue here is
definitely going to help us out,” he said. “I really appreciate the help.”
Last fall, the Sterns were about three-fourths done with harvesting when Gary
came down with the infection. He had to spend two weeks in the Dickinson
hospital and more time at the Veteran's Hospital.
Gary's wife, Sandra, helps when she can, but she
also works full-time at the Halliday school as an assistant cook and drives
school bus.
Three Farm Rescue volunteers pitched in to help plant about 400 acres of
buckwheat at the Stern farm in April.
All retired farmers, the volunteers include Bill Krumwiede, who has been with
the organization since the first seeding season in 2006 and who still lives on
the family farm in Voltaire, N.D.; Smokey Wright of Minot, N.D., here for the
second year; and a newcomer, Lowell Rothman of Washburn, N.D., who also taught school
and was an elementary principal for 31 years.
The three immediately began preparing the
planting system, a John Deere 9520 tractor pulling a seed cart and drill that
were donated by RDO Equipment.
While Smokey climbed to the top of the cart to put in seed, Bill and Lowell
stayed below to calibrate the system. Cory helped with setting up the seeding
system, and Gary got field maps for the volunteers.
The volunteers filled the seed bag under the cart, weighed it, and compared
that weight with the computer reading. When it equalled out, the system was
calibrated and ready to go.
“I had a John Deere tractor (and planting system) when I farmed that was not
this same model, but on the same concept,” Lowell said, adding he wanted to
volunteer after seeing Farm Rescue help harvest for his neighbor, Wes Doepke of
Wilton, last year.
“Farm Rescue is a good cause,” he said. “I really like working with this
volunteer team. They get along so well.”
Smokey is back volunteering in spite of recently having his fourth hernia
operation this past winter. “It's good to be back helping out,” he said.
Gary Stern said they have about 1,100 acres of cropland and run about 250
commercial cows. They grow a lot of their own feed, oats, corn, and barley, and
feed a mixture of corn silage and chopped hay with oats, barley and some
alfalfa. They also grow spring wheat, durum and buckwheat.
Farm Rescue arrived at the Sterns' after seeding 1,000 acres of barley and
durum for Phillip and Donna Moen of Arnegaard, in west central North Dakota.
Krumwiede said seeding went went well at the Moen farm. They began while the
Moens were still in Bismarck where Phillip was recovering at the hospital.
Before they finished, the Moens had returned, and Krumwiede said they looked
amazing considering all they had been through.
Phillip, in a phone interview, said he and and Donna were injured in a semi-car
accident in Idaho on Feb. 7 during blizzard conditions.
He suffered several broken bones on his left side, along with a skull fracture.
Donna had a major shoulder injury.
Phillip spent three weeks in ICU in Idaho, then was transferred to the hospital
in Bismarck, for a total of nine weeks. Donna stayed with him the entire time
and the two finally returned home April 13.
He said they are “so grateful for Farm Rescue and all our neighbors” who have
pitched in to do farm work for him this spring.
“They are absolutely wonderful people,” Phillip said.
His neighbors and an employee are finishing seeding what was left of the durum
and barley and put in his pea crops.
After the Sterns, Farm Rescue headed southeast where volunteers began seeding
spring wheat for Ed Scherr of Hazelton April 16. Ed recently had open heart
surgery.
A second Farm Rescue planting team finished seeding its first farm April 16 in
South Dakota, said Bill Gross, the founder of Farm Rescue.
Gross said they worked all night seeding about 400 acres of spring wheat for
Frank and Ruth Holzer of Trail City, S.D. Planting was delayed a few days
because of a spring snowstorm that dropped a foot of snow in the Mobridge-Trail
City region, in the northwestern part of the state.
Frank said he had a reoccurrence of cancer and spent 10 hours in surgery at the
Mayo Clinic. Surgeons cut a tumor that was jutted against his pelvic bone, and
removed some of the organs in that region.
“In the last week, I've improved a lot,” he said. “There's still pain and it's
hard to get comfortable to sleep.”
The Holzers grow mostly spring wheat, along with corn and hay for their
commercial cattle operation. He doesn't need to seed the corn for a while yet,
and will probably hire a neighbor to seed that when the time comes.
Frank said he's appreciative of all the work Farm Rescue and his neighbors have
done around the farm while he's been sick.
“Everyone has helped out so much,” he added.
His daughter, Monica, returned from another state to help plant, and his
cousin, Dan Holzer, also helped with the seeding.
Monica and Ruth have been taking turns checking the cows and calving.
“We've got about 150 calves on the ground right now,” Frank said.
Volunteers Bob Petik, a retired farmer from western South Dakota, and Dave
Mitchell, from New Jersey, helped Gross plant.
The second team now heads to Strasburg, N.D., to seed spring wheat for Leroy
and Ida Scherr. Leroy had a kidney transplant recently, Gross said.
After the Scherrs, Farm Rescue will seed spring wheat for Jack and Becky Horner
of Wishek. Jack recently had a hip replacement.
In Napoleon, volunteers will seed for Tom Glatt, who had open heart surgery.
Volunteer Krumwiede, reflecting on the many farmers who need assistance, said
he enjoys helping but it makes him realize just how many sick or injured
farmers there are out there.
“It's sad when you realize that,” he added. “If there weren't so many
getting sick, there'd be no work for us.”
Reprinted with permission of Farm & Ranch Guide. April
25, 2008.