Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Farmers Helping Neighbors on National Ag Day

Living in the country, the term "neighbor" has a pretty broad meaning.  Factually saying, my nearest neighbor is one mile away.  But if we limit neighbors to just one mile, then I only have three neighbors.  So like many rural residents, I stretch the boundaries of neighbors more than Wikipedia probably accepts.

One thing I love about the farming community is that we stretch our community boundaries, and are always willing and wanting to help out a neighbor.  Several years ago we partnered with many other neighbors to help out some neighbors (they live 5 miles away) harvest their husband/father's fields after he unexpectedly passed away.  We were there for Therron's family not expecting anything in return.  We were there because it is what a neighbor does.  We help each other out.  We are a friendly face giving the farmer wave driving down the road.  We care for the well being of our entire community.

Farmers Helping Neighbors on National Ag Day - Help with Wildfire Relief
The harvest crew for the Therron Miller family, October 2011
Right now is a time that the farming community is coming together to help our neighbors in Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas that have been impacted by wildfires.  Through these wildfires, more than 2,300 square miles have been burned and tragically seven people have died and thousands of cattle have been killed.

Last Friday, Iowa's Governor Terry Branstad signed a proclamation to allow the transportation of oversize and overweight loads of forage on Iowa's roads for the next two months.  This is allowing people to drive large bales of hay and other forages to the ranchers in need.

Another way Iowa's farmers are lending a hand is by an online auction happening on Friday, April 7th at 10 a.m. to raise funds for victims of the recent wildfires.  This is being hosted by the Iowa Cattlemen's Foundation, Iowa Cattlemen's Association and Dream Dirt.  You can learn more about the auction by checking out my friend, and neighbor, Cristen of Food & Swine's recent post.

You can also find a list of other aid efforts on AgWeb.

Do you know of any other ways to help our neighbors affected by the wildfires?  Be sure to share in the comment section below and always remember to Comment for a Cause!

7 comments:

  1. That is one of my favorite parts of living in a smaller community, the actual sense of community and helping your neighbor. I've been seeing some of those convoys of hay bales on social media and it definitely warms my heart.

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  2. We live on the edge of town. Last fall we were flooded and the local fire dept came to help move our hay and belongings to higher ground. Our excess hay was auctioned at the local hay auction to raise funds to support our fire dept.

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  3. Thanks for sharing how we can support!

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    1. No problem! I can't imagine loosing so much!

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  4. A good article and The click to tweet going to put on my sight . I hope it makes a difference and it will help to make it easier for others to share on that platform, too.
    Thanks.

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