|
Taking it one farm at a time Farm Rescue called a “Godsend” For three farmers and ranchers in southwestern Aware that the optimum time to seed in the region is short, the producers were worried they weren’t going to get all their fields planted in time. All three had been seriously injured in farm and ranch accidents over the past nine months, and were still recovering. But despite severe disabilities, they all were committed to farming and ranching full-time. Matt Biel of Lefor lost his lower right arm a month-and-a-half ago in a grain auger accident. Emil Fandrich of Kevin Sailer of Dodge suffered a major head injury last August when he was dividing cow/calf pairs on horseback. His horse suddenly threw itself on its side, causing Sailer to hit his head and become pinned underneath the horse. It was his second head injury from a horse accident in a year’s time. Fortunately, help from a brand new all-volunteer non-profit organization, Farm Rescue, came to their aid this month. The organization brought equipment and volunteers and planted from 460 to 1,000 acres for each producer over the past three weeks. “It was a Godsend,” said Fandrich. “They were able to help me with seeding the wheat, and my son and I will put in the specialty crops later.” With the help of farm equipment loaned by RDO Equipment Co, including a 9520 four- wheel drive John Deere tractor with auto steering and GPS, an air seeder and cart, and donations such as fuel and money from many businesses and individuals,
Farm Rescue is being deemed a success this spring. Bill Gross, the founder of Farm Rescue, said they are moving on to northern On Friday, April 28, Gross announced the names of the three producers that Farm Rescue selected in the northern region to be seeded: Tom Ahmann of Foxholm who has cancer; Gross said Farm Rescue could not function without donations, and added that donations from individuals and businesses continue to come in from all over the nation. “We operate totally on donations, from the fuel that runs the tractor to the fire extinguishers on hand to volunteer labor,” he said. In fact, many people in Gross said Farm Rescue was just a concept a little more than a year ago. “We’re here joining together to assist families who have had a major illness or injury. With the changing demographics of farming, it makes it difficult for neighbors to help one another. This is all about neighbor helping neighbor but on a larger scale.” Currently a pilot for United Parcel Service, Gross was raised on a farm in “I’ve been to When Farm Rescue began planting its first acres on the The volunteer seeders, include Gross, two other pilots, and retired farmer Bill Krumwiede of After a week, Farm Rescue moved on to plant the Fandrich acres. On the last day of planting, Krumwiede emerged from the cab of theJohn Deere, looking confident and glowing with a sun-reddened face and the beginnings of a farmer tan. “It’s been going well,” he said, “Just like riding a bike.” In spite of the non-stop work, Krumwiede said he was enjoying all the gears and gizmos in the tractor. Indeed, he was covering as much ground as a seasoned farmer would. Krumwiede expertly pulled the tractor in to fill the cart with more wheat seed on Fandrich farmland northeast of The unseasonably warm 70 to 80 degree temperatures in mid-April allowed for some quick planting, but seeding had to stop toward the end of the month due to a sudden spring storm that brought high winds and a couple inches of rain and sleet into the area. Fortunately, Farm Rescue finished the Fandrich farm and only had to wait a few days to get into the Kevin Sailer fields north of Dodge, N.D. At each farm, the injured farmers worked right alongside the volunteers. Sailer said he has finally been able to go out and help with feeding the calves and other ranch chores, but he continues to tire easily and has to be careful not to re-injure his head. Doctors did not expect Sailer to recover fully, but he is surpassing all their expections, his wife, Connie said. It took many weeks after the injury to remember anything that people said, and he had to relearn all his motor skills, she added. Fandrich has been learning to use his left arm for everything from driving the semi-truck from the elevator to the fields to holding the root-set mixture underneath the semi, while it mixes with the new wheat seed. The mixture is supposed to help the seed root plant itself firmly in the ground, and Fandrich is trying it out this year, his wife, Bobbie, said. “Farm Rescue just helped out tremendously. Took a load off. They can do in two days what it would take me 10 days to do,” said Those who would like more information on Farm Rescue and find out about businesses sponsors or for those who wish to donate to the organization can access its website at www.farmrescue.org Sailer was the last of three producers in southwestern
All three were seriously injured in farm and ranch accidents and applied to be the first producers helped by the brand new program that seeks to keep family farms operating when the farmer becomes injured, disabled or has a serious illness, or has been hit by a major farm disaster. For Sailer, it was the second head injury in a year's time, both occuring in August. On Aug. 31, 2004, Kevin and Connie were working rented land where there was a lot of wire down. The horse Kevin was riding bucked, and Kevin tried to jump off, but it was his weaker side and he hit the back of his head. One year later on Aug. 13, 2005, Kevin went out to divide some cow/calf pairs on a horse he had purchased that was supposedly well-broken.
However, he had not ridden this particular horse before, Connie said. Connie and the couple’s sons, Jason, a high school freshman, and Justin, a college student, were out with Kevin and saw the horse he was riding begin to act “funny.” The horse looked as if it was going to rear up, and Kevin prepared himself to react when the horse suddenly threw itself on its side. Kevin hit his head going down with the horse and was pinned underneath. Kevin had totally lost consciousness, and the three had to rock the horse back and forth to pull Kevin out. The ambulance was called and on the ride to the hospital, Kevin regained consciousness but remained disoriented, Connie said. Doctors later told Connie that Kevin had never completely recovered from his head injury in 2004, so it was a double whammy for him. “I don’t remember anything at all about what happened to me,” Kevin said. In fact, Connie said it was a month before he could carry on a conversation and recognize people. But both she and Kevin believe he was over-medicated, hindering his recovery. During the time he was hospitalized, neighbors carried on with the farm work, along with their sons when they had time. “I’m a lot better, but it’s still tough. I've finally been able to sleep at night, and it’s helping,” Kevin said. He tried to get off all the medication, but had to go back on to be able to rest.
Kevin said it is difficult to express how much he appreciates what Farm Rescue did for them, but he was glad they were there. He would not have been able to get in all the seed without their help, he said, and some acres would have been left unplanted this season. Connie said Farm Rescue is a well-run organization, and she knows it will succeed because of Bill Gross’ commitment. “He has everything set up right. He’s on the right track.” The tragedy for Emil Fandrich began on a cool but not cold day last Nov. 8. He had been out since early that morning combining safflowers, and at one point, stopped the combine to check and see if it was threshing adequately. Fandrich needed to adjust part of the threshing mechanism, he explains. There was a part on the side of the combine where there was just enough room for Fandrich to walk in and out. He walked in but turned around, and as he did, his whole arm was pulled in and underneath the belt. Fandrich tried to wrench his arm free, but was unable to, and his shoulder ligaments and muscles were injured in the process. His arm stayed suspended above his head, and because he was alone in the field, he had to wait for help. He said he never bothered to take a cell phone with him, because they didn’t work out there anyway. Six hours later, Bobbie realized it was getting dark, and went out to check on Emil. As soon as she found him, she called the emergency line. He was transferred to the hospital where doctors had to amputate the right lower arm from the elbow joint down. Fandrich has a prosthesis but because his shoulder is still healing, it is too heavy to wear all day, so he mostly uses his left arm. The tragedy for Matt Biel began on Feb. 7, when he went out to the farmyard to move grain from one truck to another using the grain auger. His father was nearby feeding cattle. “I was transferring grain from one truck to another about 9 a.m.,” Matt says, “I just misjudged the distance.” He reached his arm in and it was caught. “It was just a freak accident.” When he pulled it out, his hand was mangled and bleeding profusely. Not wanting to frighten his dad who had come running to help, Matt wrapped it quickly in a shirt so he wouldn"t see it. "Right away, I was in shock. I couldn't feel anything.” His dad helped him into the pickup and they took off for St. Joe¹s Hospital in The doctors took one look at the hand, and he was immediately sent by ambulance to “Everyday, I'm learning something new,” Matt says. He said he talked to a couple other farmers who had injured their arms from farm accidents and found out that they were still able to farm. “At first, it was pretty hard to get used to. But this is farm work. You just gotta do it. You can't just do a job every other day. After a few days,you just go on.”
Reprinted with permission of Dunn County Herald. April 21, 2006 |