Farm Rescue helps Kelly Smeltzer “get the crop in” By Bob Denison It took a couple of farm boy fly-boys to do it! A pair of UPS pilots, these two men have spent a lot of time in the air over the last number of years, yet a lot of their thoughts were with those people – friends, neighbors, classmates – who live and work on the land. Their thoughts dwelled a lot on the external problems of farm families who struggle with the whims of climate, as well as the unpredictable nature of the economy – especially the volatile twists and turns of commodity prices, input costs and the inevitable uncertainty of farm programs. Bill Gross, 39, who grew up on a family farm and now flies a Boeing 747 for UPS back and forth across the Pacific Ocean for a living, fantasized about one day retiring, buying a large tractor and planter, and randomly going about the countryside helping farmers in need – those with health issues, old equipment and various misfortunes – and doing some real good. “I started telling people about this… and the more people I told, the more people advised me to think bigger and grow the dream into something real,” said Gross. “And why not get started before you retire at 60 (which he will have to by law, anyway)? He added. So these two North Dakota boys - Gross of Cleveland and Jack Limke of Carpio, both graduates of UND flight training – decided to develop an idea into a concrete reality called Farm Rescue, “a nonprofit organization that helps family farmers bridge crises so they may have an opportunity to continue viable operations,” according to the group’s mission statement on its colorful brochure. Kelly Smeltzer, recipient: Cando-area farmer Kelly Smeltzer, who suffered a serious injury when a tree in a campground fell on him last Father’s Day during a violent windstorm, has not recovered fully enough from his injury to be able to “get the crop in” this spring. He applied, through an Internet application form, to see if he would qualify for a “rescue” – and he did! So last Wednesday and Thursday, May 10-11, the Farm Rescue crew – Gross, Limke and two other retired farmers (all volunteers) and their parade of farm equipment – which included a 43- foot planter, a 9520 John Deere tractor, a 340- bushel seed and fertilizer cart, a grain truck, a heavy-duty pickup and a trailer hauling a fuel tank and the crew’s tools – went to work and planted 600 acres of wheat in a little over 24 hours! The crew took a break between 2 and 6 a.m., but other ran the operation steadily until late Thursday afternoon. Gross explained that Farm Rescue does not distribute funds to farmers, and it’s all volunteers who provide the labor to operate the equipment. The farmer is required to provide the seed and fertilizer, and the soil must also be made suitable for no-till planting. Farm Rescue operations are made possible by donations from individuals, small businesses and corporations that support the tradition of independent family farms, strong rural economies and a stable future in agriculture for the youth of Locally, Cando Farmers Grain and Oil and Tesoro agreed to help sponsor the Farm Rescue operation on the Smeltzer farm with cash and fuel. There are a variety of options available for donating to Farm Rescue at the Sponsor, Partner and Donor level. The largest Category is “Diamond” level ($50,000); and RDO Equipment Company of Fargo, who donated use of the farm equipment, fit into that category as the exclusive equipment sponsor. “We are basically completing one full year, starting with just getting the word out and incorporating with our own board of directors in 2005,” explained Gross. “And we plan to finish up our nine farmers for 2006 seedtime by May 27 at Wahpeton, where a 23-year-old farmer became disabled in a farm-related accident. Our next stop after Cando will be “We only help viable operations. We’re not out to help repair fiscal mismanagement. We go through a careful screening process to make sure that our applicants are “legitimate”. Gross concluded by saying that “We hope to also start doing Farm Rescue for the harvest season as well, but that isn’t quite organized, yet. “We do have significant bills – insurance, a trailer purchase, tools, a lease on the pickup – so we are always looking for help and really appreciate those sponsors who step forward. Our website is www.farmrescue.org “ And as they return to their cockpits and retirement schedules, the volunteers can enjoy at least the partial “fulfillment of a dream come true.” Reprinted with permission if the
