Farmers donate machinery and time to help another in need

Oct 20, 2016

Randy Wedeking needed assistance with his corn harvest

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A group of farmers came together and volunteered their equipment and time to help a fellow producer who needed assistance.

In late June, Randy Wedeking, a farmer from Clarksville, Iowa, was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and needed help harvesting his 1,200 acres of corn.

That’s where North Dakota-based Farm Rescue came in. The non-profit organization helps farmers suffering from major injuries and illnesses.

Volunteers arrived on Wedeking’s Butler County farm with a combine and other equipment to help with the harvest. But Randy wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines.

Randy Wedeking and his wife Brenda
Photo: Tiffany Rushing/Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

He drove his tractor and helped harvest about a third of his corn.

“The harvest is what it’s all about,” he told the Globe Gazette. “I’ve probably got the best corn crop in my 44 years.”

“I’m going to do it as long as I can climb up into that cab,” he said.

Levi Wielenga, Farm Rescue equipment specialist, told the Globe Gazette that Wedeking’s focus on finishing the harvest is a testament to how strong farmers are.

"You will never stay farming if you're not determined," he said. "You're just an eternal optimist if you're a farmer."

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