Farm Rescue Volunteers Step in When Farmers Need it Most

Farm Rescue connects trained volunteers like Vane Clayton with farmers facing illness, injury, or natural disaster. They step in to keep planting, harvest and livestock feeding on track.

Meet Vane Clayton

Vane Clayton grew up helping milk cows before school on his family's Indiana dairy farm. "It was a great childhood," he said. After earning an engineering degree from Purdue University, he went to work for John Deere, supervising their test group.

Clayton then served as CEO of four different software companies. While reading a Successful Farming magazine in 2017, he came across an article about Farm Rescue, a nonprofit that provides volunteers to help with planting, harvest, haying, livestock care, and other needs in the wake of an injury, illness, or natural disaster. "I was still running a company and was too busy to do anything at the time, but I tore out the article and I said, that's what I want to do someday.”

Clayton recalled hearing that before he was born, his father had back surgery and his parents had shared stories of neighbors helping keep the dairy going during his recovery. So, Clayton said the desire to help others in that way drew him to Farm Rescue.

He retired from the corporate world in 2019 and had his first case with Farm Rescue the following year. Since then, he has worked on 16 cases and supported the organization with fundraising, marketing, and preparing the annual report. "I'm super passionate about the organization and what we do," he said.

Getting Help

Farm Rescue was founded by Bill Gross, who grew up on a ranch in North Dakota. It currently serves farmers and ranchers in 11 states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kentucky.

Applications for assistance can be filled out at FarmRescue.org or by calling 701-252-2017. Clayton said friends and neighbors often reach out about a farmer in need. "Farmers are very proud," he said.

Following the application process, the next step is an on-farm visit, where a volunteer talks to the farm family to determine what help is needed. "Then they can match up volunteers like myself and the right equipment," Clayton said. "We want to make sure we have everything we need to do exactly what the farmer wants, and we try to do just as good a job as he or she would do."

The goal is to get the work done within the timeframe the farmer would have done it. "This isn't like, we'll get to it when we can," Clayton said. "This is, we know you want to plant next week, so we'll get some people there.”

Helping Others

Being able to help farmers on short notice means volunteers are critical to Farm Rescue's mission. "We're blessed with over 250 trained, ready-to-go volunteers and another couple hundred that are waiting in the wings if we need them," Clayton said.

Volunteers also help with non-production jobs. "We have several that will help us out at trade shows. They're good with people and passionate about Farm Rescue. They may not have their CDL or be proficient with a combine, but they're really good at telling the story and sharing the services we provide," he said. "We need that community outreach."

He said another way to help is to share information about Farm Rescue at local Farm Bureau or other farmer meetings.

Rewarding Experience

Clayton said getting to know the farm families he works with through Farm Rescue is a rewarding experience that doesn't stop when the job ends.

"We have an amazing connection. I still get Christmas cards, we text and email once in a while, and we stay in touch," he said. "We're on site anywhere from a week to two weeks, so we get to know these people pretty well, and they are truly like family."

EDITOR’S TAKE:

We have posted stories in the past about how farm neighbors often assist other neighbors in their time of need. This particular story epitomizes just how deep that desire to help those in need truly goes. And if you live in one of the states mentioned in this article, you might want to keep that phone number handy in case one of your ag customers needs some assistance. Or, if you’re not in one of those states, perhaps there is a similar organization a farmer can call on when disaster strikes in your area. Maybe you could even post such information on your website. Farmers remember who actually supports them and who does not.

Another way you can help in times of need is to promote AgPack®. What a fantastic program that offers nearly $50,000 in exclusive rebates and discounts through our amazing AgPack Partners.