News

Farm Rescue expands to Wisconsin

A non-profit volunteer group that helps farmers get their work done now serves a larger area.

Dan Erdmann tells Brownfield Farm Rescue just expanded into Wisconsin, and is there to help with planting, harvesting, commodity hauling, and livestock feeding.  He says farmers don’t like to ask for help, but they often get referrals. “It may be a spouse, a neighbor, a friend, just someone in the community that knows of a family that’s dealing with something, whether it’s a health issue that’s keeping them off the farm dealing with treatment, sometimes it’s cancer. Sometimes, it’s just an unexpected injury and those happen all the time.”

Erdmann says the mission is to help farm families with short-term needs so they can get back to normal and keep farming. “We call it a hand-up. It’s not a handout. We’re not giving money to anyone. It’s tangible, in-field support to get you through a, hopefully, a singular season and get you on to that next season.”

Erdmann says many farmers are reluctant to ask for help, but feel a sense of relief when Farm Rescue volunteers arrive. “You feel that burden being lifted when they see that equipment arrive and they know that help is there and things are going to be okay. We’re going to get them through that time and get them through that harvest or planting season, whatever it may be. It really does lighten the load, I think, for a lot of families when Farm Rescue rolls into the yard.”

Farm Rescue has their own equipment and hundreds of volunteers in nine states, including North and South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, and now Wisconsin.  They can be reached through their website, https://farmrescue.org.

Audio: Dan Erdmann discusses Farm Rescue and its expansion into Wisconsin with Brownfield’s Larry Lee