Making hay for Nebraska in Indiana: Flood relief from farmers to farmers
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — There is nothing easy about loading hay into a truck, but the truck being loaded and the driver have a schedule to keep. The kids loading the truck are volunteers from the Boone County 4-H, and everything — the supplies, truck, fuel and the driver’s time — was donated, by farmers for farmers.
Thousands of acres of Nebraska cattle have been lost to the devastating floods this spring. A social media campaign organized in Boone County to help the flood victims has been met with robust enthusiasm, Brock Timmons of Timmons Feed in Lebanon told News 8.
“There is a lot of grain that is being lost from last year’s crop that was in bin. It’s getting wet and destroyed and then coming for 2019, those fields are just covered with trash, covered in sand and silt from the river overflowing, covered in wood, trees, all sorts of stuff, trash, metal. It is going to take a lot of time to clean up out there to get back and going,“ said Timmons.
Timmons spent the better part of Friday morning getting pallets of cattle feed wrapped for shipment.
By Saturday morning the feed will be in the hands of Nebraska cattle ranchers.
Timmons and Cade Messick are two of the many people in Boone County who helped organize this relief effort. The two men have spoken on the phone but had not met until Friday.
Timmon’s family owns a feed and grain store in Lebanon; Messick’s family owns LaFollette trucking in Crawfordsville. Messick just returned from Iowa, where there is some minor flooding.
“I have seen a little bit. I have been in eastern Iowa and the Mississippi is up, the lowlands in western Illinois are up. It is nothing like it is in Nebraska,“ said Messick.
Timmons‘ customers bought and donated 660 bags of feed along with several tons of hay. They also donated a truckload of horse equipment.
“But if you come in here, you can see, floor to ceiling, all donations: livestock, horse, there is some dog stuff, a bunch of shovels and pitchforks up front, blankets, saddles, gas can. There are water bottles, paper towels,“ said ______.
Two loads of hay and feed left Boone County early Friday morning. The semi driven by Messick pulled out midafternoon.
“It will be about nine-and-a-half hours if we don’t stop. We are planning on stopping a little bit once we get out there … leaving this (Friday) afternoon, should be out there bright and early tomorrow morning,“ said Messick.
Lafollette Trucking is donating the fuel, a truck and two drivers to the relief efforts.
If you are interested in donating to the flood relief for Nebraska, the American Red Cross is accepting cash donations. Plans to collect and deliver additional supplies to Nebraska are still being worked out.