Harvest season can be a hectic and tense time, especially for the corn and soybean growers I lived among most of my young life in rural Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. You live at the whims of Nature, working through the night to process seed corn and soybeans when the weather is mercifully dry enough. These working conditions I remember well from my Dad’s stories, my friends’ Dads’ stories and this story—which stands out because the farmer in question lost the use of both of his feet just before harvest 2011. What happens next was human-interest newsworthy and, as my years in California pile up, personally affecting. I consider this story a terrific example of what it can feel like to live in a rural, agricultural community. This article (and my photo!) originally appeared in The Britt News Tribune on October 22, 2011.

BRITT – “You can’t keep a farmer out of his field,” said Ken DeWaard.

Even if that farmer, DeWaard himself, broke both feet in the last two months and can’t walk for at least another month.

DeWaard watched about 30 of his friends and “church family” from the Britt Evangelical Free Church combine part of his 600 acres on Oct. 13.

“These people all have their own farms and they stopped to help,” DeWaard said. “It’s amazing.”

Eight combines, three semis, three grain carts and numerous tractors and trailers made quick work of the fields. 

DeWaard was helping shingle the roof of a church building in early September when he fell off and shattered one foot, leaving him unable to place any weight on it.

While he was watching volunteers combine his soybeans one month later, a hitch came off of a trailer after it collided with a tractor. The hitch fell on DeWaard’s other foot, breaking six bones.

Linda DeWaard, Ken’s wife, could not believe the circumstances.

“He has never broken a bone before,” said Linda, who married Ken in 1965. “He doesn’t even have a family doctor to go to.”

DeWaard described his inability to participate in the harvest as disappointing but was quick to emphasize how thankful he felt for all the help.

“People were calling up saying, ‘How can I help?’ ” he said. “It shows what good friends and good neighbors I have.”

Faith has also helped DeWaard through a tough season.

“God is always there. God will provide,” he said.

Friends of the DeWaards did not hesitate to help out.

“Kenny has such a generous heart,” said Chris McNeese. “They (the DeWaards) have such a special attitude.”

McNeese and Becky Nielsen helped Linda DeWaard prepare dozens of sack lunches for the farmers.

“They (volunteers) just called and said they were coming over,” Linda said. “It’s pretty overwhelming.”

Raymond Kumsher, a friend of the DeWaards since 1980, drove DeWaard out to his fields last week so DeWaard could watch the progress.

“Even though I work for a (different) farmer, I wouldn’t want to miss it,” Kumsher said. 

He said the community pulling together to help a farmer is common in the area.

“Everybody just gathers together if somebody needs something done,” he said. 

“You never know if you might need help some day.”