Farm Rescue, Non-profit helps a Minnesota farmer bring in his harvest

Somewhere in the heartland of America, a farmer is dealing with a personal tragedy. When crops are in the field and there's no one to bring in the harvest, the loss of thousands of dollars in crops can devastate a family. This is the time. This is the place. This is Coming up on Farm Rescue.

As you can see behind me, time is of the essence. We have storm clouds approaching and we're trying to get these soybeans harvested for this family prior to the weather moving in. It's very important.

The Farm Rescue harvesting crew arrives in Minnesota, but will they be too late to save the crops of a farmer in desperate need of help as his wife is rushed to the emergency room while fighting cancer? The Farm Rescue begins next. Ulan, Minnesota, a small rural town, population 547, 1 hour northeast of Fargo, North Dakota. Ulan is nestled in the middle of millions of acres and millions of dollars in farm crops.

Uh, Ulan is just a small farming community. Uh, we're kind of right in between, uh, Detroit Lakes and Fargo-Moorhead. Uh, we're about halfway in between both of those, uh, bigger cities.

Besides being famous for the Viking Sword Museum, Ulan is this farmer's home. Meet Matt Clemetson. His family's livelihood is based solely on corn and soybeans Matt plants and harvests. But this year, he's dealing with a personal tragedy. smack dab in the middle of harvest season.

My name is Matt Clementson. Uh, this is my wife Stacy, and this is our family: our daughter Elena, our son Noah, Addison, Isabel, and our youngest son Caleb. We started farming full-time in 2009, and we farm about 620 acres.

In the midst of helping his wife battle cancer, Matt's soybean fields are ready to be harvested. Matt's wife Stacy has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Shortly before planting season started, my wife got, got sick and ended up in the hospital for, for an extended period of time. So when Farm Rescue actually came to plant, I had been with her in the hospital for the previous few weeks and, and a few weeks after that time even.

So it was a tremendous blessing not to have to worry about Matt Clemenson farms several hundred acres, and his crops are in the field ready for harvest. If his soybeans don't get out of the field, they could fall on the ground, and his family's personal tragedy would get even worse than it already is.

Soybeans, when they're ready, they need to be harvested. And if you don't get it done, they start shelling out in the field, and you, you have a lot of crop loss at the time. If you wait too long, they get real brittle and they'll start shattering and just falling out in the fields.

This is when the nonprofit team from Farm Rescue arrives to offer a helping hand.

Farm Rescue is a nonprofit organization which I founded 7 years ago. We plant and harvest crops free of charge for farm families that have had a major injury, illness, or natural disaster.

Hundreds of volunteers run combines, drive tractors, and take harvested grain to the local elevator for farmers in desperate need of help.

Nowadays, with larger farms and fewer children on those farms, it's Harder for neighbors to help one another, and that's where Farm Rescue steps in with equipment and volunteers from all across the nation come to help farm families in the Upper Midwest.

Everybody wants to be a part of something great, and too many times these days people are looking at perceptions of, you know, is it really good?

Is it—

is there some things that could be, you know, misthought about? But Farm Rescue is a truly great organization, and Bill Gross and his vision has come together in such a strong fashion that it allows us to participate with that without any reservations whatsoever. I work with RDO Equipment Company, and Bill came to Ron Offutt and Christy Offutt and the leadership team at RDO Equipment when he first started thinking about this and told us his vision, told us his game plan, and it was a no-brainer. We immediately jumped on board with this opportunity to help out the family farmer in the Upper Midwest, and it's been branching out now. Bill has expanded into Iowa. And we're right there with them.

The clock is ticking as the sun rises on day 1 of the farm rescue.

As you can see behind me, time is of the essence. We have storm clouds approaching and we're trying to get these soybeans harvested for this family. prior to the weather moving in. It's very important.

There's a rainstorm on the horizon, and the team of Farm Rescue volunteers only has a 3-day window before they must move their harvesting gear to another rescue case hundreds of miles away. If they're forced to stop harvesting, thousands of dollars in valuable soybeans will be lost.

Timeliness in the harvest is absolutely critical when, when the crops are ready. This year, stuff is under extreme stress. It was, it's been dry and we haven't had a lot of opportunities to get stuff. Harvest has been very tight in the last few years. Every moment you've got to get stuff out, you've got to be rolling.

If they could, the Farm Rescue team would work round the clock to bring in Matt and Stacy's crop. But soybeans can only be harvested when the temperature is perfect and the moisture is low.

There's been no giving the schedule. It's, it's wide open at harvest time and it's, it's a tense time.

Coming up, the Farm Rescue team keeps pushing ahead as a storm looms on the horizon.

It's very important, as you can see the storm clouds approaching from behind me, that we get these soybeans harvested for this farm family prior to the weather moving in.

The big question, can they bring in the Clemensens' crops in the nick of time? The farm rescue pushes forward with high hopes of success. Storm clouds on the horizon could bring this farm rescue to a halt. And the loss to local farmer Matt Clemenson could be massive.

It's very important. As you can see, the storm clouds approaching from behind me.

There's been no giving the schedule. It's, it's wide open at harvest time and it's a tense time and it's stressful.

A team of volunteers from the nonprofit organization Farm Rescue is harvesting soybeans for this Minnesota farmer whose wife is fighting cancer.

Well, for me, it's been a great peace of mind knowing I don't have to get everything ready and they were coming to do this. So it's just taken a load off my shoulders and enabled me to just keep helping Stacy here at home.

It's just awesome how people use their time and help people out. without knowing them, or— I mean, it's just unreal, the kindness that you guys have displayed towards us, and it's just very much appreciated.

The farm season is in full swing, and local farmers are not able to help Matt Clementson bring in his harvest. From raising 5 kids to time at the hospital with his wife, Matt's crops would go unharvested If it weren't for the Farm Rescue volunteers.

It's important to note that this is not a government handout. Farm Rescue doesn't give any money to farmers. We're a grassroots nonprofit organization that come and help farm families during their time of crisis. Farm Rescue came about when I was driving one day thinking about how I could help people, and it all flashed before my eyes that This would be my mission field. My mission field would be in the fields of the farm families, helping them during their time of need.

With weather looking to make a turn south, the Farm Rescue volunteers know that they must press on fast and furious. Despite the wind and the rain on the horizon, they press forward, blessed by the opportunity to help a farm family in need.

The assistance that Farm Rescue provides It wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for the donations, sponsorships, and good-hearted volunteers that step forward to help our organization.

Farm Rescue, I learned about it 2 to 3 years ago, and when I met Bill, it was an instant inspiration to me to help others. And coming from a farming background, I just, I wanted to jump on board and I wanted to be part of Farm Rescue. It means the world to me to help a neighbor out. Just as a young farmer myself, I want, I want to inspire younger kids, like the farmers that have their own little children that come out and ride. And I would like to inspire them to keep this going. This, it means the world to me to help out a neighbor, and I would like them to do the same. It's so cool to see what, what just volunteers coming together can do for a person that needs help.

Farm Rescue is a true nonprofit. We don't have a bunch of people on payroll. We use donated funds to help farm families during their time of crisis.

The Farm Rescue volunteers are not looking for thanks or praise, but to those that they help, their time and effort is so appreciated by the Plummetson family.

Very blessed to have Farm Rescue come and do the work for us. Well, Doing the work and just taking the pressure and the stress off of our lives. We have plenty, so we appreciate it very much.

I think it, you know, farming has kind of been the backbone of our, of our community here and in a lot of parts of our country. You know, a lot of people grew up on farms. You know, people often forget that food doesn't get to the grocery store just by magic. It's, it's, it happened, it starts out here. And I think it's a great opportunity to help people that are in need. And Farm Rescue is an organization that, you know, it's a lot of volunteers. It's a lot of, a lot of work. And to To make that work happen, it takes, takes money to help fund that.

As an organization, Farm Rescue helps farmers in crisis all across America's heartland.

Farm families apply to Farm Rescue for assistance when they've had a major injury, illness, or natural disaster. And when they're approved, we dispatch a small army of volunteers and sponsored equipment to plant or harvest their crops free of charge. We get a lot of applications at Farm Rescue. We review those applications, and we like to think that we help as many farm families as possible with the sponsors and volunteers that we have available.

With the RDO combine running at full speed, another grain truck is loaded as the Farm Rescue grain hauler heads toward town to I've been in this area.

I farmed in the old days out at Buffalo, which is straight west of here, probably 100 miles in North Dakota. And I was in the construction trades and I retired and I was looking for something to— I love driving truck. And so a friend of mine was a volunteer, so he said, well, come on, help us out. I said, well, yeah, I could do that. I got started with Farm Rescue and I just love helping folks like this who are down and out and need our help. And it's just gratifying to be able to come in and help these folks. It's just a wonderful thing.

Coming up, hopes are very high for a successful harvest as answered prayers seem to be parting the sky, allowing the Farm Rescue team to push forward with the harvest. But just as the sun sets on the harvesting day, word reaches the volunteers in the That Stacy Clemenson has to be taken to the emergency room in full seizure. The stakes could not be higher for the Farm Rescue team to complete the job they've come to do. The sun rises on the final day of harvesting. As a team of volunteers from the nonprofit organization Farm Rescue harvest soybeans for a Minnesota farmer whose wife is fighting cancer.

Farm Rescue is a true nonprofit. We're a one-of-a-kind nonprofit where we use the donated funds to actually get the work done for farm families during their time of need.

Word from the hospital is that Stacey is in stable condition after having been taken away suddenly by ambulance the With nearly half the crops delivered to market and the sun shining, the Farm Rescue volunteers get back to work.

It's been neat to see an organization like Farm Rescue come in willing to help. When the harvest takes off and everybody gets going, they're all going on their own. And for somebody like Farm Rescue to become available to step in and help when there's families in need, it's just, it's a great thing. It's really enriching to be a part of that, helping others when, when we can.

I've helped out 2 families before, and Bill calls every once in a while and he says, hey, have you got some guys that can come out? And every one of our locations in the Upper Midwest is well-versed with Farm Rescue, and we take that message to all of our 27 ag locations and our over 70 locations in the country. With construction in Vermeer, they know about Farm Rescue. And we demonstrate that to our communities, our involvement, and what we can do to help out those communities and the farm families that live in those communities.

We have wonderful, good-hearted, compassionate volunteers at Farm Rescue that come here to help these farm families during their time of need.

Well, it turned out to be a real blessing because when time came from planting, My wife was actually in the hospital, so I was really torn. We got to see some of the coverage on television. The news media was out here that day, and we were in the hospital and watching it on TV. It was almost surreal, but it was— I didn't have any problem with it because I needed to be with her at that time.

With the help of volunteers and the With the support of corporate sponsors, Farm Rescue has helped over 200 farm families to date and hopes to continue their mission for many years to come.

We've helped over 200 farm families at Farm Rescue in 7 years. All kinds of injuries and illnesses, everything from broken or severed arms or legs to, to broken backs, automobile accidents, or in this case, a major illness such as A wide variety of things happen on a farm. Matter of fact, it's one of the most dangerous occupations in the world. Today you see Farm Rescue harvesting, but we also plant crops for farm families that are experiencing a crisis. And this is only possible due to donations and sponsorships. That's what makes this organization go forward to help people in need. Farm Rescue is primarily a volunteer-run organization. Even myself, I myself, as the founder, volunteer my time. I have a full-time job as a pilot for UPS Airlines, as well as many of our other volunteers that come from all over the nation. They take time off to come and help farm families in the Upper Midwest during their time of crisis.

As the combine continues to roar forward toward another successful farm rescue, Minnesota farmer Matt Clemensen returns to his empty soybean field to see that the soybeans You know, I've had the chance to speak with Matt, and he's such a gracious man.

And with the tragedy that's befallen his family, with his wife's cancer and whatnot, it's, it's amazing how well they've been able to, to take that. And it's fantastic that he's allowed Farm Rescue to come in and offer assistance.

A lot of farmers in the areas off the coast of the Great Lakes are struggling.

Sometimes we're too proud and whatnot to ask for help, but Matt's been fantastic.

The best thing about Farm Rescue is that it has provided an avenue for businesses and people to come and help farm families during their time of crisis.

In a time in America when so many news stories focus on the negative, there's an organization that is helping farmers in crisis. These farmers put food on your table each day, yet often they're overlooked.

The assistance that Farm Rescue provides to these families is not due to any government funding. It's due to people that donate funds to Farm Rescue and sponsors to help these farm families, to give them a helping hand. It's not a handout, it's not a bailout, it's to help a farm family when they've had a crisis strike so they can continue their livelihood. And that is good for all of rural America and small communities throughout.

As the sun sets in Ulan, Minnesota, another farm family has been saved, and the Farm Rescue crew rolls toward their next case several hundred miles away. Offering a helping hand to farmers in their times of desperate need, Farm Rescue needs your help. Please call today or visit us online to make a donation or lend a helping hand.