Farm Rescue

The other morning I was flipping through magazines when I came across an article in Readers Digest. It was the first article I flipped to, and I had to smile when I saw that it had a man propped against a tractor. My kind of reading. 

As I read into the article, my smile couldn't help but grow larger. Of all the things I have learned in the past four years through my FFA and other life experiences, the most impactful lesson I’ve learned is that genuine leadership, living to serve others rather than yourself, is the key quality for any great club, organization, or society.

Bill Gross, the man in the picture I saw, is a prime example of genuine leadership. When Gross, a UPS Airlines pilot, noticed family farms were becoming few and far between he knew he wanted to do something. From that, he began Farm Rescue, a non-profit organization which helps farmers who are experiencing financial troubles because of a severe illness, accident, or natural disaster. The organization sends teams out to plant or harvest the family's crops for free. Since its beginning in 2005, the organization has helped over 140 families in the South Dakota, North Dakota, western Minnesota, and eastern Montana areas. 

Talk about genuine leadership. The people at Farm Rescue spend their time and energy by helping farmers stay afloat during times of crisis. The help they give may mean the difference between the family staying in business and the business going out. 

Watch this video, created by Kelly Gunning of Lansing, North Dakota, for more information on just how Farm Rescue impacts lives. 

I would encourage you to check out their website to learn more about what they're doing or to get involved. There are some really great products, such as hats, shirts, and prints of the poem "The Beautiful Hands of a Farmer," that you can buy. Proceeds go directly to financing Farm Rescue operations.

Bill Gross had the right idea about keeping the values of being good neighborly and serving others intact. Then he took that idea and made it a reality, which is helping families stay in business so that their farms will be able to continue through the generations.