Submitted Photo  Bill Gross, a North Dakota native, is founder and president of Farm Rescue. The organization has grown to include nearly 1,000 enlisted volunteers from 49 states.

Farm Rescue is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2005 by Bill Gross, a North Dakota native and full-time pilot for UPS Airlines. Gross will be grand marshal of the 2019 North Dakota State Fair Parade in Minot in July

Field operations first began in the spring of 2006, with Bill and another volunteer (also named Bill) traveling the state to assist farmers in crisis with planting. Today, Farm Rescue has grown to include nearly 1,000 enlisted volunteers from 49 states, ready to offer their help at a moment’s notice.

Volunteers provide planting, haying, harvesting and livestock feeding assistance free of charge to farm and ranch families who have experienced a major illness, injury or natural disaster. The nonprofit’s service area has also grown to include the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska.

Helping families

This spring, Farm Rescue will assist its 600th family in crisis.

With the help of its volunteer family, business sponsors and individual donors, the nonprofit was able to assist 83 farm and ranch families in 2018, alone. That total includes several ranchers who received assistance through the nonprofit’s hay hauling campaign known as Operation Hay Lift.

Farm Rescue launched Operation Hay Lift in response to the widespread drought and Legion Lake Fire affecting its service area during 2017. Hauling services were offered to ranchers who urgently needed to truck their hay from a distance from July 2017-April 2018. Throughout the campaign, 75 Farm Rescue volunteers hauled 274 semi loads of hay (more than 10,000 bales) to 154 ranch families throughout the region, covering more than 200,000 miles in the process.

In March, Farm Rescue again activated Operation Hay Lift to haul much-needed livestock feed to ranchers affected by the flooding in Nebraska.

Planning ahead

Despite the distances already traveled these past 13 years, Farm Rescue continues planning for the long road ahead. It’s a journey they will gladly navigate in hopes of helping as many families in crisis as possible.

The nonprofit plans to assist up to 75 farmers and ranchers throughout its 2019 operations, as time and resources allow. Several applications have already been received for spring planting assistance and Farm Rescue will continue accepting applications and referrals leading up to the planting season.

To learn more about the organization, refer a family in need or contribute to their mission, visit farmrescue.org.