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“We’ve been told we shouldn’t be surprised to see grown men cry.”

Rose Hartschuh was explaining to a reporter the expectations she and other Ohio farmers had as they staged their caravan of supplies and workers headed for wildfire devastated Kansas.

Horrifying pictures of charred homes and barns, scorched pastures and skeletal cattle remains had spurred the Crawford County Farm Bureau member and her husband, Greg into action.

“When we saw it on the news, I talked with my husband about what we could do to help,” she said. “We put feelers out asking if anyone wanted to help and the response was overwhelming,” as confirmed by these pictures.

Meanwhile, Montgomery County member Latham Farley’s effort is part of a national project launched by the members and alumni of the American Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers committee. They’re collecting cash donations, which has been helped by $50,000 in matching funds from Monsanto, donations from American Farm Bureau and Ohio Farm Bureau, which also donated to Rose’s project. I hope you’ll consider contributing.

I couldn’t be more proud. This is the farm community at its best, Farm Bureau members seeing a big problem and taking it upon themselves to do something big to fix it.

Photo descriptions:

Nearly 2,000 square miles of Colorado, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma were devastated by wildfires. Ohio relief effort organizer Rose Hartschuh hopes media attention will make more people aware of the catastrophe and spur them to help.

A 45 vehicle caravan of 126 Ohio farmers trucked hay, fencing supplies calf milk replacer and other supplies to Clark County, Kan. Supply and cash donations for this project totalled approximately $85,000.

24 Ohioans stayed in Kansas to help tear out damaged fences and assist with other recovery work.

Photo credits: Matt Reese, Ohio’s Country Journal; Dave Russell; Sara Tallmadge; Kelli Milligen Stammen, Ohio Farm Bureau