Farm Rescue Near Regent, ND - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Farm Rescue Near Regent, ND

For more than six years, one organization backed by volunteers has been traveling around the region helping farm families in crisis.
Farm Rescue has now visited more than 200 farmers in the region to help plant and harvest crops when help is needed the most.
This week Farm Rescue was in southwest North Dakota near Regent helping harvest spring wheat.
Shaun Sipma was there and has the story.

Sunset, wheat fields shrouded by remnants of freshly cut grain stalks.
It's perhaps the favorite time of year on the farm when the hard work from spring planting and a busy spraying season pays off.
For Marv Jorstad though, surgery for Prostate Cancer can't wait and neither can his crop.

(Marv Jorstad, Farms Near Regent, ND)  We knew it was a radical cancer so I was going to have it taken care of as soon as possible and that was going to come right at harvest time."

Time at the hospital meant time not in the combine.
For years Marv and Bernadine had read articles about a group of volunteers traveling around the upper midwest helping farm families in crisis, some even in their area.

(Marv Jorstad, Farms Near Regent, ND) "You look around and see it happening all over and occasionally it ends up being on your doorstep."

With a surgery date set for the Mayo Clinic In Rochester, Minnesota, the Jorstads filled out the Farm Rescue Application.
To their surprise they were accepted almost immediately.

(Bernadine Jorstad, Farms Near Regent, ND)  "It's humbling to see and organization like this that comes to help people when they're in a crisis."

In short order the volunteers and the sponsored equipment rolled in and went right to work.
Aided by a neighbor driving Marv's combine, meals being cooked and delivered by a local church and lions group harvest at the Jorstad's was in full swing.
Rather than worry about what's needs to be done at home, Mar and Bernadine say the can now focus on Rochester.

(Marv Jorstad, Farms Near Regent, ND) "I know I've got people around me, Farm Rescue has been a blessing to us, yeah, excellent."

To help lift spirits even more, the crop coming in looks to be one of the best ever so far quickly filling up the bins at the farm and grain trucks making frequent trips into town to try and keep up with the combines.
By the end of the week, harvest should be wrapped up at the Jorstads, all that Marv has to focus on will be recovering so next season he can back under the harvest moon where the hum of the combine and the sound of crickets resonate through the late summer air.

Near Regent Shaun Sipma KX News.

Tomorrow we'll take you inside the combine for a conversation with the volunteers helping Farm Rescue this season.