This month’s NTV’s Farm Family of the Month is going to people that are not connected through blood, but through all the support and love they show each other.
The Furnas and Red Willow County fire has burned more than 44,000 acres of land. When things like this happen, Nebraskans and also communities in Kansas, show the real meaning of the word “family”.
Wilsonville resident Steve Rice, and many other community members, are helping distribute thousands of bales of hay.
“We are blessed to live in a community that likes to help. We get donations and calls that affect you in a way that you can’t understand, and it is so hard," Rice said with tears in his eyes.
Rice said people are donating hay from all over the state, from Kimball to Lincoln.
“We have a load of hay that has been donated from Mississippi, I don’t know if I can get a truck to get it or not," Rice added.
Rice also helped a while ago with the Ashland and the paradise fire in Kansas.
“The same guys that donated to that fire are the guys that are standing here," Rice said.
While Cambridge Fire Chief Delaine Soucie was fighting the fire, his farm burned to the ground. Many of his cattle were taken to nearby farms to keep them safe.
“I didn’t know they were doing it. I was fighting the fire," Soucie said.
Soucie said its amazing the amount of support everyone is showing in these devastating times.
“This community and surrounding communities, we are all together."
And while all these communities keep helping each other, all the work is still not done.
“Support your local fire departments, they have a lot of stuff that needs repaired," Rice said. "If you have some feed or if you have a truck we could sure use some help."
NTV’s Grow honors the Cambridge and surrounding communities helping them recover from the fire as Farm Family of the Month for April 2022.