Iowa farmers organizing haylift for Texas

LUANA - Farmers in one small northeast Iowa community say they've been blessed with an abundant hay crop to use in feeding their own livestock this winter. And since they have more than enough, they're more than willing to share.

The opportunity to share with less fortunate farmers in drought-stricken portions of Texas and Louisiana arose when Pastor Harold McMillin of St. John Lutheran in Luana attended a church gathering in Florida recently.

Pastor McMillin said conversations with pastors from drought states revealed that farmers in their congregations were being forced to sell off livestock herds because there was no feed available at any price.

When he returned to northeast Iowa, Pastor McMillin decided to organize a haylift between Iowa farmers and ranchers in those southern states. He got a number of farmers in his congregation to donate enough hay to fill two flatbed semis and church money from a disaster relief fund will buy at least three more.

Now the only problem is trucking that excess Iowa hay to those areas that need it the most.

Duaine Davis is one of the Luana-area farmers willing to donate his hay instead of selling it. His large square bales weighing almost 1,000 pounds would bring about $60 to $70 each at a hay auction. But he's going to give at least 50 or 55 bales away - which is enough to fill one flatbed semi truck.

Davis said he never needed donated hay when he was raising livestock. But he can understand the desperation of farmers trying to hang on rather than sell off an entire herd because there's no feed.

Pastor McMillin said his small-town church members responded quickly to his request but now he needs help from trucking companies and truckers to haul the hay to Texas. He's working on finding transportation, but hasn't solved that part of the haylift problem yet.

Anyone willing to help haul hay is asked to contact Pastor McMillin at 563-880-5052. The pastor said this haylift effort is also an experiment for other Lutheran churches in other synods or geographical groupings around Iowa. If his efforts are successful, then other Lutheran churches may be asked to organize their own donation efforts.

The pastor said the hay from Luana farmers is destined for the Alverado, Texas area which is located near the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport