Farmers deliver hay to Kansas area destroyed by wildfires
Two semi loads of hay were delivered Thursday, March 30, to Ashland, Kan., one of the worst hit areas for last month’s wildfires.
The local hay will be used by farmers in need of the hay for their animals.
The driving crew of Evan and Ian Dudenbostel, David Smiley, Derek Petersheim, Luke Adams and Matt Kearns left Wisconsin at midnight Thursday, drove straight there and back.
By Correne Martin
Kansas wildfires destroyed more than 650,000 acres in 21 counties last month, according to the Kansas Farm Bureau. In hopes of helping their fellow farmers, a group of young men from Steuben and Seneca came together last week to deliver two semi loads of hay to those affected by the disaster.
Leading the volunteer charge, brothers Evan, 23, and Ian Dudenbostel, 25, coordinated a 700-mile, overnight trip to Ashland, Kan., where the two semi loads of hay, a trailer load of fencing supplies, feed and cow water were taken as a goodwill gesture from southwest Wisconsin. They got online and found a feed company, which then directed them with further details.
“We had been hearing it on the news and thinking about it and we just decided we had to help,” Evan said, noting that Ashland was hit the worst. “Eighty percent of that county was burned—around 480,000 acres.”
Drivers Evan and Ian, David Smiley, Derek Petersheim, Luke Adams and Matt Kearns left Wisconsin at midnight on Thursday, March 30. They took turns driving, went straight to Kansas and unloaded, before dark, at Ashland Feed and Seed. From there, the donations were dispersed to farmers who had lost their homes, farms and cattle, in some cases. Then, the six men headed the long haul home and arrived back to Wisconsin mid-morning Friday.
Evan and Mishaela Dudenbostel and Ian and Hannah Dudenbostel farm a beef cow/calf and cash crop operation with their parents, Don and Kim, in the Steuben area. They also farm for their grandpa, Gale Beneker, of Prairie du Chien. Dudenbostel Family Farms in addition to Tom and Beth Kearns Farms, Derek and Justine Petersheim, and Ralph and Sheila Petersheim/Welsh Edge Farms donated the hay and the trucks for hauling. Joe Hall/Dairyland Transportation also donated a truck.
A number of area farmers and businesses also gave toward the fencing supplies as well as feed and diesel fuel for the trip. Donors included Al and Samantha Morovits, Bart and Amy Mitchell, Don and Kim Dudenbostel, Gale and Cheryl Beneker, Gari Lorenz, Mike and Heather Metzler, Johnson’s One Stop, R and S Welding, Scenic Rivers Energy Cooperative, Swede Knutson, Spring Creek Cattle and Walsh’s Ace Hardware.
“We were really glad to help. I figured, if we were in the same situation, these people would’ve done the same thing for us and we would very much appreciate it,” Evan stated.
People interested in helping can find more information at https://www.kfb.org/Article/Kansas-wildfire-relief. Checks can be mailed to Kansas Livestock Foundation at 6031 SW 37th St., Topeka, KS 66614. “Fire relief fund” should be written in the memo line.
