Anya Rath, and Justin A. Hinkley

Times Herald

Confidence and excitement buzzed in the air Sunday morning as Andy Jahn and other farmers from the Croswell area loaded up several semi-trucks with hay and other supplies that will be taken to farms affected by the massive fires in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado earlier this month.





The fires, which happened on March 6, burned off about 625 square miles of land in Kansas and killed one person, according to the Associated Press.

"They are comparing that to Hurricane Katrina — that's devastating and people don't realize it," said Jahn, a farmer based in Croswell. "We're just doing the little part we can."

Read more: Farmers pitch in to help wildfire victims

Farmers throughout Michigan and the Midwest have been collecting supplies for the areas affected by the wildfires. Jahn said supplies include hay, livestock feed, fence post wiring and "just about anything a rancher could possibly need."

A semi-load full of hay is worth about $3,000 to $4,000, he said.

Three rigs left from Jahn's business, Farmer Jahn's Seed and Feed, on Sunday morning with a couple more joining on the way to Perry.

Later Sunday morning and into the afternoon, dozens of trucks poured into the Transfleet service garage near Perry. Dan Ritter, a Bancroft trucker who helped organize the convoy, said there were "between 45 and 50 trucks ready to rock and roll," filled with hay, grain, livestock feed and milk replacer for orphaned calves. Ritter said supplies, drivers or other volunteers had come from 65 of Michigan's 83 counties, from Mid-Michigan to the Thumb to the Upper Peninsula.

"All across the state of Michigan, these people have just been stepping up," he said.

Justin Wenthe was at home in Postville, Iowa last week when he got a call from a friend in Michigan asking him if he wanted to help. The trucker didn't hesitate.

"I said, 'Yup. I'll be a part of it.'"

A week later, after finding jobs that took him from Iowa to Kansas to northern Wisconsin and finally to Petoskey, he made it to Clare, where his truck was filled with donated supplies and he hooked up with the rest of the convoy at Transfleet on Sunday morning.

"It's kinda what we're supposed to do in this country," Wenthe said. "People need to be worried about people."

The garage had the feel of a family reunion. Kids and dogs ran around in the wet drizzle outside, while bratwurst, burgers and hot dogs smoked on a grill. A large American flag was being affixed to the back of a trailer full of hay, while Mercedes Joy Knapp painted a pastel-colored image of a young calf and a tractor-trailer. Tote bags full of donated food for the drivers overflowed just inside the bay doors to the garage.

"It's just within our heart" to help fellow farmers, said Connie Kleinhardt, a dairy farmer from Clare. "Every day, we till the soil and work the ground. And when our family calls for help, we step up to do what we need to do."

Ritter said the convoy would drive to Ashand, Kansas, where they would be dispersed to where they were needed throughout the region.

Along the way, trucks from Ontario, Pennsylvania and Ohio are expected to meet up with the group.

"So as we get closer it's going to grow," Jahn said.

Jahn said he expects the 1,200-mile trip to take about 20 hours and he hopes to reach Monday evening.

"Hopefully we can get there tomorrow evening just before dark and unload trucks throughout the night," Jahn said.

Jahn said the community support was more than he could have imagined.

"I just thought that we were going to start with three or four trucks and that would be enough," Jahn said. "Since Saturday, I've dispatched 57 trucks."

Jason Schulz, who raises beef cows in Ubly, was part of the convoy that started in Croswell. As a good friend of Jahn's, he joined in once he heard about the efforts.

"People with agriculture and livestock go through a lot," Schulz said. "There's a lot of struggles between the government and all the regulations, the media ... And then on top of that, Mother Nature is fighting you."

Schulz said he hopes that attention remains on the issue as there is much more work to be done.

"I just hope that once the media phase (is over) that people are still going to be out there," Schulz said. "It's going to take a whole lot of work to put it back together."

Jahn said that it's not too late to join efforts as there are several more convoys heading out in the coming weeks — one on March 31 and another on April 6.

"The work is never done in farming," Jahn said. "We're just trying to help."

To donate funds locally go to www.gofundme.com/trucking-for-texas. To drop off supplies or money in person, visit Farmer Jahns Feed and Seed, 5344 Peck Road, Croswell, or Brown City Elevator, 4185 Main St., Brown City.

To find out more information about the local groups traveling to Kansas, go to http://bit.ly/2n77eFl for information on the Thumb-area group, and http://bit.ly/2mIwApG for information on the state-wide effort.

To donate funds closer to the impacted areas around Clark County, Kansas, go to www.ashlandcf.com.

Contact Anya Rath at (810) 989-6276 or arath@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @anya_rath. Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley.