Ag Cares: Farm Rescue comes to the rescue for northwest Kansas couple 

Chad Focke didn’t have cancer on his bingo card a couple years ago. Neither did his wife Mandy.  

Chad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December 2020 and he went through subsequent treatments and had surgery in May 2021 to have the cancer removed. Complications from surgery nearly took Chad’s life right before harvest, Mandy said. That’s when she happened to see Farm Rescue online. 

Farm Rescue’s mission is to help farmers and ranchers who have experienced a major illness, injury or natural disaster by providing the necessary equipment and volunteer workforce to plant, hay or harvest their crop. Livestock feeding assistance is also available to ranchers. 

“I sent a message on Facebook, and within like, two minutes, I had a reply back on that and then a couple minutes after that, they called us,” Mandy said. 

A harvesting crew happened to be near Salina, Kansas, when Mandy got in touch and they moved from there to the Focke farm near Rexford, Kansas. 

“They literally moved from down there to here, and helped us cut all of our wheat,” she said. “My husband, even though he wanted to, could not physically do it. He had major surgery, and then the complications we had, we almost lost him after that. So it was an absolute godsend that they were three hours from us.” 

Initially, Chad wasn’t on board with someone else cutting his wheat, even if he wasn’t feeling up to doing it himself.  

“Because we’re farmers, we get our own stuff done. It’s hard to ask for help,” he said. “I just got nervous, had a good crop out there and, and I just wasn’t feeling good.” 

Times were very stressful, and Chad and Mandy realized even though they had Chad’s brother nearby to help and other family and friends, there just wasn’t enough to go around.  

“It was pretty stressful on her at the moment, because I was stressed, and I just decided that we go with the flow and see what happens,” Chad said. “I didn’t really know much about them, and when they got a hold of us and they showed up, I thought, well, okay, this might be interesting.” 

The crew was a blessing, he said.  

“All the volunteers, to give up time from their families for this, they’re all angels. They give up a lot to come help people,” he said. 

Chad praised the operators for cutting his crop like it was their own. They took care of the machines and other equipment exceptionally well, too. Mandy tried to keep the harvest as normal as possible by bringing the meals to the volunteer crew in the field.  

“They were super great and even now, we still have a couple of them that reach out to us once in a while and see how we’re doing and check in on Chad,” Mandy said. 

Chad received a clean bill of health at a recent check-up and as Mandy said, “We’re plugging away.” They both praised Farm Rescue for coming to their aid when they needed it most. Mandy recommends them to anyone in need. 

“I would totally tell them to jump on it, because it’s an amazing opportunity to work with some amazing people who aren’t just from this area,” she said. “They all had the mindset of we got to get you back on track. We got to get you back where you need to be and get the crop out.” 

The people involved is what helped Chad get through his time of need. Having retired farmers or equipment dealers and others who know what agriculture is all about on their side made the process work.  

“This wasn’t people that show up, which is a great thing, but these guys knew what they were doing,” Chad said. “It put a lot of ease to know that.” 

Chad agreed with his wife to tell other farmers if they need help—and Farm Rescue is available—to use the service.  

“They don’t ask for nothing,” he said. “When they showed up, everything was full of fuel, and all they asked for was that we filled everything back up so they could go on to the next job.” 

He encourages anyone who’s able to give to donate to Farm Rescue. 

“It doesn’t matter the amount. Doesn’t matter,” Chad said. “What you can do, anything will help this great organization for our farming industry.” 

Chad and Mandy were able to pay it forward by donating feed in the past to Farm Rescue and Mandy hopes they will be able to volunteer someday.  

“This organization needs a lot more acknowledgement than what it asks for,” Chad said. 

Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or [email protected].