Agricultural News
Field of TEAMS Continues to Pick Up Debris- The Latest Audio and Video Updates
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:38:37 CDT
The Field of Teams clean up effort hit road gear on Tuesday, with the help of the El Reno FFA, the AFR-OFU and numerous out of state individuals and groups. A couple of hundred folks picked up metral, fiberglass, wood and other items that ended up in Oklahoma wheat fields that were in or near the path of the May 31st killer tornadoes that chugged across portions of Canadian County. A little over 400 acres were cleaned up, which will allow a combine to pull into those fields and harvest the 2013 crop.
"It can be easy to overlook tornado damage to agricultural areas because a field is not a home," said AFR/OFU President Terry Detrick. "But what people don't realize is that these fields are a 'place of business.' Without a wheat crop, farmers lose a major portion of their income."
Wheat harvest is fast-approaching and many farms are still clogged with debris from surrounding structures. Sheets of tin, wood planks, shingles, insulation, fencing and other types of debris litter the otherwise harvestable fields. Tornado debris poses a great risk to producers debris found by a wheat combine instead of a volunteer could result in thousands of dollars in damage to valuable harvest equipment.
"We hope to give farmers and ranchers in this area a little piece of mind," said Detrick. "Cleaning up fields can take a lot of time and money. Insurance does not cover the cost of field clean-up and farmers certainly don't have time right as they deal with damage to their homes and farm structures."
There are still plenty of acres to walk and clean up. If you would like to volunteer to help- contact Levi Clifton at 405-301-1626.
On Tuesday, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Texas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Indiana and Oklahoma were all represented. Young Kirsten Plank from Houston was set to be in Tennessee for a church mission trip, but her group knew Oklahoma needed its help. "I don't want anything in return," Plank said. "I just want to know that everyone's happy."
Hoosier Ron Rowlett agrees. "I wouldn't have traded this experience for anything," Rowlett said. "I know that by the time I've got to go back, I won't want to go back because I want to stay."
News9 KWTV offered some prime time coverage of the Field of TEAMS effort, following up on our reports that were seen on the station on Monday morning- click on the play button in the video box below to see the report that aired Tuesday evening, June 11, 2013.
This past weekend, Farm Director Ron Hays helped clean up one quarter of a ripe and ready to go wheat field (except for the debris) and has several pictures in a FLICKR set- click here to take a look.
Oklahoma State Secretary of Agriculture Jim Reese was able to be in Canadian County on Tuesday and stopped by to encourage the Field of TEAMS effort- you can listen to the conversation that Ron Hays had with Secretary Reese by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.(under the video box)
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