Families, friends and fellow farmers attempt to rebuild after tornados caused catastrophic damage in Western Kentucky back in December.  The largest tornado was an EF-4 that stayed on the ground for about 165 miles, according to the National Weather Service.  The path of this massive tornado was over a mile wide in places and left homes, barns, fences and any other structures in shambles in its wake.

 Those impacted had to figure out where to live or how to repair their home if it was still standing.  Now that they have had time to take care of themselves and their families with living arrangements, they are attempting to put the pieces of their farm back together.  This includes rebuilding fences that have often times been built over a span of decades.  The rebuilding process will be long and rigorous requiring lots of labor and expenses.

 In order to help alleviate some of the burden, the Simpson County Extension Agent for Agriculture and the Simpson County Cattlemen's Association communicated with Jay Stone, Hopkins County Agent for Agriculture, to determine the needs of affected farmers in Hopkins County.  He provided a specific list of requested fencing supplies that were in immediate need.  The items that would be collected were only items on the list and the turnaround time was less than two weeks. 

Farmers, Tractor Supply Company and many community members made contributions and were quick to lend a helping hand.  The farming community is the last to ask for help and the first to show up to help others.  In about eleven days, we departed for Hopkins County with a trailer load of fencing supplies totaling around $8,000 that was divided between 23 farm families to repair or replace both temporary and permanent fencing.  This does not include time or fuel of anyone involved.  Agent Stone said, “Producers here were extremely grateful for all the generosity shown to them by Simpson County.”