Farmers come together to help with final harvest

Oct 11, 2016

LaVerne Burck passed away in July

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A group of about 30 farmers came together to finish harvesting a friend’s corn and soybeans after his passing in July.

LaVerne Burck passed away in July at the age of 59 after battling lung cancer.

His daughter, Jessica, was left with about 1,300 acres of corn and soybeans in Pottawattamie County, near Council Bluffs, Iowa.

That’s when the farming community came together.

LaVerne Burck
Photo: The Daily Nonpareil

“You’re proud to be part of helping Jessie get her father’s last crop up,” Dave Spetman, one of the volunteers, told The Daily Nonpareil. “It’s just what friends and farmers do in a farm community.”

The group started working on September 8.

According to The Daily Nonpareil, LaVerne Burck was infamous for planting corn in mid-April and harvesting it towards the end of October. It was only one of the things that made Burck special.

"Very particular with his equipment. A very particular farmer," Dale Weirich told the Iowa newspaper.

If it wasn't for the farming community, Jessica said she wouldn't know where to begin.

“I would still be trying to get the combine to work.”

“I’d be lost without them. They’ve taken time out of their own crop to get my dad’s out. I’m thankful and blessed that he knew such an amazing group of people.”

“It’s a community effort,” Spetman said. “We just know that’s what has to happen: Everyone puts their stuff on the back burner and takes care of it.”

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