Sometimes there just aren't enough words to say "thank you."

Farmers and ranchers in Kiowa County, Kan., and surrounding counties and communities have spent the past year trying to find the words, but nothing can describe how grateful they are for the help their friends and neighbors offered in the wake of last May's tornadoes.

On May 4, 2007, the first recorded category EF-5 tornado demolished the town of Greensburg, Kan. For weeks following the storm the people of Kiowa, Stafford, Pratt, and other surrounding communities had to deal with the immediate clean-up of Mother Nature's wrath. For farmers and ranchers, the cleanup efforts were monumental.

Circle pivots were tossed like tinker toys. Fences were ripped apart. Cattle and livestock needed rounding up and veterinary care. Buildings and facilities required repair. And, all of it had to be accomplished before the Kansas wheat harvest.

Then came the volunteers. Friends, neighbors, and groups came from across the United States to lend a hand. FFA and 4-H members walked through wheat and alfalfa fields to pick up debris that could harm equipment. Church groups came out and helped clean up limbs and debris. The outpouring of support from the nation was overwhelming.

Last May, High Plains Journal visited with a few of the storms' agricultural victims. We brought you their stories and you responded. Livestock organizations donated fencing supplies and time to ranchers who needed help with their livestock. Farmers from Louisiana came to Kansas and helped in the recovery--a way to pay back the help Kansas farmers offered them after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Ordinary citizens pulled together to lend their neighbors a hand.

We thought you'd like to see how some of them are doing a year later.

Paying it forward

Words weren't enough for the Dunn family, St. John, Kan. When it came time to express their gratitude to the dozens of 4-H and FFA members who volunteered to help them clean up their farm after the weekend of tornadoes last May, the Dunns knew a simple thank you note was never going to be enough.

So, these swine producers decided to give something back to the youngsters who helped them.

"We had a lot of 4-Hers and FFA members who came out to help us pick up debris and clean up the damage from the storm," explained Leon Dunn. "While they were here, some of them asked us questions about our high health herd status and what we do out here. They were really interested in our pigs and what we do." The Dunns realized that many of the youngsters who were helping them recover would learn more if they participated in either a 4-H or FFA swine project.

But, many of the students couldn't afford the price of an average show pig. So, the Dunns decided to help them out.

"We decided to make some project pigs available to the FFA members and 4-Hers," Dunn said. "We took some of our sows offsite and bred them to good commercial boars." The resulting litters were sorted according to farrowing dates and the dates of the county fairs and then assigned an ear tag. The tags were placed in a hat and members then drew for their pigs in a lottery. While the pigs weren't completely free, they were offered at a greatly reduced price. That way, the members could learn about financial responsibility in addition to swine management.

To reach the most youngsters, the Dunns opened up this lottery to 4-Hers and FFA members from all over the region, and the response was big. They had 85 members from Kansas and Oklahoma, from 16 counties, who came to a seminar the Dunns offered in conjunction with the project pig lottery. Members learned about nutrition, herd health, management and basic showing skills.

"We lived through a lot last year," Dunn said. "They're project pigs, and they may not win a class but our intent was to help these kids learn about swine and the swine business."

After the storm

Immediately after the storm, the Dunns had a lot on their plate. They found a place for their gestating sows that complied with their high health herd status; they got their buildings back into working condition; and they cleaned up their fields of debris from the storm. But, months after the storm the effects were still being discovered.

"We are still having the reeling effects of the storm," Brian Dunn explained. For example, one tractor that survived the tornado kept having mechanical problems throughout the summer and fall. Finally, after many repairs, the Dunns took the tractor to a dealership in Dodge City and found that the static electricity from the storms had fried the computer that operated the tractor. In talking with the dealer, they found they weren't the first in the region to have this sort of problem with equipment, either.

The Dunns also found conception rates in their swine and cattle herds were greatly affected by the storms. Calving season was longer this year, Brian explained, because of the difficulty in breeding the females right after the tornado.

The movement of the sows from their confinement stalls into temporary group pens caused death loss from their fighting, Leon said. Rather than the average five deaths per month of sows in confinement, the Dunns had an average of 15 sows die per month due to fighting in pens.

Repeat servicing of sows was up by 5 percent. And, the family had to double the number of replacement gilts they kept back for the herd. Conception rates for the swine were drastically lowered, with eight fewer litters per week for a four month period. And, the number of pigs weaned was down an average of 350 head per week.

"I'd say we lost probably a full week's production," Leon said. "We bounced back fairly quickly once they were all brought home in September, and by Christmas we were back to full production."

Probably the biggest effect from the storm wasn't so much damage as it was a change in their outlook on farming.

"There was a time frame probably around June when Dad was debating the rebuilding because of stress. And then, out of the blue, a church group and an FFA group showed up here and helped us pull out trusses from the barns," Brian said. It seemed that whenever the family's spirits would fall, just at that point help would arrive. "It was nice to show they cared, and it lifted Dad's spirits a lot.

"We just want to send out a heartfelt thank you to everyone for their help," he added.

Rebuilding a facility

When Ron Carr, chief executive officer of Golden Belt Feeders, St. John, drove up the driveway to the feedlot right after the tornado, he wasn't sure what he'd find.

Fortunately, all the employees working that night were safe in the basement of the office. But, the feedlot's mill wasn't so fortunate.

The tornado had twisted the grain leg into a misshapen heap of steel. It had tossed the feedlot's center pivots around like tinker toys and the storm had flooded the cattle pens.

It's been a year, and the St. John facility is finally back to full capacity.

"Our whole mill was destroyed and we have built a brand new mill," Carr said. The mill will be online by the end of May. The feedlot worked with local center pivot system dealers and the necessary pivots were replaced within a few weeks after the storm. This allowed the feedlot to spread its lagoon water out on crops and helped with the environmental cleanup they had to do around the lot.

"The KDHE (Kansas Department of Health and Environment) were very easy to work with," Carr said. "We didn't have it as bad as other folks. In a few weeks, we were back up and running."

Of course, the full effects of the storm weren't discovered in the cattle until their final harvest.

"The cattle that came through the storm didn't really perform well," Carr said. "It cost us about 7 to 8 percent in performance this year." The storm spooked the cattle and threw them off their feed and rations were disrupted with the destruction of the feed mill.

In the days after the tornado, the feedlot had a lot of offers of help from its neighbors, and the businesses in Great Bend and St. John were helpful in getting the feedlot back into shape, Carr said. The feedlot's employees were also very helpful in the recovery, he added. None had major damage to their homes, and all stayed on the payroll.

It's been a long year, but all in all, the feedlot is back to normal, Carr said.

USDA Housing Program welcomes families

In April, ground was broken for 10 new homes to be constructed in the city of Greensburg under U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development's Greensburg Community Self-Help Housing Program. The affordable, single-family homes will be constructed using "green" materials and techniques.

Funding for this program is a combination of USDA funds, with major financial contributions from the United Way of the Plains. This funding allows the City of Greensburg to work with the Mennonite Housing Rehabilitation Services to oversee the construction. Fifteen more homes are planned under the program.

The program coordinates the efforts of other non-profits, and faith-based organizations, national energy experts, governmental agencies and trade associations to reduce the cost of building replacement houses after the May 4, 2007, tornado.

State Director Chuck Banks has said USDA Rural Development will continue to assist Greensburg residents and other communities in rebuilding efforts. The agency administers the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program, and grant and low interest loan programs to help finance rebuilding or repairs of homes and businesses.

Finding a region's spirit

Whether it was through government agencies coming together after the storm, or through the efforts of ordinary citizens in cleaning up the aftermath, the communities around Greensburg have gotten back to everyday business. And, they are incredibly grateful for all of the support they received, even if they can't find the words to express it.

Farmers made it through harvest and fall planting in fields where the tornado deposited debris. Ranchers have rebuilt fences and herds damaged by the storms. Community businesses are open and welcoming customers.

Despite the continuing efforts for normalcy, though, everyone in the path of the tornadoes will carry the lessons they learned for the rest of their lives. In President George W. Bush's May 4 commencement address to the graduating class of Greensburg High School, the year was summed up best. "The tornado tore apart the beams and boards that held your houses together," he said, "but it could not break the bonds of family and faith that hold your town together."

Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com

5/12/08
4 Star NE\1-B

Date: 5/7/08

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