On March 31st, an EF4 tornado destroyed 2 of 3 of the Whetstine family farmsteads near Wellman Iowa. Clint Whetstine?s farm was among those decimated by the powerful storm. He lost several buildings along with some livestock and sustained damage to multiple pieces of farm equipment. Clint describes the damage caused by the tornado.
In addition to buildings and homes damaged by the storm, Whetstine also says that he lost some livestock to the powerful tornado.
Whetstine says he lost a couple dozen head of cattle in addition to about 50 head of hogs and also had more animals who sustained injuries.
Despite all of the destruction sustained on the three Whetstine farms, all members of the family are safe and suffered no injuries.
Whetstine is receiving help from Farm Rescue, a group that assists farm families in need. He says because some farm equipment was damaged in the storm, Farm Rescue is helping with tillage and to plant beans this spring.
Farm Rescue has helped nearly 1,000 families since its inception in 2005. The organization?s mission is to help farmers and ranchers who have experienced a major illness, injury or natural disaster by providing the necessary equipment and volunteers to plant, hay or harvest their crop. Farm Rescue also provides livestock feeding assistance. The nonprofit organization helps farm families in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Applications are still being accepted for 2023 assistance, which can be obtained at farmrescue.org or by calling 701-252-2017.
