GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. — Dan Pearman, a farmer in Claiborne County and retired Agriculture Educator, wanted to help support farmers devastated by Helene. He said the immediate need is hay and feed, so he organized a group to help deliver supplies to affected counties.
Their first stop was in Cocke County a few weeks ago. On Saturday, volunteers said Greene County's turnout was triple that of Cocke County.
"It's overwhelming in a lot of ways because I wasn't quite expecting this amount of participation and turnout. But I'm so blessed that it's happened the way it has. And what we want these farmers to know here in Greene County and adjoining counties is that they're not alone," Pearman said.
Pearman said these supplies are just a bandaid on what farmers will need to get up and running but every little bit helps.
"We can't afford to lose our farmers because we're already getting behind the way it is. So anything that we can do. I know this is just a drop in the bucket what we're doing today is just a small amount of what they're going to need to make it," he said.
While hay won't fix other problems like crop loss or unfarmable land, Milton Orr,an agent for the University of Tennessee Extension Office in Greene County, said it's a lifeline.
"It feels great. It really does. There are a lot of bad feelings whenever you see your friends and neighbors lose everything they've got. And then in the darkest of clouds here comes all your friends and your neighbors," Orr said.
These farmers donated their own supplies. They said they'd been blessed this season and wanted to give back. Brian Alexander, a hay producer, said he couldn't watch as farmers went without an essential item.
"This is the best thing I could do with it. I just felt in my heart these people needed it more than I needed to sell it. I'd rather help the community, help my neighbors. I mean we're the volunteer state," Alexander said.
Farmers' need for support will continue into the coming months. Pearman and other volunteers don't plan on stopping just yet.
"There's some rumbling in my group maybe to do another county farther north than here. We'll just have to see how we go with the turnout. We've got a lot of people that are motivated right now and it's a good time to keep them motivated," Pearman said.