By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

PEORIA, Ill. — Dennis Schlagel and Melvin Bell of the Lexington, Ill.-based Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International (FCFI) brought their message to the 27th Greater Peoria Farm Show earlier this month. While manning a booth, they created awareness for the need for volunteers and donations to help repair fences downed by hurricanes Ike and Gustav in Texas and Louisiana.

FCFI is looking for groups or individuals able to donate a week or so of their time this coming spring to help repair fences in Chambers County, Texas, as well as cash donations to help purchase fencing materials.

“There are several hundred miles of fence to build,” FCFI executive director Schlagel told Farm World. “Twenty thousand head of cattle were lost in Chambers County. One producer lost 1,000 of his 1,300 head. There are tremendous losses.”

FCFI Rapid Response Team coordinator Bell added, “Fences are lying down and there are cattle in west Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma they can’t bring back until they get fences up.”

Gustav made landfall on Sept. 1, producing storm surges of 115 mph winds and 12 inches of rain across Louisiana. Ike came ashore at Galveston Bay, Texas, on Sept. 12 and produced a coastal storm surge spanning 275 miles to the east of the hurricane’s eye – an area that included Chambers County. The county is the hardest-hit by Gustav, with ranchers suffering millions of dollars in losses.

FCFI has already dispatched three teams of 15-20 volunteers for a weeklong damage assessment tour of ranches in Chambers County. Schlagel said area ranchers are leery of reaching out for help, but appreciative.

“The majority of cattlemen we’re meeting are ranchers who have never had this kind of disaster in their lifetimes” he said. “They’re tough guys, and slow to consider themselves as victims – but some of them have lost everything. They are farmers who need a big hand.”

Volunteers will be lodged at a Methodist church in Crawford County with access to all the comforts of home. During the days, they’ll be rolling out, stretching and stapling fencing wire and setting fence posts, Bell said. Individual insurance for the trip can be worked out through the FCFI.

A group of 20 Alpha Zeta agricultural fraternity members from The Ohio State University will be going this week to volunteer. Schlagel and Bell hope the trip is a positive one and that OSU students help encourage other Alpha Zeta associations to volunteer during Spring Break.

FCFI is coordinating with the Chambers County extension, the Southwest Cattlemen’s Assoc. and the Independent Cattlemen’s Assoc. to identify and pair ranchers with volunteer teams.

“They’re very appreciative, and they look forward to us helping,” Schlagel said of the ranchers FCFI will be assisting, “but they know we’ve got to get our combines in the shed before we can take off and head south to help.”

The FCFI will be looking for volunteers all winter long, said Bell, adding that church groups, civic organizations and “any responsible group of people” would be welcomed. Individual volunteers will be assigned to an FCFI volunteer team, and one doesn’t have to be an FCFI member to enlist, he said.

For more information or to volunteer, contact the FCFI at 309-365-8710 or e-mail fellowship@fcfi.org