Farmers Help Farmers Through Tough Times in Louisiana

Even with the crop harvested, all of the farmers in Louisiana said it is still unlikely they will even break even this year. But that is not stopping them from helping each other.

WEST CARROLL PARISH, La. (RFD-TV) — The day began in prayer before a convoy of combines rolled into the rice fields here in West Carroll Parish.

These farmers left their own work behind at the peak of harvest, not just to pray for Josh Ward, but also to show compassion and get his crop out of the field.

Ward was working on this disk two weeks earlier when a piece of metal flew into his left eye. Doctors are unsure if he’ll ever see out of that eye again. But as for now, he cannot drive or operate heavy machinery. It’s been tough on him having to sit home on the sidelines during this busy harvest season.

“I don’t know how anyone could get through this without faith,” Ward said. “It’s not about me, it’s about God showing people coming together. And it’s not about me right now.”

It was a fleet of combines, grain carts, and great friends who wanted to show Ward and his wife, Whitney, what a farming family looks like.

“Not a person out here that’s even going to make any money this year, the people that stepped out and the community,” said another local farmer, Rowdy Sanderson. “They always are amazing.”

Josh, who could not even come to the field and watch this faith in action, said he’ll never forget what they’ve done.

“Just to say thank you, but what I would want to hear…it means more than I could ever show,” Ward said.

In the end, it wasn’t just rice harvested in West Carroll Parish—it was proof of a faith-filled community, reaping love and compassion for one of their own.”

Tammi was raised on a cotton and soybean farm in Tallulah, Louisiana. In 1981, she became a TV news anchor and reporter at KNOE-TV in Monroe, Louisiana. She is also an anchor/reporter for RFD-TV and Rural Radio Channel 147 on Sirius XM at their Nashville news studio, where Tammi currently resides.

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Taste the heat and heart of country music in every mouthful!
In Texas, there are about 800 contract broiler and turkey farms. RFD NEWS Correspondent Tammi Arender had the chance to meet with Jerry Moody, who has been in the chicken business all of his life.
RFD-TV’s own Tammi Arender takes us on a little rural road trip to Lawrence County, Tennessee, the birthplace of southern gospel music.
A five-year-old in Etheridge, Tennessee, lost his life in a grain auger. His mother shares her story to ensure that other farm families do not have to endure that pain. RFD-TV’s own Tammi Arender reports.
Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser took time to visit our Nashville studio and discuss his state’s integral support of CMA Fest with longtime friend, RFD-TV’s own Tammi Arender.
Rural Lifestyle & Entertainment Shows
This half-hour program showcases the finest traditional country music that America has to offer. Recorded live at the four-acre Circle T Arena in Hamilton, Texas, each episode of TruCountry features live performances by some of the nation’s most authentic country music artists, playing good-time songs to a jam-packed dance floor.
“Positively Paula,” is a nationally-syndicated lifestyle/food show that invites viewers to share a moment with their friend: Paula Deen, who we know and love.
The internationally-known “King of Polka,” 18-time Grammy award winner for “Best Polka Album,” and bandleader of arguably the most popular polka band in America—Jimmy Sturr—is taking to the stage for another slate of shows made for his fans and polka lovers across the country.
“Small Town, Big Deal” follows hosts Rodney Miller and Jann Carl across the country as they scour rural America for the best stories of faith, hope, patriotism, and good common sense that our small towns and farming communities have to offer.
In the harsh Australian Outback, water drillers Danyelle and Anthony Haigh give up their nomadic life of searching for water for cattle ranches, to offer their two sons, Heath and Theo, a more settled life. They swap water drilling for something they’ve never done before – farming.