In less than a minute, on September 1, 2021, just after 6 p.m., the remnants of Hurricane Ida turned into a tornado that ripped through Wellacrest Farms, the largest dairy farm in New Jersey.
Barns were torn down. Bins gone. Cars and trucks flipped over. Cows are dying and dying.
About 280 cows were stuck by the stuff that fell. Six excavators were used to lift pieces of the barn and free the animals. 45 cows were killed.
No one was hurt or killed, thank goodness.
Marianne Eachus, one of the owners of Wellacrest Farms, said, “We worked all night and into the early hours of the next morning to try to save the animals.”
“As the sun rose the next morning, we saw how bad the damage was. We cried and held each other. Then they thought, “What should we do?” Where do we start?”
Soon, the Eachus family found out what was going on.
She said, “People were coming down our driveway.” “Those who want to help us. I’m not sure what we would have done that morning if no one had come down our driveway.”
Since that day, a lot of people have given their time and skills to help fix up Wellacrest Farms, which is home to 600 dairy cows and 800 other animals. Food and supplies were given by farmers and other businesses. Some people gave money.
Some of the people who helped were Amish from Lancaster County, Pa., which is about a two-hour drive south of Philadelphia from Wellacrest Farms, which is near Mullica Hill.
Amish men gave their time and skills away for about eight weeks, Monday through Friday.
More than 50 Amish men worked every day for the first three weeks to help rebuild the barns and other buildings at Wellacrest Farms. About 30 people worked every day for another five weeks.
One of the Amish who helped lead the recovery was Christian Stoltzfus.
“As members of Christ’s church, we should look out for our brother, our neighbour, and anyone else in need,” he said. “In an Amish community, helping others is a part of how we are raised.”
The Amish volunteers usually got there around 6:30 a.m. and worked until 3:30 p.m.
“Every morning around 9:30, they took off their hats and talked quietly,” Eachus said. “They did a great deal to help our family.”
It’s been hard to fight for insurance money. The family learned quickly about the difference between depreciated value and cash value.
The family raised about $120,000 through a GoFundMe campaign, which they used to rebuild the heifer barn.
Eachus said, “We are very grateful for all the help we got from other farmers, suppliers, the Amish from the Lancaster area, and people who saw how bad the damage was and wanted to help.”
Things are getting better.
Eachus said, “We’re getting there.” “Our cows are resilient. We have a great wheat crop growing right now. We’ve had 100 babies born on the farm in July. Still, we have to pick up trash. And we’re still having trouble with money. But no matter what, we have great workers. There are so many kind people out there who helped us.”
