Volunteer relief workers with the Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International in front of their 38-foot motorhome are (from left) Mark Freed, a Lexington, Illinois farmer, his two grandsons Grainger Rinkenburger and Payton Wiltz and Matthew Kent, Lifelines Network Leader. (FCFI photo)

Two months after Hurricane Helene swept through the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina Sept. 27, killing more than 100 people and destroying homes, businesses, farms and infrastructure across a huge swath of rural Appalachian communities, relief efforts continue.

Among the relief organizations to mobilize their members in aid of the hurricane-stricken residents, many of whom were left homeless, is central-Illinois-based Fellowship of Christian Farmers, a 39-year-old nonprofit whose members travel across the globe to assist those affected by natural disasters.

Headquartered in Lexington, Illinois since 1992, FCFI has led past volunteer relief missions to help disaster victims clear property, rebuild fences and repair homes in locations that include central Florida, Mexico, Russia and Romania. They also sent a crew of volunteers to help clear massive amounts of debris from city streets following the November 2013 tornado in Washington, Illinois that destroyed more than 1,000 structures.

“FCFI started in 1985 in San Antonio during a soybean association meeting by Thomas Herlong, a South Carolina farmer, said Dennis Schlagel, a McLean County farmer who is FCFI executive director emeritus.

He said, “1985 was a really bad year, drought-wise and with the Russian grain embargo. It was a time when there wasn’t a corn market; you couldn’t even sell a bushel of corn, it was so bad. We started as a way to counsel farmers not to take their lives.”

The stress on row-crop farmers felt in 1985 is similar to what many farmers are currently experiencing, according to the North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center, which will expand programs that provide professional agricultural behavioral health intervention. This is due to two consecutive years of plunging market values for corn, along with rapidly declining farm incomes and below net-zero returns on corn production. With commodity prices not projected to change much in 2025, FCFI’s counseling and fellowship services have again become highly relevant.

“Even though we had a big crop, there is a lot of financial stress on farms. I don’t think there has been a lot written about it, but this is a really stressful time,” Schlagel said, adding that as the organization grew and opportunities arose to expand its mission, FCFI’s primary focus shifted to disaster relief.

Speaking to Chronicle Media on Nov. 19, Schlagel was busy working out the logistics involved in delivering 127 round bales of hay from a donor in Pana to the remote areas west of Asheville, North Carolina. The emergency delivery, which will be facilitated via special wide load waivers issued by state departments of agriculture, will benefit farmers and ranchers that were left unable to harvest winter feedstock for their cattle due to damage to crops, property or machinery caused by the hurricane, which caused an estimated $53 billion in damage to the region.

In addition to needing carpenters willing to hang drywall and perform other home restoration tasks in the disaster zone, FCFI crew leaders are currently seeking drivers to help move hay from Illinois and other states.

“The Pontiac FFA had been delivering hay for us through the second week of November. They moved a lot of hay, but we have a lot of hay that can still go,” Schlagel said. “It’s been seven weeks since the disaster, but it’s still a disaster.”

FCFI-led crews stationed near rural Spruce Pines, North Carolina are focusing on site preparation and the construction of dozens of small cabins for displaced residents while praying for a mild early winter. Among the volunteers to heed FCFI’s call for help were a skilled group of carpenters from the southern Indiana Amish community of Charles Town. They remain on site while lodging with other volunteers at FCFI’s base camp.

The situation is far from under control in the western Appalachian area of North Carolina. Purified water purification plants have been set up along the disaster zone to haul fresh water to communities and residences. Many roads remain impassable, while other significant infrastructure problems persist.

“You’ve got to be there to believe it,” said Schlagel, adding that FCFI is still in need of skilled carpenters and laborers who can travel to their remote base camp to help the residents of western North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene. “Winter is coming soon to the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the clock is ticking.”

For information on how to help with FCFI’s western North Carolina rescue mission contact the FCFI team at https://www.fcfi.org/.