When a North Dakota farmer suffered a medical emergency during harvest season, his community showed up in a remarkable display of rural solidarity that demonstrates the enduring spirit of neighborly support in farming communities.
Lane Unhjem experienced cardiac arrest near Crosby, North Dakota, after his combine caught fire while he was harvesting his crops. The medical crisis came at a critical time when his wheat and canola needed to be brought in from the fields.
Community mobilizes to save harvest
Approximately 60 farmers from Divide County coordinated a massive effort to harvest 1,000 acres of Unhjem’s land. The operation involved significant resources: 11 combines, six grain carts, and 15 semi-trucks converged on the property to collect the durum wheat and canola crops.
Family friend Jenna Binde helped organize the volunteer harvest. “I talked to a couple of farmers, got their equipment, and then other people just started calling and we had equipment offered from all over the place in the county, and their workers to go with it,” said Binde.
Preventing financial devastation
The timing of the community intervention proved crucial. Leaving the crops unharvested would have resulted in substantial financial losses for the Unhjem family during an already difficult time.
Binde explained the motivation behind the effort: “Everybody knows the Unhjems, and they’re good people and good in the community, and just kind of the farming way of life too. You help your neighbor out when they need it and don’t expect anything in return.”
Following his cardiac arrest, Unhjem received emergency transport to a hospital in Minot before being transferred to a medical facility in Minnesota for specialized treatment. His recovery proved challenging, complicated by kidney problems and a prolonged healing process.
