SHELBYVILLE, Ky. — After seeing and hearing about the destruction Hurricanes Rita and Katrina left behind in the agricultural regions of Louisiana; David Neville knew he had to do something to help.

The Shelby County farmer raises Angus and commercial cattle on his 440-acre farm and had heard the Gulf Region’s livestock industry was in ruins.

“I’ve been lucky in my life, and I wanted to give back in a responsible way,” he said. “I didn’t really want to send money because I didn’t know where it would end up so I thought about donating a bull since so many people lost so much livestock but I thought one bull wouldn’t make any difference.”

Maybe one bull wouldn’t make a difference, but the idea stuck in Neville’s mind and after reading an article about hay donations being made through an organization called Fellowship of Christian Farmers International (FCFI), he knew he had found a connection.

With the help of Oldham County farmer John Adams, who is the FCFI national rapid response coordinator, Neville began to make contact with others who wanted to help and were willing to make livestock donations.

“We’ve all worked together, farmer helping farmer,” said Adams. “The farmers in Louisiana need bulls and hay to keep them alive. We want to try and help these people stay afloat until they get back on their feet.”

Neville said he was surprised at the response he began to get as word spread of his endeavor.

“I was at an auction and said a few words to the farmers there about what we were trying to do when a fellow from Winchester, Ky. approached me and said he wanted to donate a bull,” said Neville. “He called later and said he had two bulls, then, he called again and said he had six bulls.”

That farmer was John Venable and when he showed up to deliver his livestock at a local stockyard, he brought seven bulls. It was that kind of generosity Neville found every time he spoke to someone about the effort.

People all over the state have joined in to help the cause. Neville said he has even had calls from less affected producers in Louisiana wanting to help.

“We wanted to do something that would benefit the farmers there and make an impact and we feel like this will do it,” said Neville.

The first shipment of bulls, 17 altogether, made their way to Louisiana last month through donated transportation provided by John Luke, a truck driver from Evel, Ky.

“We wanted to do this in a way that was workable and a small group was easy to manage. We also wanted to take a look at the situation and to make sure the bulls were going to the right place,” said Neville.

After returning from Louisiana, Neville pointed out a couple of things he noticed while there.

“I couldn’t help but notice that after a year, much of the area still has an incredible amount of damage. Folks don’t have their herds back; they don’t even have their houses back. These are the kind of people that won’t ask for help but they’ll make the best of it when they get help,” he said.

The region has a long way to go to fully recover. Because of the inundation with salt water in the region from the hurricanes, vegetation has not been able to grow in much of the area. Adding insult to injury, the region has suffered from drought conditions since the hurricanes.

Katrina and Rita made landfall in the United States just three weeks apart on opposite sides of Louisiana.

Katrina arrived on Aug. 29, 2005 near the Louisiana-Mississippi border after sweeping through the Bahamas and the southern portion of Florida and was responsible for more than 1800 deaths and $81 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

Rita came ashore on Sept. 24, 2005 near the Louisiana-Texas border causing $10 billion worth of damage.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer recognized the efforts of state producers helping those in need on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

“David Neville’s generosity and kindness are commendable,” Farmer said. “I appreciate the good works of Mr. Neville and all Kentuckians who have given so generously to the hurricane victims. We should all remember that many farmers in the Gulf Coast are still struggling and will need help if they are to stay in farming.”

Neville credited those who had worked hard to make this vision a reality including the many local Cattlemen’s Associations that donated money to buy bulls and Dave Maples, executive vice president of the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Assoc. who help to “sort everything out.”

Neville calls himself an optimist and a realist but he has been pleasantly surprised at the outpouring of generosity and thinks the project is going to make a difference.

“People have just contacted me from out of the blue,” he said. “I get a sense that this will work and we’ll bring back more bulls. We already have more waiting and have a goal of 100 more bulls.” To contact Neville about donating a bull, call 502-330-3027 or e-mail dneville@neville.net

For information about the Fellowship of Christian Farmers International, call Adams at 502-241-4122.

This farm news was published in the Oct. 4, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.