The Cuba City FFA officers traveled to Nebraska last Tuesday. The group traveled to Drew Wolfe’s farm in Columbus, Nebraska. Wolfe’s farm has been victim to extreme flood damage from the Platte River in March. “It was about a six and half hour drive,” said sophomore Luke Ballbach. “We heard about it, right after the flood, but weren’t able to go on the cleanup date because it was during our finals.” The students’ task was to help remake the fences. “The fences were scattered throughout the hayfield,” said Ballbach.  The students worked went to work for two days, but only ended up working one because they got rained out.
Wolfe’s farm consisted of crops and cattle. “They lost at least 1,100 head of cattle,” said Ballbach. “One of the fields was covered in three feet of sand and because of the flooding water, some of the land was lost.” The Nebraska National Guard dropped 18 round bales on Wolfe’s property for the cattle. Several 4-H and FFA groups have helped out with the farm.
The experience was eye opening for Ballbach. “The farmers didn’t show much emotion, they were just getting through it.”
Ballbach also said the experience helped him get closer to his fellow officers. He is a first year officer. “It was a good experience helping the farmer. I learned a lot from the officer team,” said Ballbach. “I didn’t know them that well before this trip.”