LAKEVILLE, Ind. — A northern Indiana farming community came together to help harvest the crop of a farmer in need.
Dozens of farmers brought their big rigs and combine harvesters to Lakeville, Ind. to tend to Jerry Leininger's corn field. Ordinarily, the corn would have already been cut down and sent to storage or shipped to hog farms in North Carolina.
But Leininger was hospitalized suddenly earlier this month, putting his harvest on hold.
That's when an organic movement began, with seed salesman and farmer Phil Lehman at the point.
"And word got out and my phone started ringing and, to be honest with you, I've had 28 farmers call me. I haven't called anybody to come help. It just has all come together and it just pays a huge tribute to who Jerry Leininger is," Lehman told WNDU-TV.
The farmers who came out to help all said there is something special about Leininger.
"He walks into a room and says, 'You ain't gonna believe this,' followed by the story," said farmer Tom McCormick. "Jerry's truly a cat of nine lives. Boy our hearts go out to him and the family right now and all these guys that are out here, you know, prayers for them for safety today."
Lehman said he's touched by the outpouring of support from his fellow farmers.
"These farmers are coming out of the woodwork. I'm getting guys 10, 15 miles away who want to help. I just got a call before I came here and said, 'Hey, can I help?' I had a guy call and say, 'I got a 300-bushel grain truck which is small, because we got 1,000 and 1,500 and so forth,' and I said, 'Bring it.'"
While farmers worked to make sure his crops were cared for, news came that Jerry Leininger died Wednesday at the age of 74.