In August, Frost, Minnesota, farmer Scott Legried was driving to pick up a load of gravel for a neighbor when a stray puppy ran out in front of his truck. He swerved to avoid the puppy and crashed his truck into a cornfield, breaking his shoulder, collarbone, seven ribs, and two vertebrae, as well as suffering a collapsed lung and a concussion.
Doctors told Legried he was going to need several months to recover and his first concern was the fall harvest, which started in about six weeks. The third-generation farmer wasn’t sure how he’d harvest his 600 acres of soybeans and corn, but Legried’s neighbors heard about his situation and rallied to help. On October 4th, more than a dozen farmers from Frost and surrounding communities showed up with their combines, trucks, and grain wagons, and within about four hours, harvested 240 acres of Legried’s soybeans. They plan to return in a few weeks to harvest his corn.
This kind of help from the community is nothing new in Frost. Nearly everyone in the town of 198 in south-central Minnesota, near the Iowa border, has been on one end or the other of the town’s generosity. Tim Steier, one of the farmers who helped with the Legried’s harvest, says they look out for each other in Frost. He hopes Legried will be all healed up by the spring so he can do his own planting, but if he isn’t, the community will be there for their neighbor.