Ritzville farmers unite for one of their own

The Ritzville farming community rose to the occasion for one of their own last weekend, in a big way.

On July 28, some 17 combines, as well as semis and bankout wagons, were put into action to help harvest the 1,200-acre wheat field of Larry Yockey, a fourth-generation farmer who earlier this year was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma-skin cancer.

Yockey was diagnosed in February of this year, and a scan showed that the cancer had spread to his bones. He has been on treatment since March and said that the cancer had been set back pretty good, which gave him hope that the damage would have repaired itself by now and he could resume a normal schedule.

But it hasn't yet, Yockey said, noting that he currently has two broken ribs and a hip problem due to the cancer spreading to his skeletal system, causing them to deteriorate. He tried to stay busy and remain as normal as he could during the spring, but conceded that harvest is too physically demanding.

"Harvest, as you can see today, is a lot of work," Yockey told The Journal as he looked out at the ongoing wide-scale operation Sunday morning. "And it's not just cutting [the wheat]. These guys have put a lot of time in to get these machines ready to go. It's a lot of heavy lifting, and I'm not supposed to lift over 10 to 15 pounds. It just makes it impossible."

In a normal year with just one machine, Yockey said it would take him about 12 to 14 days to get everything done. On Sunday, the volunteers wrapped everything up in six hours. "Now this is what community's all about," said one of the volunteers.

The crew of volunteers ended up being about 60 people in all, made up of friends and neighbors and farmers that Yockey has made and had throughout the 34 years he's been overseeing his farm. The operation was spearheaded by Brian Doyle and Jim Heider, who began planning it several months ago.

"This is wonderful. Just wonderful," said Yockey. "My family and I appreciate it, and it just shows how these farm communities work. These guys are all neighbors and friends of mine, our kids have all grown up together and it just shows what can happen."

This story of Ritzville's farming community coming together has been picked up both regionally and nationally. KXLY 4 and KREM 2 out of Spokane ran news stories on their Sunday night broadcasts, while CBS Evening News ran the story on their Monday night broadcast. KING 5 out of Seattle and CNN have also reached out to express interest in running stories.

This act of farmers coming together is sometimes referred to as a 'harvest bee,' when the colony comes together on one farm to help out one of its own. For Doyle, this isn't the first harvest bee that he's been a part of. The first one he participated in took place more than 20 years ago for Bob Heider, Jim's father. Believe it or not, some 40 combines took part in that harvest bee.

Doyle and Heider started getting the word out when Yockey gave them the green light. Doyle began reaching out to farmers who lived close by, so they wouldn't have to move their equipment a long way. Word spread quickly, and Doyle began having people get in contact with him-as late as early Sunday morning, the day of the harvest bee-asking if they could volunteer and be a part of the operation.

In the end, by Doyle's estimation, there were a total of 17 combines, 11 bankout wagons and 10-12 semis involved in the harvest bee.

"It's just wonderful that you can make a few phone calls and things start to happen in a hurry," said Doyle, who's known Yockey for more than 20 years.

At the end of the day, Doyle's thrilled that he and the other volunteers were able to help give back to someone who's always been there for them when they've needed it.

"Larry's one of those people who has always been very outgoing, and if there's something that's needed and if he can help, he'll help," said Doyle. "All of us just felt it was a way to give back to somebody that's been giving all of his life."