2024 Annual Report
Active and Effective
As we approach our 20th anniversary, I am enormously grateful for all that Farm Rescue, its staff, volunteers, and supporters have accomplished.
Together, we have protected the livelihoods and legacies of more than 1,100 farm and ranch families. When I started Farm Rescue in 2005, my dream was to help create a world in which all farm and ranch families can thrive for generations. Today, we are many steps closer to making this dream a reality.
Mission/Vision
Farm Rescue is the only non-profit organization of its kind providing farm and ranch families with the operational support they need in times of crisis. Farm Rescue sees a world where family farms and ranches thrive for generations to come.
Yearly Highlights
Families Served
Volunteers
Assistance Reason
Volunteer Hours
States Assisted
Acres Planted
Families Served
Volunteers
Assistance Reason
Volunteer Hours
States Assisted
Acres Harvested
Families Served
Volunteers
Assistance Reason
Volunteer Hours
States Assisted
Hay Baled (Bales)
How Our Beliefs Drive Our Work
Today Impacts Tomorrow
We believe making a difference today will impact the next generations. When crisis hits a farming or ranching family, operations can grind to a halt. Unfortunately, daily responsibilities, harvest windows, and external pressures remain. At Farm Rescue, we know that an unexpected injury, illness, and natural disaster pose unique risks to families, particularly for families whose livelihoods fundamentally depend on their ability to plant, harvest, or provide for their herd. Farm Rescue deploys the manpower, equipment, and know-how to ensure the work continues for the season and all those to come.
Farms Feed Communities
We believe successful farms fuel successful societies. Every farm and ranch family contributes to the economic and social prosperity of those around them. They grow and raise the nutrition, energy, and other resources upon which we all depend. But they provide so much more. They are the customers to other business owners who collective help sustain rural communities, from local grain elevators to grocery stories. They are the donors and taxpayers who fund our schools, roads, and community programs. And they are a powerful source of leadership and values within their communities. The loss of any farm and ranch makes us all poorer.
Every dollar Farm Rescue spent secured more than $10 in direct and indirect economic impact
Farmers Have Friends
We believe even the most independent farmers need help sometimes. Asking for help is protecting the future. Farmers and ranchers are incredibly self-reliant people, and proud of their work and the legacy it provides their families. We know this mindset makes it difficult to ask for help even in the direst of circumstances. That’s why we approach every case with the dignity, care, and respect it deserves. How do we do this? We deploy expert volunteers from down the road and around the country – our Angels in Blue – who will give families the support that they would expect from their own family and closest neighbors. Just tell us where and when and what needs to be done. We’ll take it from there.
Volunteers from as far away as Texas, Florida, and California
Giving is a Blessing
We believe giving of your time and talents are more meaningful than any other pursuit in life. It’s why we were put on this earth — to love our neighbor. One of Farm Rescue’s most important roles in recent years has been to coordinate immediate support to farm and ranch families laid low by natural disasters, including storms, floods, and wildfires. Thanks to the broad network of support that Farm Rescue has earned, the blessings bestowed by giving have grown across the nation.
Featured Outreach
Farm Rescue launched Operation Hay Lift to help ranchers impacted by wildfires in Nebraska, the Texas panhandle, and western Oklahoma. Over several weeks, our volunteers and trucks hauled 2,700 bales of hay in support of this relief effort.
Strength in Numbers
We believe anything is possible when we work together. Our strength reflects the contributions of volunteers, partners, donors, and others. We honor their generosity by making the most out of minute shared and dollar donated. We hold ourselves accountable by sharing with all our stakeholders the details of our operations and the results we achieve. We show you the numbers, and we tell you the stories.
Reaping What We Sow
In 2024, Farm Rescue invited Mark Imerman, a renowned economist from Regional Strategic, Ltd. with a wealth of expertise in agriculture, to help us evaluate the economic and social impact of our work. With nearly 20 years of experience under our belt, we knew our impact was big, but Mark helped us prove it. Every $1 we spend secures more than $10 in direct and indirect economic impact for farm and ranch families and the communities they support.
