Helping hand for harvest

A group of Mullewa farmers stopped their own harvest programs last week to pitch in and help a local family in need.

The show of community spirit was for Belynda and Bernie Mills, given Belynda has started treatment for breast cancer.

Mrs Mills, 33, said a group of farmers with nine headers, six chaser bins and seven trucks turned up at their property on Friday. The group effort enabled the remaining 600ha of the Millses’ crop to be harvested.

“This has been a remarkable and very touching effort by our neighbours,” she said.

Mrs Mills said she had been having treatment each fortnight in Perth. She would stop harvest to come to Perth with her for three days at a time. For the first week after treatment, the mother of two young children would feel unwell.

“It was really hard on Bernie, he needed to be in the truck while his brother Jeremy drove the header,” Mrs Mills said.

“Having our harvest now sorted will make a massive difference.”

Mrs Mills said they were unaware that her neighbours were planning this effort, until one of the key organisers, Brendan Rowe, turned up the day before to tell them.

Others who helped out were Zac Grima, Hugh Rowe, Adrian and Scott Morgan, Noog Rowe, Brett and Daniel Steele, Ian and Brett Broad, Kim Strang, Colin Swift, Fenton Dean, Cameron Jenkin and their families and workmen.