Ailing Farmer from Shipshewana Gets Help Planting His Crops
Published: Friday, May 19, 2023
Ed Slabach of Shipshewana is just getting his strength back after suffering a heart attack in early March. Still facing restrictions that keep him from climbing into a tractor cab, the corn and soybean grower was very appreciative of some friends and neighbors who last week helped him plant several hundred acres of corn and soybeans.
It's a local example of farmers helping another farmer in need.
Slabach watched as one planter, driven by his longtime neighbor, Steve Loy, dropped soybeans into the ground, while several volunteers loaded fertilizer into a corn planter. A half an hour later, Gary Kauffman was at the controls, planting seed in the soil.
"It's what neighbors do," said Loy, while re-loading the planter with beans. He and Slabach have been neighbors for over 40 years. The two take an annual fishing trip together.
"When Ed had his heart attack, it scared the whole neighborhood," he said.
After Slabach was taken to the hospital that early morning in March, doctors performed open heart surgery, replacing a faulty valve. He also suffered 13 broken ribs.
After several weeks of therapy, he was sent home with strict instructions not to lift anything over 10 pounds.
"The biggest concern is you don't want to overdo yourself," said Slabach. "You don't want to tear your chest apart, which can happen. I try pretty hard not to pick stuff up, and it's the same way with crawling in vehicles and crawling in tractors or equipment."
His restrictions will be lifted after May.
"There's nothing I'd rather do than plant corn, but when you're in the shape where I'm in, crawling in that tractor is pretty hard," Slabach said. "I'd really have to pull myself in. I wouldn't last very long if I had to do that. I'd tear this all up. So, I feel great that I have friends to come and help me."
Among those friends were Kauffman and his son-in-law, Jerold Miller. Both men work at Crop Tech in Millersburg. Kauffman, whose story was told in the April 28 issue of the Exchange, has been Slabach's agronomist for many years. Miller co-owns Crop Tech.
Back in March, Miller visited Slabach in the hospital and told him that he wouldn't have to worry about planting his crops. For the 62-year-old bachelor-farmer, that was one less thing he had to worry about.
Also helping out with the effort were Wilbur Yoder, Rod Bontrager, Jesse and Davey Stutzman, Linda Whetstone, Matt Loucks and Cory Bowman.
Several of them showed up earlier in the week to get the equipment ready. Bowman started planting soybeans last Wednesday, and the effort was expected to continue for at least another three days.
Miller said it's a busy time of the year, but he knows that Slabach would do the same for any of them.
"It's only by the grace of God that I'm not in his shoes," Miller said.
Slabach has battled high blood pressure for many years, and suspected that something like this might happen one day. Now that he is recovering and getting his strength back, he feels like he has a new lease on life.
"I feel lucky to be alive," he said. "The Good Lord give me another shot, so I'll see what I can do with it."
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