SOLDIER, Iowa (KCAU)– In 2012, Rick Moore married Julie Matz, getting two step-sons Jacob and Lucas as well as many grandkids who loved to spend time out on the farm.

“Rick was a hard-working farmer. Started in the 80s farming with his brother and that’s all he knew, sun up to sun down that’s what he knew,” said Lucas Gillmor, stepson of Rick Moore.

Every weekend Lucas would help out his step-father at the farm whether it was crops or animals. However, on September 3rd of this year, things took a turn for the worse.

“He fought a hard battle, cancer, but like I say it’s not expected. When it happens it’s never the right time, but you gotta play with the cards you’re dealt. Trying to make him proud, gotta get the harvest out of the ground,” said Lucas. 

With harvest season underway and both Lucas and his mother working full-time jobs, they had to rely on others for help.

“You have family and friends that are willing to help, at the same time family and friends they still have their own harvest to do to, and I don’t like putting all that stress on them,” said Lucas.

While finding a way to juggle both his job and dealing with the crops, Lucas’s co-worker recommended an organization called “Farm Rescue”, which helps farmers going through illness, injury, or natural disasters get the job done.

“He made the call and I came down a few days later to meet with him and see exactly what they had going on at the farm, what kind of help would be most useful to them. And we put a plan together last Friday and by Saturday night we were here on the ground,” said Ben Smith, field operations manager for “Farm Rescue”.

Since starting, “Farm Rescue” has been hard at work, harvesting the 375 acres of corn. Lucas says he appreciates everything “farm rescue” has done for his family.

“Grateful, blessed, thankful I’ll never be able to repay them. I mean it’s just like I said my mom, the grandkids, everybody, my wife ’cause then that gives us more time home with them. But again it’s just again without them this wouldn’t be possible,” said Lucas.

“That’s one of the most rewarding parts about all this just seeing the difference it makes for the families when us and our volunteers and machinery show up we start working, and everybody is so relieved at that point and it’s a very rewarding experience for us,” said Smith.

Smith said he expects to complete the harvest by Friday afternoon. “Farm Rescue” doesn’t require the families to pay a cent and has helped more than 1,000 families since 2005.