AMELIA COUNTY, Va. -- Traveling over 300 miles and on a mission, Mark Hutchinson and other Virginia farmers have come together to donate and deliver more than 80,000 pounds of hay.
"This hay is going to North Carolina to help the flood victims," said Hutchinson. "We got 17 bales on each trailer."
After seeing the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, Hutchinson said he and other farmers around Amelia wanted to do their part to help.
"Just imagine, imagine half of your homes gone overnight, it is just devastation," Hutchinson said. "It's a lot of farms up in that area, and they, you know, they have to feed their livestock, and this is everything from horses, cows to goats to everything."
On Tuesday, they packed two trucks with supplies for the animals and their owners.
Hutchinson said he knows many of them lost so much more than what they can give but hopes this load helps a few farmers as they begin to rebuild.
"This is probably not even not even an eighth of what most farmers use," Hutchinson said. "They're just like us, trying to work hard and make a living, and if we can make it a little easier on them, why not?"
He said they hope to continue to help those impacted by Helene and if they have the resources to help after Hurricane Milton, they’ll do that too.
"When things like this happen, we step up and try to do it," Hutchinson said. "So it's just kind of neighbors helping neighbors and we do it tomorrow and the next day, whatever we can do to help these people."
They plan on taking another trip next week so if you would like to donate you can reach out to Mark directly at 804-305-4779.
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