“Smile on your face, lump in your throat”: Sask. farmer’s passing brings community and combines together

Combines in formation harvesting the Williams family’s durum crop at Milestone, Sask. on Sunday (supplied)

Harvest is an exciting time as we see the hard work of the growing season pay off, but it started on a somber note for the friends and family of Brian Williams — a farmer at Milestone, Sask. who passed away last week.

Milestone Mayor Jeff Brown says it’s a tough time for the small town of about 700 people, along with surrounding communities, as they all knew the man. When Williams went into the hospital, he knew the family could use a little help being the season that it is — although Brown adds, they wouldn’t generally be the ones to ask for it.

With a simple text to fellow neighbours, Brown says the community rallied to get 20 combines out to harvest about 480 acres of durum on Sunday to help lessen the load for the family.

“There was a smile on your face, and a lump in your throat,” Brown says, noting if this had been someone else needing help, he knows Brian along with his sons would have had at least two combines going to help harvest the crop.

Watch drone footage of the harvest, led by Williams’ Case IH machines, and hear Jeff Brown speak to RealAg’s Jessika Guse about the community coming together in a tough time:

 

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