CORSICA, S.D. - Willy Groeneweg and Steve Roduner want people to know that South Dakota cares.
On Monday, Groeneweg, owner of Dakota Hay Auction in Corsica, auctioned off donated hay to support Kansas and Oklahoma farmers, whose land was destroyed by wildfires earlier this year.
More than 1,000 square miles along the Kansas-Oklahoma border was burned in early March, the largest wildfire in the state's history, according to The Associated Press.
And farmers of South Dakota want to help.
Roduner, a Miller-based farmer, traveled with four others approximately a month ago with four loads of hay to Kansas. Seeing the scorched lands left behind by the massive fire, Roduner wanted to do more.
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While driving the nearly 600 miles to southern Kansas, Roduner and the group of farmers hung a large sign on the back of the truck that said, "South Dakota Cares." And a similar sign now adorns the front of the Dakota Hay building in Corsica.
Roduner reached out to Groeneweg a few weeks ago asking for help in donations, and Groeneweg quickly, and gladly, agreed.
Hay is no longer needed in the southern states, Groeneweg and Roduner said, but Kansas and Oklahoma farmers still need money and fencing supplies. After more than 16,000 miles of fencing was destroyed, Groeneweg said, ranchers are having a difficult time keeping livestock on their property.
So instead, South Dakota farmers can donate hay to be auctioned and the money will be put into a fund called, "Southern States Fence Benefit," in the American Bank & Trust in Wessington Springs.
"The biggest thing is nobody knows about it," Roduner said. " ... It feels real good. And going down there and seeing it first-hand is really amazing. It's as black as far as you can see."
On Monday, two area farmers donated a portion of their hay loads to be given to the relief fund. The combined donations totalled a "couple hundred dollars," Groeneweg said. But anything, even as small as $200 can help, Roduner and Groeneweg said.
The fundraising efforts came together "pretty quick," Groeneweg said, and last week, an approximate $1,800 was raised. To spread the awareness, Groeneweg held a free appreciation luncheon Monday, and those interested, could also donate monetarily. The total raised is still to be determined.
"After (Roduner) came up with that idea, I said, 'We can help, too,' " Groenweg said. "So this is what we're doing. We deal with ranchers and farmers and we felt South Dakota can be heard that way. We're caring about what happened in Kansas and Oklahoma."
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Any of the donated hay is sold commission-free, meaning no selling fee, Groeneweg said. Auctions at Dakota Hay are held at 1 p.m. each Monday. If anybody would like to donate directly, rather than hay, they can reach out to the American Bank & Trust in Wessington Springs.
Nearly $2,000 has been raised so far, and Groeneweg said, it's his goal to donate "a couple more thousand" to the cause.
"It's nice, and it feels good," Groeneweg said.
