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Farmers band together to harvest cotton for neighbour battling cancer

Combines harvest cotton in this undated file photo. Fernando Bueno/Getty Images

A group of Texas farmers banded together to help a fellow neighbour who was unable to harvest his crop because of his battle with cancer.

When a group of Floyd County farmers learned Greg Bishop was fighting leukemia and was unable to complete his cotton harvest, they pooled their resources and finished the harvest for their fellow farmer.

Bishop’s friend Robert Nixon told KCDN 11 News the response to the call to action was overwhelming.

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“We probably had anywhere from 300 to 400 acres and we started around 10 a.m. (Monday) and a little before 3 p.m. we were done,” Nixon said. “I mean, we had that many people.”

Speaking with CNN, Aaron Hendricks, general manager of Floydada Co-Op Gins, an agricultural service, said 20 cotton strippers from different farmers were brought in to clear Bishop’s fields.

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“He would not have asked anyone for help but he would have been the first one out if somebody else was sick,” said Hendricks.

Hendricks estimated the group ended up with 1,200 bales of processed cotton, worth over $400,000.

“If he would have done it himself with one machine, it probably would have taken him about two to three weeks,” Hendricks said.

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Bishop’s longtime friend Dave Carthel said the group was glad the farmer had one less thing to worry about.

“We were all glad to do it for him,” Carthel told KCDN 11 News. “He’s got a rough road ahead and he’s got a lot more worries down the road than just getting his crop in so we were all just real glad to do it, and I was glad to be a part of it.”

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