Related Post
MULLICA HILL, N.J. (CBS) — The recovery effort in the wake of Ida continues in Gloucester County. It isn’t just businesses and homes affected, but also family farms.
Wellacrest Farms started back in 1943 and has been passed down through generations.
Marianne Eachus and her family now have the hardest task yet — rebuilding the family farm after a tornado ripped through Mullica Hill last week.
“We tried to get up here. There was debris, building material, trees everywhere, cows wandering everywhere,” Marianne Eachus said.
After gathering as many cows as they could, they started to dig and cut through the collapsed barn, where they found about 120 cows that were trapped for about 14 hours.
“We had to crawl into this building, into the center alley and then try to cut our way in to let some of those cows to start coming out. We were surprised,” Eric Eachus said.
READ MORE: 40-Year-Old Kenneth Walker Killed In Motorcycle Crash In Center City
“As they got back further and further in the barn, cows were walking out and that gave us hope they have been pinned all night and they were still OK,” Marianne Eachus said.
The farm was just one of many homes destroyed.
President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for New Jersey. Gloucester County will now receive federal funding.
While help is on the way, the Eachus family says they wouldn’t be able to start the cleanup with the help of the community.
“We will be recovering for a long time. There is a future for the farm so you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other,” Marianne Eachus said.
MORE NEWS: Students In Camden Show Optimism On First Day In Class Since 2020
The farm lost 14 cows and is now doing its best to get back up and running.
