Young back on the farm after summer accident

WALHONDING – On Aug. 31, 2017, Ben Young’s life was forever changed when he was involved in a farm accident while brush hogging in his back yard.

“I turned to go down the hill and because it was so dry, I slid to the bottom of the hill,” said Young. “There’s a township road there and I bulldozed into the side of that. It blew the front end out of my tractor.”

Damage to his tractor isn’t all the accident caused. Young suffered seven broken ribs and a traumatic brain injury.

“I just got beat up,” he said. “I had a level up from a concussion because I hit my head so hard.”

MedFlight arrived on the scene and Young was taken by medical helicopter to Grant Medical Center for a few days and then was transported to OhioHealth in Columbus. Although he didn’t need any surgeries, Young spent a total of five to six weeks in the hospital recovering.

“Every morning and every night, my wife came to see me,” said Young. “She took off work when it first happened. She did everything for me and I have friends, Mark Reed and Bob Napier, who took care of the farm. My mom and step-dad took over the finances and made sure the bills got paid.”

After the hospital stay, Young had to have speech therapy for reading comprehension and physical therapy.

“My reading is still not back,” said Young. “I also had double vision and I still have double vision if I look to my left.”

After a long, hard road, Young received permission from his doctor to return to work just before Christmas 2017.

“When I got signed off from the doctor to return to work, there were no restrictions,” he said. “There’s nothing that I’ve done at work that I thought I needed to slow down.”

Young has worked at Lapp Farms since 2005 as a manual laborer. He quit working when he went to ATI and then came back to Lapp Farms after graduation.

“They’ve got big fields, nice equipment, and they’re great people to work for,” said Young. “Warren was a good guy and Dave’s a good guy. The family has been good to me.”

In addition to working at Lapp Farms, Young is also a member of the Coshocton County Senior Fairboard, volunteers with Walhonding Valley Farmers, works full time at Coshocton Fire, volunteers at Walhonding Fire, works part time at Danville Fire, and is involved in 4-H administration.

“I always knew I wanted to farm and be a fireman,” said Young.

Young remembers helping his grandpa, Clyde Young Jr. and grandma, Donna Rae Young, on their farm when he was little. Young’s father, Nelvin, also helped farm the land after high school and now works as a fireman as well in Columbus. Young planted his first crop, corn and beans, on the farm when he was a member of FFA.

“I grew up with it,” he said. “It’s like a hobby in a way, an expensive hobby. We have cattle here still and I breed the cattle. It’s rewarding because when the calves are born, we take care of them and watch them grow. It’s almost like having a baby. You’re responsible for them, the quality of them. It’s kind of nice when other farmers come to your farm and say you have nice cattle and it’s like, yeah they are nice. It’s a feel good thing.”

Young doesn’t plan to stop farming any time soon. He is also grateful for the community support he received after his accident.

“I’ve had a lot of support in the community with people taking care of my crops, the harvest, and doing fundraisers,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of public support.”

Read more about farming in our community in Down on the Farm!

Category: People & Places