Community Organizes Harvest for Crop of Texas Farmer Who Died from Coronavirus

A Texas farmer who died at the age of 49 from the coronavirus left behind his loving family, friends, and a cotton crop.

Layne Adams, 49, succumbed to the coronavirus after attending his mother’s funeral and began experiencing the same symptoms she had been experiencing.

“One day he was in ICU and the next day he was gone,” Adams’ daughter Haileigh Muehlstein told KCBD.

She said the family was devastated to hear the news that their father died from the coronavirus. Luckily, she said the community rallied around them in the coming days.

Tom Gregory, a fellow farmer, knew Adams’ cotton crop had not yet been harvested.

“I got on the phone and started calling and texting farmers and had a tremendous response,” Gregory said. “Farmers come together. We’ve got farmers here today from Floydada, Crosbyton, Ralls, Lorenzo, Acuff, Slaton and Petersburg. We’ve got about 20 machines going today and we’re going to get Layne’s crop harvested for the girls.”

Gregory estimated around 75 people harvested 1,500 acres of crops Wednesday.

“Without them, we wouldn’t have today,” Muehlstein said. “I’m just very thankful and our family is very thankful for everyone that’s reached out and been helpful to us.”

Adams’s crop is lucky in an age of coronavirus where many farmers have been forced to destroy their crops that cannot be stored.