BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Grant’s Farm Produce, a local produce shop, has been able to clean up a mess after the property was hit by a vigorous storm.

What You Need To Know

  • Grant’s Farm Produce was hit by a whirlwind storm that caused significant damage to the property

  • The property was littered with fallen trees, branches, two severely damaged houses and a damaged RV

  • Grant’s Farm Produce partnered with a local construction company to assist with the damages

  • Grant’s Farm Produce is located on 5960 Louisville Rd, Bowling Green, Kentucky

The storm happened on June 26, 2023, on co-owner Richard Grant’s birthday. The storm decimated several parts of their property. Several trees split in half or fell onto structures such as an RV, and houses. Branches and leaves were scattered around the property.

“I had a tenant call me at like 12 o’clock when it happened, and she said ‘Something’s happened to the house,’” Grant said. “It wasn’t two minutes later, she texted she had water coming through the living room and I knew it was bad then.” 

“So, when I came down there the next day, it was bad,” he explained. “It was worse than I thought. When I saw it, I thought ‘We’ll never get this back, we’ll never get this back in shape again.’”

However, volunteers and O’Dell Construction LLC would come to help with the cleanup and prove that theory wrong. 

“It’s a whole lot different now,” Grant said. 

So, what are the differences? One of them is the RV. The RV was crushed by a tree that split in half, but is now almost fully repaired, with a tenant currently living inside of it.

His backyard was swept away by progress as well. Grant said the yard wasn’t able to be walked through because of the damage. According to Grant, the yard had been destroyed by trees being split in half. However, all that was cleaned up. 

Additionally, one of the houses that was initially destroyed by a tree falling was recoverd somewhat. According to Grant, the house was deemed as unlivable because the damage caused by the storm was so severe. 

However, Grant and his volunteers were able to bring it back in order.

“They jumped in helped us come up with a plan the day after,” Grant said. “They came out with a Bobcat and an excavator.”

“He helped me get the tree that was on this house, off this house,” Grant said. “We got it tarped up replaced everything that was taken out. And saved it to a point where we can try and remodel and if possible, fix it.”

On top of dealing with storm damages, Grant said this year’s weather wasn’t too kind to farmers.

“It was either one extreme or the other, it was either too hot, too much rain, or too windy,” Grant said. “There was no middle of the road. It was probably the worst year to try and grow anything. I had two out of eight sweet corn crops that dried up in the field. This year was one of those years that Mother Nature was throwing a curve ball.”

However, with the teamwork and grit Grant had, he was able to persevere. 

“Don’t give up, stick to the long-term plan, you can bounce back,” Grant said.

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