The 747 Captain Who Didn't Wait to Retire

Bill Gross flew Boeing 747s around the world for UPS, but his heart never left the North Dakota farm country he grew up in. In 2005, instead of waiting for retirement, he started a nonprofit that sends volunteers and machinery to plant and harvest for farm families in crisis.

The Farm Kid Who Couldn't Stay

Gross was raised on a multigenerational family farm in Cleveland, North Dakota. For financial reasons, his family was not able to keep it running.

"I came from a family farm and was not able to stay on that farm for financial reasons," he told the Christian Science Monitor.

His parents told him they did not have the resources to pass the farm down to him, and encouraged him toward college instead. At the University of North Dakota he earned a business degree and a string of pilot ratings, including an Airline Transport Pilot certificate.

He went on to become a Boeing 747 captain for UPS, flying long routes around the world.

A Plan at 30,000 Feet

The idea came on a long flight over the Pacific Ocean. A fellow pilot asked him what he planned to do when he retired.

"I'm going to be this Good Samaritan that buys a tractor and goes around helping farm families plant their crops when they have a major injury or illness," Gross answered.

The answer drew laughs until his coworker realized he was serious.

A chaplain friend later heard the plan and challenged him not to wait for retirement. Gross took the advice.

Vacation Days in Other People's Fields

He founded Farm Rescue in 2005 while still flying for UPS, putting in his own money and his vacation time.

In its first season, 2006, Farm Rescue planted crops for 10 farm families with a handful of sponsors and a couple of volunteers.

On his days off from flying, Gross traveled between states, visiting farms and volunteers and raising money to keep the equipment moving.

"I was initially just going to do it myself as a good Samaritan, and people told me that I should think bigger," he said in 2008.

More Than 1,300 Families Later

Farm Rescue now plants, hays, harvests, hauls grain and feeds livestock at no cost to families facing a major illness, injury or natural disaster.

It keeps its own fleet of combines, planters, tractors, semis and pickups. Over its history, more than a thousand volunteers from all corners of the country have signed on to run them.

They pay their own way. Most use vacation time, come through company volunteer programs or are retired, just as Gross once gave up his own days off. One John Deere factory automation supervisor from Waterloo, Iowa, has spent two weeks each spring and fall on Farm Rescue crews through his company's paid volunteer program, CHS reported in 2025.

In early 2026 it expanded into Missouri, its 11th state. By June it had helped more than 1,300 families.

Gross still leads it as founder and president. In 2024 he received a Daily Point of Light Award for his volunteer service.

This fall, as harvest began across the country, Farm Rescue asked neighbors, health care providers, friends and family to refer farm families who need help getting their crops out of the field.