Community supports Zumbrota farmer attacked by bull

Mike Lohmann may look fine at first glance, but family and friends know otherwise.

The Zumbrota dairy farmer has been facing low milk prices, harvest and the day-to-day operations of the farm while recovering from a bull attack. He has high medical bills and a mind that's uneasy in the barn.

That's where an 1,800-pound bull attacked him twice on July 11.

It left him with 11 broken ribs, a punctured lung, a collapsed lung, vertebrae cracked in three spots and a cracked shoulder blade. Medical bills exceed $200,000. It's unknown how much will be covered by the health insurance he has through his wife, Wendy, who works full time for Mounds View Public Schools.

Family, friends and neighbors are organizing a benefit to help pay his medical bills and farm labor costs. It will be held Nov. 21 from 4 p.m. to midnight at the VFW Hall in Zumbrota.

"Most dairy farmers are struggling, but they can do the work and here, he can't do the work," said Lance Quam, a friend on the organizing committee.

"Mike is such a good guy, such a hard worker and he's been in the community for so many years."

"When they first approached me about (the benefit), I cried," said Wendy. "Mike is such a good guy, such a hard worker and he's been in the community for so many years. The community has really come together for him."

Lohmann has advice for his peers: Never trust a bull. The attack came from one that previously had a mellow disposition.

It happened in the morning. Milking was finished, and Lohmann was moving a group of cattle back to the free stall barn. He figures he walked by a cow in heat and the bull didn't like it. The animal charged, hitting Lohmann in the back. When Lohmann got up, the bull charged again. This time, he took the hit in the front. He stayed down and the bull moved on.

"I think he thought I was dead," Lohmann said. "I thought I broke my back."

He used a cell phone to call his son, Jesse. Jesse and his wife, Erin, helped Lohmann into a car and started driving toward Fairview Red Wing Medical Center, but Lohman had breathing problems on the way. An ambulance met them on the highway.

Lohmann blacked out after getting inside and woke up that afternoon in Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester. He had been transferred via helicopter. His hospital stay lasted nearly three weeks.

The farm has been maintained by his sons - Jesse, Jimmy and Tyler - his brother, Larry, his nephew, Duncan, and two part-time laborers. The farm has 125 cows and 90 head of young stock. There are also 500 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa.

"It's unreal, all the people who offered to help," Lohmann said.

Against doctor's orders, he started chores again in early October. With a sore back and the inability to lift his hands fully above his head, he was up to about half a normal work load by Oct. 7.

"I know it's got to get done. Everybody's helping out as much as they can, but they've got their own jobs," he said.

The attack has given him a new life perspective. He wants to spend more time with family, including his five grandchildren, ages 5 weeks to 7 years old, and Wendy. They recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary.

"Don't take life for granted," he said.

He and Wendy have a new saying: Life is great and that's no bull.

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Information from: Agri News