Farmer killed by falling hay bale

MILVERTON — Mennonite farmer Timothy Wagler is dead after an accident in the barn on his Milverton-area farm last month in Perth County.

The 42-year-old was forking straw with his 14-year-old son when a large square bale of hay fell on him. The boy ran for help and came back with his eight-year-old brother to remove the hay bale with a skid steer. Wagler was pronounced dead at the scene.

Family friend and Shakespeare farmer Clifford Horst said that Wagler will be “hugely missed in his church, school and community.”

He was a mentor to many young people in the community, including troubled young people, said Horst, adding that he hadn’t realized the full extent of Wagler’s efforts until after he died.

“I had no idea he was as involved as he was,” Horst said.