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Tornado, storms ravage farming communitiesBy Jennifer M. Latzke and Holly Martin Lee Dirks could sit with his head in his hands and mourn for the business he lost due to the Greensburg tornado. But, for this Pioneer seed dealer and his family, that wouldn't accomplish anything. Dirks and his wife Karen are farmers who live four miles southwest of Greensburg. Like their neighbors they raise irrigated corn, and dryland grain sorghum and wheat. And, like their neighbors, they're currently picking up the pieces of their business the storms left them. The EF-5 tornado struck the town of Greensburg at 9:50 p.m. on May 4. The devastating tornado destroyed 95 percent of the town. Reaching up to 1.7 miles wide at times, it was on the ground for 22 miles, taking in surrounding farms and communities. The severity of the storm meant that entire farming community of 1,400 people was wiped out. Nearly everyone in town had ties to agriculture. Eleven people lost their lives. One of the victims who died owned the local fuel company. The Dirks' seed business lost a warehouse in Greensburg with about $200,000 worth of corn and soybean seed. But, the most valuable posessions--the Dirks family members--are safe. Lee and Karen Dirks were 15 miles south of Greensburg at their friends' house when the tornado struck their hometown. "We saw it headed toward Greensburg and so we called our friends in town and told them to take shelter because it was headed their way," Dirks said. They went home to a farm with damaged windows, but they were safe. "We're all safe and accounted for, and our place is fine," Dirks said. "We have a generator and we have available electricity." They are starting the cleanup efforts.
Millions of dollars lost in equipment Another farm business that was an anchor to the rural community, BTI, Greensburg, suffered major losses. Rows of green combines were a familiar site on Highway 54. Millions of dollars worth of John Deere equipment , including 34 combines, 7 sprayers, 8 tractors and 60 headers were damaged. "Some were owned by customers; some by the dealer," he said. "Two combines and at least one tractor were brand new--zero hours," said Justin Atwood, territory customer support manager with John Deere . Many other pieces of equipment were damaged including grain carts, cultivating equipment , drills and planters. The upper floor of the dealership was blown away and the lower floor was severely damaged. Rain in the days following the tornado soaked anything that was still left in the roofless structure. BTI employees were able to salvage parts, computers and records from the damaged building. "We saved a million dollars worth of parts," said Jeremy Estes, general manager of BTI, Bucklin. Dave Bachelor, advertising manager for BTI, said although the building was partially standing, it would not be able to be fixed. "The beams inside are twisted." The Estes family who owns BTI has promised that they will rebuild, however. Estes says the temporary plan is to set up a building with generators that will serve as a shop and parts counter, as well as office space. When they are able, they will rebuild on the same site as the old dealership. A makeshift flagpole of a wooden post is flying a worn American flag in front of the damaged dealership. It's a promise, Bachelor said, to the community of Greensburg. "We'll be back. They can bank on it." Another farm equipment dealer, Greensburg Farm Supply, also sustained severe damage. The dealer, also located on Highway 54, was in the central part of town. While many farmers in the area had most of their corn planted, the loss of the warehoused soybean seed is what will be the toughest for the Dirks' customers. "Pioneer has really been on top of this for us," Lee Dirks said. "Pioneer's been making plans to bring seed out for our customer base." As well as replacing the lost seed, Dirks hopes to work with other Pioneer seed dealers in the area to supply his customers' needs. Another challenge local farmers will face is that the local Southern Plains Cooperative, the largest supplier of fertilizer in the area, will have a limited ability to serve its customers. "It was severely damaged and there's some concerns whether it will be up and running at harvest," Dirks said. "That will have an impact on farmers." Roger Oplinger, another Greensburg area farmer, says the challenges are nothing compared to the relief that his farm manager's family is safe. Oplinger who owns Spring Creek Farms with his wife, daughter and son-in-law began farming in the Greensburg area seven years ago. The family also owns farms in other parts of the state. Their Greensburg farm manager, Cory Zenger, lost his home. Oplinger said they had just finished planting corn on Thursday and were moving their planters to Brewster. When they arrived at the house on Friday night, they heard the news of the devastation in Greensburg. "We jumped right back in the pickup and got there at 1 a.m." Oplinger said. It was the next morning before they could find Zenger and his family, safe and unhurt. Oplinger said the devastation to the community is unbelievable. They searched for friends and neighbors throughout the night. "You would just see someone you know, you work with, and you would hug," he said. Tears and hugs aren't normally a part of a greeting to his crop consultant, but after this week, nothing's normal. Spring Creek Farms suffered damage on May 5 to their new grain storage facility, but it is repairable, Oplinger said. They also suffered damage to one of their center pivots. Reports are there are as many as 100 irrigation systems damaged throughout the area. Oplinger also had a one-year-old combine that was being serviced at BTI, Greensburg. "We were going to bring it home the next morning," he said. The machine is now a total loss of about $250,000. One of the things that farmers will have to deal with for quite some time is the debris that has landed in their fields. "I drove two miles north of Greensburg and you see sticks sticking in the field, tin lying around," Oplinger said. Farmers in the area are seeing quite a bit of flooding in the low spots and corn that's in various states of emergence was damaged by hail and excessive moisture. "The wheat crop, though, was damaged by hail and wind and it already had seen plenty of damage early on from the spring freeze and storm," Dirks said. The impact to crops will be seen in the future as the corn continues to emerge.
More than just Greensburg The damage was not limited to Greensburg. In Macksville, Kan., in Stafford County, just north of Greensburg, ranchers are having to deal with the destruction of fences and livestock herds the tornado left in the tail end of its wake. Mike Lewis, owner of Pratt Livestock, and a member of the Livestock Marketing Association, was concerned that the needs of these area cattlemen were being overlooked by the public recovery efforts. So, he contacted the headquarters of LMA, in Kansas City, Mo., and they agreed to donate $15,000 to the recovery efforts of area cattlemen. Lewis then called Jeff Bryan, of Tucker Tire and Farm Supply in Kiowa, Kan., to see how much fencing equipment and supplies could be purchased with the $15,000. Bryan agreed to sell T-posts, barbed wire, and other fencing tools at his cost, and he threw in delivery to Macksville for free. Tuesday afternoon, Bryan, and his wife Aimee, pulled onto the site with his gooseneck trailer loaded down with supplies. Word had reached the area cattlemen, who were there with what skid steers and lifts were undamaged by the tornado to unload the equipment . And, even in the chaos surrounding the aftermath of a tornado, the neighborly spirit reigned, according to Rod Swafford, High Plains Journal livestock representative. Since no one was specifically in charge, and because it was an impromptu gesture, no one was sure how to equally share in the generous donation. So, it was finally decided by the group that each cattleman should take a bit of wire and some T-posts, enough to offset what they needed to start recovery efforts. Swafford said, true to the rancher spirit, each man kept saying "Oh, that's too much, just leave some for the rest of our neighbors," or "Here, take this, you've got more fence than I do to fix up." By the end of the day, though, even without an official in charge of equal distribution, each rancher ended up having enough wire and posts to get them back in business. "It was a true neighborly gesture that you can only find in the Heartland," Swafford said. There were stories shared among the cattlemen of herds being decimated by the tornado. One man found 30 head of cattle dead after the storm, and had to euthanize another 50 head that were too badly injured for recovery. Others saw cattle stranded on islands surrounded by flood waters in the middle of pastures. And, all around, there was the smell of wet and sour grain and dead livestock. It's easy to overlook the destruction to Macksville, one cattleman pointed out. Driving into town on U.S. Highway 50, it looks normal enough. But, drive just four miles south of the town and the destruction begins to show, in a three-mile wide swath. One man, Rodger Grizzell, and his wife live eight miles south of Macksville. He and his wife were at a neighbor's cookout when the tornado hit on Friday evening. They went home to find their 50,000-bushel grain bin in ruins, and eight irrigation circles tossed about like toys. As they started sorting through the destruction in their house, they found that a sliding glass door had lodged itself into their bed--where they would have been sleeping if they hadn't been at the neighbors' cookout.
Generosity Stories of how fortunate people were and the generosity of others abounded. Many rural residents from communities near and far away showed up with anything from equipment to their hands to help. One of those people was a friend of Roger Oplinger. He simply drove to Greensburg and offered anything. He left a large check to be donated where it could be used the most. Bachelor and Estes with the John Deere dealership told of how long-time customers brought their entire custom cutting crews from miles away to Greensburg to help them. "These are people we have been working with for years," he said. "And they just showed up. We are thankful for that." Estes said that other John Deere dealers showed up at 4 a.m. Saturday morning with equipment , willing to help salvage whatever they could. "The John Deere company has just been fantastic," Estes said. He said the company is working with their customers to get them equipment , especially combines, quickly since harvest is but weeks away. "In tough situations, you really see people's true colors and I can tell you, it's good to be a John Deere dealer," he said. In a true spirit of farmer independence, most of the Dirks' neighbors are pitching in and helping each other out in the recovery efforts. "Farmers are a unique and pretty independent bunch," Dirks said. "Everyone has plans ready to rebuild. There's been damage to irrigation equipment and in places it needs to be replaced and fixed." Farmers are already starting to re-set systems that were tossed around in the storm like Lincoln Logs. "We're working together, helping each other out and keeping our mood upbeat and positive," Dirks said. Looking to the future, Dirks said without hesitation that he and his family will rebuild. "I'm going to stay right here and operate my seed business," Dirks said. "We're going to take care of our friends." Oplinger, too is optimistic about the future of the farming community. His family wondered as they paid bills this week whether it would be best to mail them. They decided it would be best for farm manager Cory Zenger to hand-deliver the checks. "I want him to tell them we are still here and encourage them to rebuild." But where to start? Dirks gave this last advice. "When you don't know what to do, you can always pick up a stick and put it in the fire," he said. "And, you keep picking up another stick and another stick. You can do that."
Holly Martin and Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached at 1-800-452-7171 or by e-mail at hmartin@hpj.com and jlatzke@hpj.com. Date: 5/11/07
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