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Flood waters continue to affect IowansBy Jennifer Bremer
Even though the rains aren't coming as often in water soaked Iowa, residents are still dealing with flooding all across the state. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey continues to encourage livestock farmers to plan ahead as they seek to care for their livestock during the heavy rains and flooding that have affected nearly the entire state. "We continue to hear stories of farmers going to amazing lengths to ensure their animals are cared for. And, as the flood waters make their way downstream, they are going to impact even more producers," Northey said. Madison County cattle producer Randy Gamble said, on June 12, his pastures and fields were fairly well out of flood waters, but that didn't mean there aren't repairs to deal with yet. "Our worst flooding was about a week ago. Most of our bottom ground was covered with water and the creeks in our pastures were running over their banks," he said. Gamble had water gaps out between his pasture and his neighbor's. While all of his cattle are in his pasture, he has found one extra cow that belongs to one of his neighbors, but he's not sure where she came from. "I also heard about five calves that traveled down the river and the producer who found them has no idea where they came from or who they belong to," he said. The reality is that it is probably happening more than some producers even realize with the waters rising so fast and so high all across the state. "Flood water, washed out bridges and damaged roads may make it difficult to reach some areas with livestock; I encourage folks to monitor reports so they aren't caught off guard," said Northey. Secondary and gravel roads have been greatly affected by flooding and the forecast for continued wet conditions makes preparing even more important. Some farmers have had a hard time getting feed to animals. Northey said they should make sure livestock have plenty of feed and water available and provide reserve supplies if needed. Pork slaughter suspended Feed is not the only concern for livestock farmers. With the temporary suspension of slaughter operations at Tyson pork plants in Columbus Junction and Perry as well as the Cargill Meat Solutions pork plant in Ottumwa, pork producers have to delay marketings, also. The combined daily capacities at the three plants is about 34,000 head, according to market analysts. The Perry and Ottumwa closures were more temporary than at the Columbus Junction plant. On June 16, Tyson officials said the closure of its Columbus Junction plant would possibly extend until June 23 due to rising flood waters covering nearby roads and spilling into the homes of workers. The plant is located near the junction of the Iowa and Cedar rivers in southeast Iowa where rising flood waters have devastated homes, businesses and farms. The southeast Iowa plant can slaughter up to 9,000 hogs a day and has been closed since June 11 due to flooding. Tyson workers built dikes and used sandbags to keep flood waters from reaching the plant. Manure structures threatened The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) cautions livestock producers to check their manure storage structures, which could be threatened by saturated soils. Both concrete and earthen structures could be endangered if groundwater levels rise higher than the structure was designed to withstand. "The danger comes when a concrete manure storage structure is pumped out or has liquid levels lower than the groundwater level," said Wayne Farrand, supervisor of the DNR's wastewater engineering section. "That's when high groundwater levels put pressure on the sidewalls and flooring. They can easily collapse a wall or float the structure if the forces are too great." Earthen basins also can be in jeopardy. Equalizing the inside liquid elevation to match the groundwater level may reduce the risk for both the earthen basins and the concrete structures. Crop losses All farmers are encouraged to report agricultural losses to their local U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency field office, all of which are compiling "Flash Reports" of all agricultural losses across the state. "Besides all of the difficulties faced by livestock producers, much of the first hay cutting has been lost. Farmers need to let FSA know about these and any other production losses," Northey said. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation said, on June 16, that flood waters have claimed about 20 percent of grain acres in Iowa, or about 1.3 million of corn and up to 2 million acres of soybeans. Gamble hopes his crops will recover from the flooding and hopes the debris--trees, silt and sand--left on the fields won't affect his crops too much. "We had water in places we've never seen it before. It looks like our alfalfa didn't make it through the flooding, so we will probably be behind on hay," he said. With nearly 300 acres of ground under water, Gamble knows he will see some yield loss. He just hopes the crop yield isn't as bad as it was in 1993. "In '93 we didn't get into the hay field until August. Back then the river was up, but not out on our crop ground like it was this year," he explained. "The corn plants are yellow. It will be interesting to see if it comes out of that stage. It will definitely take some dry weather to recover." Another problem that Gamble and other farmers across the state are faced with is that they can't spray their crops because the ground is too saturated. This may lead to excessive weeds in some fields and reduce yields as well. "Time will tell as to what the crops will yield, but first and foremost, the weather has to straighten out for us to have a decent yield," he said. 6/23/08 Date: 6/18/08 Advertisement
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