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Derecho devastates Tama County farms

A hog barn on Jacob and Kaley Benda’s farm north of Toledo was blown off its foundation and into an adjacent soybean field during the derecho storm on August 10. The Benda’s pigs are being housed at a contracted facility until a new building can be constructed. Darvin Graham/NT Telegraph

Farmers across Tama County are dealing with the aftermath of last week’s unprecedented derecho storm.

The derecho’s 106 mph winds did a number on local farms, flattening fields, destroying grain bins, ripping apart barns and buildings while damaging homes, machinery and vehicles. Nearly everyone, farmer or not, is or has done some sort of tree cleanup in the county.

For many farmers, the destruction from the derecho adds to what is already a complex and challenging set of decisions and circumstances that need to be dealt with each year and are sometimes out of a person’s control.

Just north of Toledo, Jacob and Kaley Benda live on a 1500 acre farm. The Bendas were among several farmers that experienced damaging straight line winds in 2011 but that storm was not to the magnitude of Monday’s derecho.

“It was like 2011 on steroids,” Jacob said.

Monday’s derecho lasted nearly 45 minutes with much higher winds and more widespread destruction than in 2011.

Damage sustained on the Benda farm included all of the above mentioned. Some of the most stark damage was the $250,000 hog building that was nearly wiped clean off its foundation. The building housed 1260 feeder pigs.

The Bendas were home when the derecho struck at noon last Monday. Jacob had just begun to spray fungicide on one of his fields when the skies changed.

He rushed home and ran inside with his eyes closed because the rain was so strong. No one was prepared for how bad it would be given how little warning the storm gave. It seemed to suddenly appear, in full force. Kaley sent their kids to the basement but then had to check out what was going on.

The two watched as their trampoline and swing set blew away. An old plastic picnic table nestled between two trees, miraculously was left unmoved.

Jacob and Kaley Benda of Toledo

Jacob also farms crops. In total he has just over 2500 hogs and an even split between corn and soybeans.

Out of his two hog buildings, one was completely destroyed. The other was almost untouched.

Luckily they didn’t lose too many of their livestock. So far they know they’ve lost just around 10 baby pigs.

Following the storm they were able to find a building north of Marshalltown and transported the pigs there for the time being.

The pigs went without water for a full day so once they arrived at their new home they were parched. That led to the pigs getting sours so Jacob had to take them medicine. Daily chores however are being taken care of so that stress is off their plate.

Jeff and Cheryl Bruene of Gladbrook

Crop damage however is a different story.

The high winds took roughly 80% of their family’s grain storage and 90% of their corn crop. Jacob feared his corn was too far along in the growth stage to gooseneck back up and recover before harvest. One concern that lays before the Bendas and likely several other farmers following the derecho is how to execute a harvest when fields are bent, flattened, or full of debris.

For Jacob, his soybean plants emerged in decent shape but the fields they are growing in are full of pieces of debris from his hog barn and his equipment storage sheds. He will need to spend time carefully collecting the debris in the coming weeks so his combine can travel through the fields at harvest without jamming up.

On the southwest side of Tama sits Donnie and Annette Lacina’s farm. They have just around 1000 acres of corn and soybeans along with a small number of cattle.

Before noon last Monday Donnie’s corn stood tall and, despite some drought concerns, appeared headed in an optimistic direction. 10 days later the landscape has changed dramatically. The derecho storm fully flattened acres of corn crop in the southwest portion of the county to the point where the fields looked like cornstalk carpet stretched across the rolling terrain.

Annette was home alone while Donnie was at his job at Iowa Premium when the storm hit. Annette hunkered down in a shower in their walk out basement. She thought for sure they had lost the roof. She described the noise of the winds like a train.

Donnie wasn’t allowed to leave work for several hours but once he arrived home he sat in his truck surveying the damage.

The Lacinas spent the last week picking up the pieces of several structures that either blew apart completely or had major damage from the derecho. Windows and doors were blown out and water rushed into their house, which required immediate attention before full clean up efforts could be directed toward the farm.

Although they lost some grain storage on their farm, Donnie felt that there was enough space still left at his brother’s place next door or at the area cooperatives to hold what they are able to pull out of the fields this fall.

He will also have to contend with the absence of a cattle barn that was blown over in the derecho. During the warm months his cows are out to pasture and can manage more on their own. But when the winter hits or when it comes time to calve, he will need some sort of shelter like his barn used to provide.

As they and many farmers around the state wait for decisions from insurance adjusters and potential federal assistance, the challenges remain varied and at times steep.

“In farming it always feels like you are taking steps backwards,” Annette said.

Outside of Gladbrook Jeff and Cheryl Bruene have just short of 1000 acres. The Bruene’s had a grain bin take a bit of a beating but have been told that it is fixable.

Just a half mile up the road their neighbor, Steve Osborn wasn’t as lucky. He was on a fishing trip last Monday. When he arrived back home he found damage to his home and a completely collapsed machine shed. He also has significant machinery damage as the shed fell on his tractors. Osborn farms around 300 acres.

As far as the effects of the crop damage, it’s just too early to tell the exact impact the loss of crops will have. Most people’s soybeans seem to be okay. Corn however not so much.

Right now everyone will have to wait and see what insurance adjusters say. It all depends on how developed the corn is. If it is far along enough they may have to harvest it. If not, they may be told to mow over it. So they are in limbo until harvest time arrives.

Nearly 90% of farmers do have insurance that generally covers 3/4 or more of their projected revenue but farmers pay a high premium for that safeguard and often have to decide what kind of additional coverage they may or may not purchase to assist with the remaining 1/4 portion.

Farmers were already strained. Market prices are low and in Tama County the drought situation was touch and go. Rain was desperately needed but not in this fashion.

“It was a very ‘2020’ way to get rain,” Kayley said.

COVID-19 has also made things more difficult. Ethanol plants were not running for a period of time. Now they are running at half capacity. Now this.

The stress can be overwhelming.

If something goes wrong on a farm, it can have a significant ripple effect. The loss of the Benda hog building is an example. They had to find somewhere for those pigs to be housed which luckily they did. Also not only did they lose 80% of their corn crop, they also lost their grain storage.

“We just have to stay focused on the right now and celebrate the little wins,” Kaley said.

Something that has helped the Benda’s out is their kids were able to spend time with their grandparents. That allowed Jacob and Kaley to focus on cleanup. Being able to get some of the trees cleared really helped Kaley’s mental health.

“It’s crazy how fast the gears switch to how you thought your month would look,” Jacob said.

But the sun sets and rises the next day and Jacob and his family are already thinking of rebuilding and ways to make a new grain system more efficient. They are also on a list for a new hog building to be built.

How will everything fare? Only time will tell.

ISU Extension and Outreach offers multiple support programs for members of the ag community who may be dealing with stress during this time of storm recovery.

Those resources include an upcoming virtual webinar series called “Stress on the Farm: Strategies That Help”, the Iowa Concern help hotline, and the COVID Recovery Iowa website. Visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/stress-farm to learn more.