INVESTING CHECKOFF DOLLARS
RECOVERY UNDERWAY S O U T H W E ST I OWA FA R M E R S F O R G E A H E A D A F T E R F LO O D I N G BY BETHANY BARATTA
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early four months after floodwaters inundated Michael Stenzel’s shop and last year’s crop sitting in grain bins, major questions regarding the future of the farm loom. “I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Stenzel says, stepping around piles of rotting soybeans once destined for a premium seed market. Michael farms with his dad, Mike, an Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) member. They were able to plant 1,000 acres of ground that was unscathed by the floodwaters. It remains to be seen, however, what happens to the 3,200 acres under water and the 140,000 bushels of corn and 50,000 bushels of soybeans, which had been stored in grain bins when the Missouri River burst its banks, inundating Hamburg. A recent visit to the family’s shop and grain storage location revealed piles of steel separated from piles of grain. The
20 | SUMMER 2019 | IASOYBEANS.COM
Stenzels had separated the two in hopes of salvaging something. The shop had been cleared out before the floodwaters hit but was now further stripped as they pondered their next steps. Rebuild? Move the shop or grain storage to higher ground? Those decisions haven't yet been made. Many others also have decisions to make — about their grain and the future of farming in southwest Iowa.
Fixing the levees One of the first steps in flood recovery is fixing the levees, says Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “Everything starts with repairing those levees. Whether you’re talking about land recovery and restoration, getting a crop in this year — or even next year — or an agribusiness getting back up and running, it all starts with having confidence that you’re protected from the river,” Naig says.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified 110 individual breaches in the Missouri River Basin. About half of those were in Iowa, Nebraska and northwest Missouri, says Bret Budd, chief of the Omaha Systems Restoration Team for the U.S. Army Corps’ Omaha District. “The damage on the Missouri River levee is really pretty immense,” Budd says. “We’ve got the actual breaches, and we’ve got a lot of areas that have loss of critical sections. Basically, one-third of the levee section is gone.” On a visit to the Benton/Washington levee, part of a 42-mile stretch that runs just south of Thurman to the Missouri state line, a construction crew was using a system of large excavation equipment, tile and pipes to filter out sand from water. This dredging allowed the contracted team to use the sand to help build up the levee. But weeks later, a heavy rain event caused the water level to rise again,
