The Missouri River swamped Scott Olson鈥檚 land in March 鈥� the second time in the last eight years. Flooding tore holes in his fields and left mounds of debris. He鈥檚 not entirely sure he鈥檒l plant corn and soybeans this season on the flooded acres.
鈥淗ow do you fix that stuff? It takes a lot of money and a lot of time, and something nobody has. Time maybe, but not the money anymore,鈥� said Olson, who lives north of Omaha, Nebraska.
鈥淪o do I fix it, and try to plant it, not knowing whether I've got more water coming or not? Cause if I get more water coming on there, it'll undo everything I did, plus wipe out all the crop that I just put on there,鈥� he added.
It鈥檚 a decision farmers across the Midwest 鈥� especially in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois 鈥� will have to make as planting season is in full swing. Many areas are getting consistent heavy rains, which means losing valuable time in the field. Flooding is also making transporting grain more difficult, and when it comes time for harvest, commodity prices may still be low.
And for those like Olson, along the still-flooded Missouri and Mississippi rivers, flood cleanup is one more layer of difficulty. Out in the fields in his pickup, Olson pointed to one of three large scour holes 鈥� areas where floodwater eroded large amounts of soil.
鈥淚f I could run 12 hours a day, it would take me two weeks to get this one filled up and leveled out so my drainage and stuff, if I was lucky,鈥� Olson said.
He also has debris on his fields, including thick layers of corn stalks pushed up by flooding.
鈥淚鈥檝e got some that鈥檚 two- and three-feet deep. The ground is wet underneath. It鈥檚 dry on top. We burn it off. We鈥檒l go back with a four-wheeler and a harrow section because the tractor鈥檚 too heavy and it鈥檚 too mucky underneath,鈥� he said, adding, 鈥淚鈥檝e got places I鈥檝e burnt four times already and I still have two feet of debris down there.鈥�
Economic impact
But it鈥檚 not just corn stalks piling up. There鈥檚 dead livestock, tree limbs and tanks, according to Kelly Brunkhorst, the executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board.
He said there likely will be fields that will go unplanted this year because the time and resources aren鈥檛 available to get them ready for crops. That will have a significant economic impact in Nebraska, let alone in other states that were affected by flooding.
鈥淲e, along with the Department of Ag, took the lead in regards to estimating that sort of probably about $440 million worth of crop damages because of, as we look into 2019, unplanted crops, late planting, stuff like that that鈥檚 gonna happen this year,鈥� Brunkhorst said.
In northwest Missouri, near St. Joseph, Jeff Gaskill had planted only about a third of his usual crop by early May. He said he鈥檚 worried that might be it for the year, because some of his land is underwater. And the rain just keeps coming.
鈥淎 lot of the lower ground and anything within a third of the mile of the river, you just can鈥檛 get on it because the river鈥檚 still two feet above flood stage,鈥� Gaskill said.
Even farmers looking to sell last year鈥檚 grain are impacted by flooding.
Mike Steenhoek is the executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition, which is based in Iowa. He said grain handlers can鈥檛 move product due to flooding along railroads and rivers, so 鈥渢hey discourage farmers from making these deliveries by lowering the price that they offer for a bushel of soybeans or corn or other commodities.鈥�
Olson shares the concerns of the governors of Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri: that ag has been harmed not just by nature, but also by the Army Corps of Engineers.
鈥淐ongress needs to change the way things are done,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Corps needs to get back control of the river and put flood control back as Number One priority.鈥�
At a meeting last month, Corps representatives said they did what they could to prevent flooding with the storage they have in reservoirs. But whether the recent flooding changes how the Corps handles flooding, Olson and other farmers are dealing with the second large flood in 10 years.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working a lot of ground we don鈥檛 usually have to work because of that so we鈥檙e spending more money trying to get a crop in. Every place I turn around, I鈥檝e gotta do something different,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not giving up.鈥�
Allison Mollenkamp is a reporter with Harvest partner NET 暗黑爆料. Reach her on
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