Iowa Farmers Continue to Repair Devastation One Year After Derecho Ravaged Farms and Fields

Corn fields flattened. Grain bins tangled. Machine sheds ripped to shreds. That describes the scene Farm Journal documented just two days after the derecho ravaged portions of Iowa on August 10, 2020.

“There's no way you could ever forget that day,” says Brad Dircks, a farmer in Lowden, Iowa. “That was such an unusual storm. It caused so much damage, and the path of damage was just unbelievable. There's no way you're ever going to forget that.”

Farm Journal visited Dircks’ farm 48 hours after the derecho struck. Dircks was still coming to terms with the devastation as he and his wife, Lisa, waded through the rubble of what was left at their home farm. 

“Before the storm hit, we still had a pretty nice crop coming, actually a real nice crop coming, because we had plenty of moisture, unlike west of here where they didn't have that,” Dircks said in August 2020. “That's all changed now.”

The derecho-force winds clocked in at over 100 mph. As a result, the scene looked more like the aftermath of a massive tornado. Even a short-film recently documented the derecho damage. 

“August 10, 2020, was a changing day,” says Mark Licht, Iowa State University Extension cropping specialist, when recalling how widespread the damage was in Iowa. “It really went from portions of central Iowa clear across into the east-central Iowa area, and remnants even made it into Illinois."

A QT Weather map showed the girth of the gusts.

“We are estimating that there was probably right around 6 million acres in Iowa that were affected to some degree," adds Licht.

The flattened fields quickly ate into outlooks, as the derecho proved to be a major hit to overall Iowa corn-production numbers last year.

“I would say it took 25% to 30% off the top on the corn yields,” Dircks says. “Just because some of the corn couldn't finish very well, and then the ear loss from being flat on the ground.”

Today, the crop outlook is better for Dircks and other farmers impacted by last year’s derecho event.

“We do have a very good crop stand, because it was dry planting conditions and we got very good stands,” he says. “The crop is even, and we've applied our fungicide and there's very little disease out there. So, I still think we could have a really good crop with the right weather.”

The Iowa crop hasn’t been bulletproof this year. Dryness has plagued some areas of the state. But even as farmers continue to battle dryness, the  overall crop outlook for Iowa is promising.

“I do think that when you get to Highway 30 in Iowa and south over into the Illinois, that area has been blessed with much more beneficial and timely rains all summer,” says Jarod Creed of JC Marketing Services, who also lives in Iowa.

“Obviously, there are some areas of the state that are still struggling because of heat and dry conditions,” says Licht. “But overall, I think we're looking fairly decent.”

Licht says last year’s crop potential in Iowa before the derecho hit was better than it is today. That assumption is also backed by USDA’s weekly crop progress numbers, which shows as of August 8, 2021, 61% of Iowa’s corn crop is rated good to excellent. That compares to the 69% good to excellent crop condition rating posted on August 9, 2020, one day before the derecho hit.

“Before the derecho, we had better yield potential than we're having now just because the length of time that we had dry conditions in the month of June,” says Licht.

A dry June, with dry pockets continuing to impact some of the crop in Iowa, even as overall crop conditions seem to be strong.

“North-central Iowa and northeast Iowa, that area was still feeling some effects of those dry conditions. But, you know, overall, the crop does look good considering the heat and dry conditions that we had in the month of June,” says Licht.

But as farmers gear up for harvest, some grain bins still haven’t been touched.

“You still see the occasional (bin) that's crumpled still, or the concrete pad, but no bin,” says Licht. “So, that will take just a little bit longer to get to.”

Dircks is one of those farmers still trying to rebuild. He says from machine sheds to grain storage, the rebuilding is taking more than a year, as supply chain issues didn’t help the situation this year.

“There's been a lot of rebuilding down in the area, but there's still plenty to do, and we're hoping to get all that done before harvest,” says Dircks.

Last year, harvest was difficult due to all the down corn. But even this year, there’s one lingering issue from the derecho worth watching, says Licht.

“The biggest scar that we're dealing with is not necessarily this harvest, but as we think about this growing season, is we still see the volunteer corn out there,” he says. .

I counted 43 northern and western corn rootworm beetles on this one tassel alone, and there were more on the leaves.#ISUCrops https://t.co/0oedkmV8pF pic.twitter.com/l3e1OXhle3 — Meaghan Anderson (@mjanders1) August 6, 2021

Volunteer corn like this (twitter video), attract corn rootworm beetles.

“Because we've been so dry, we think that there still may be some impacts of that coming into the next growing season a little bit,” Licht adds.

The issues seem small, but they also serve as a constant reminder to farmers dealing with the aftermath even one year after the derecho damage hit.

Pro Farmer Crop Tour: Coming to A Field Near You

Last year, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts were able to ground truth initial derecho damage reports, hitting the fields just a week after the disaster struck. This year, scouts will ground truth USDA's latest report again, with the 2021 Pro Farmer Crop Tour set to kick off Monday. 

The Pro Farmer Crop Tour provides insights into potential corn and soybean yields and gathers scout reports from 2,000-plus fields across seven states – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.

“USDA’s corn and soybean crop ratings show there’s a great divide between the areas where rains have been prevalent and the areas that have been dry,” says Pro Farmer Editor and Eastern Tour Director Brian Grete. “Crop Tour will give us a first-hand look at whether the good areas are enough to compensate for the poorer locations. This is a service we provide to the industry, and anyone with interest can tune into our live-streamed coverage each night of the tour.”

In 2020, scouts on the tour logged a 177.81 bu. per acre average for corn in Iowa. The tour three-year average for corn yields in Iowa is 182.95 bu. per acre.  

The final USDA corn yield for Iowa in 2020 was 178 bu. per acre.  

Register and attend nightly meetings in person or watch the nightly broadcast live at 7 p.m. Central each night where you’ll receive daily results, scouting observations and historical comparison data from our tour leaders.
 
Pricing
Online Nightly Broadcast – Free
Attend In-Person Tour nightly meeting - $40 per person (includes 2 drink tickets and dinner)

Register Now for Crop Tour

2021 Crop Tour Preview: Illinois Corn a Tale of Extreme Variability 

Crop Tour Preview: Above to Above Average Yields for Ohio 

Crop Tour Preview: Great Expectations for Indiana Corn Crop