Second Update on MidWest Flooding

This is already the worst 

agricultural disaster in modern 

American history.

Federal authorities are telling us

that we should expect things 

to continue to get worse, 

for at least two more months.

According to satellite data

released last week by Reuters, 

“at least 1 million acres 

of U.S. farmland” were 

covered by water for at least 

seven days in March.  

That is an agricultural disaster 

unprecedented in U.S. history.

The leftist biased mainstream media 

is practically ignoring the story in 

these "red" states.

Up to one million calves were killed

in nebraska alone !

Beef prices will escalate.

More flooding is predicted for

the next two months, so the crisis

will get worse !

A substantial portion of farmland 

will not be used at all this year

for corn, wheat and soy production.

Farms from the Dakotas to Missouri 

and beyond have been under water 

for a week or more, impeding planting 

and damaging soil. 

The floods came just weeks before

 planting season starts in the Midwest.

Between March 8th and March 21st, 

almost 1.1 million acres of cropland 

and over 84,000 acres of pastureland w

ere covered by water for at least a week.  

In Iowa, 474,271 acres were covered 

by floodwaters for at least seven days 

in March.

Iowa corn must be planted 

by May 31st 

and soybeans must be planted 

by June 15th, 

in order to qualify 

for flood insurance.  

For most Iowa farms that were 

covered by floodwaters, 

that is going to be impossible.

Thousands of farms 

have been destroyed, 

and thousands of farmers 

will not plant any crops this year.

Thousands of homes 

have been destroyed.

The National Ground Water 

Association is warning that 

“the safety of more than 

a million private water wells” 

could be compromised…

The NGWA estimates that people

living in more than 300 counties 

across 10 states have 

their groundwater threatened 

from bacterial and industrial 

contamination carried by 

flood waters.

According to the NOAA, 

we are entering an 

“unprecedented flood season” 

that could potentially 

“impact an even bigger 

area of cropland".

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts 

says that this is the worst flooding 

that his state has ever experienced.  

Ricketts told us that 74 out of the 93 counties 

in his state have declared a state of emergency, 

Ricketts estimated the cost of ongoing flooding 

in his state at more than $1 billion.

According to Agriculture Secretary 

Sunny Purdue, there “may be as many as 

a million calves lost in Nebraska” 

due to the catastrophic flooding 

that has hit the state. 

This is just a preliminary number, 

for one state !

The flooding happened so fast that 

many farmers were powerless 

to do anything about it.  

In Sherman County, farmer 

Richard Panowicz said:

“Within 15 minutes it was devastation,” 

with water, ice and debris exploding 

from the river with nothing to stop it.

He described some ice chunks 

as 3 feet thick and the size of 

an extended-cab pickup.

Panowicz said a lot of the dead calves 

he’s picked up have had broken legs. 

Many of the carcasses were found by neighbors.

In other cases, farmers were faced 

with a choice between saving their animals 

or saving their neighbors.  

Before farmer Mahon could think about 

his animals, he needed to help his neighbors. 

As the water rose, he rescued one 

with his tractor, the floodwater lifting it up 

and spinning him 180 degrees. 

He helped save three more people

 — including an 85-year-old woman 

and a 9-month-old baby — with a boat, 

he said.

Then he estimated the flood carried away 

30 calves and almost as many cows, 

nearly $50,000 out of his pocket. 

Dave Eaton’s family has been farming 

the same plot of land for 152 years.  

But now the Missouri River has 

swallowed his farm !

“It’s not like I’m new to the area,” 

he said. “My gut feeling is we’re 

going to be under water all year.”

Farmer Panowicz says that the hay 

and silage that were meant to feed 

his cattle this season were soaked 

“in 3 to 4 feet of water”…

Sand now covers much of the pastureland 

he uses to graze his herd of commercial 

Angus cows and purebred Charolais bulls.

40 of his recently born calves died in the flood.

“I’ll probably sell the (remaining) cows 

and calves and get out of the cattle business,” 

said Panowicz, 65. “I’ve been around cows 

since the early 1970s.”

In Minnesota, there are still more than 

20 inches of snow on the ground 

in some places, and all of that water 

has to go somewhere.

The lack of mainstream media attention

paid to the usually white, conservative 

MidWest farmers is stunning.

Prior articles here on this subject:
https://el2017.blogspot.com/2019/03/us-midwest-flooding-update.html

https://el2017.blogspot.com/2019/03/us-midwest-flooding-threatens-food.html