Ag Damage Assessments from IDA Underway

From Louisiana to New Jersey and beyond, damage caused by Hurricane Ida and the heavy rains, flooding, and tornadoes it brought north will be in the billions.

Mike Steenhoek with the Soy Transportation Coalition told Brownfield News, the impact of hurricanes isn’t limited to coastlines. “When you have the corn crop as high as it is as we’re on the eve of harvest, having 100 miles an hour or 70 miles an hour winds can really impose a lot of damage to that crop,” he says.

Damage is far-reaching also for livestock, soybeans, sugar cane, cotton, specialty crops, and other ag infrastructure, along with farms and businesses. Ag Secretary Vilsack expects assistance to be delivered to producers in the coming weeks and months through crop insurance and other disaster support programs as agencies assess the destruction.

In New Jersey, the state’s largest dairy farm was essentially flattened after an EF3 tornado, one of several created by Ida, touched down on the 700-cow dairy.  Owners recently reported 13 cows had died, dozens more had injuries, and 100 went missing.  With all but one barn destroyed, Wellacrest Farms resumed milking after a hodgepodge of community support got the farm temporarily running.  A GoFundMe page for the family has raised about $80,000 to help rebuild following the September 1^st event.

EDITOR’S TAKE:

Thank goodness that events of this nature are relatively few and far between. It will take a good deal of time to make a full-fledged assessment of all the damage, but we are confident that those affected will be able to put the pieces together and move forward next year. This is precisely why crop insurance is so important in today’s agriculture. Before crop insurance, farmers relied on the good graces of Congress to provide disaster relief. Depending on the political mood, assistance could vary wildly. Crop insurance is a much better plan for most commodities. We hope for a complete and speedy recovery from this devastating storm!