Iowa faces $3 billion in Flood crop loss
Pastor Dale Morgan
Iowa faces $3 billion in Flood crop loss*
* Story Highlights
* Agriculture secretary estimates 10 percent of corn, 20 percent of
soybeans lost
* Remaining plantings could show reduced yields, official says
* Some agricultural losses will not be covered by insurance
* President Bush tours flooded area by air, promises help
(CNN) -- The flood damage to Iowa crops could reach $3 billion,
according to the state's agriculture secretary.
"Right now, we have about 10 percent of our corn that has either been
flooded out or not planted and about 20 percent of our (soy)beans," Bill
Northey said Friday on "Iowa Press," a public television show.
"We're seeing some beans go back in the ground, and if we were to lose
that, if we weren't able to replant, that would be $2.5 billion, $3
billion -- a significant amount of damage," he said.
He added that some of the remaining crops would likely have smaller yields.
Flooding in several Midwestern states has killed two dozen people and
injured 148, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and
35,000 to 40,000 people in several states have been displaced. Video
Watch an iReporter's chronicle of the floods »
"I think some of this was absolutely uncontrollable," Northey said. "If
you are ready for every potential event that could happen once out of
every hundred years or 500 years, you're probably not going to be able
to be in business and make it on a normal year. So, some of this is just
flat-out unpredictable," he said.
In Iowa, where several rivers jumped their banks about a week ago, water
covered city blocks, ruined homes, and poured over acres of farmland.
This week, residents are returning to homes and officials are assessing
damage as the floodwater moves downstream to add to the Mississippi
River's flow.
Despite the acres of flooded farmland in Iowa, "There certainly are
folks out there with good crops," Northey said. "There's areas with good
crops and within all areas there's folks with good crops and poor
crops," he said.
Flooding of some of the food processing facilities in Iowa also has a
"very significant" impact on Iowa's agriculture, Northey said.
"We're just starting to hear some of those things, just starting to
figure out. Those change markets, and in many cases those losses, if
they are by flooding, in some cases those are not covered by insurance,"
he said.
On Thursday, President Bush toured the flood-ravaged state by air.
"Obviously, to the extent that we can help immediately we want to help,
and then plan for recovery," the president said at Kirkwood Community
College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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"You're exhausted, I understand that," he said. "The good news is the
people in Iowa are tough-minded people. You'll come back better," he said.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who toured the area with Bush, said, "We will
rebuild this state and this city, and it will be even better and even
stronger as a result."