Heavy rain has continued to fall in already flooded areas of northwest Iowa this week. Steve Abma farms near Rock Valley and says including Monday’s rain he’s received over 11 inches of precipitation in the last week. As a result, he and several farmers in his area have lost entire fields to flooding.
He says they’ve had flooding at the farm before, but this is one of the worst events he’s seen in his lifetime.
Beyond the fields that are under water and a total loss, Abma is expecting yield reductions in the other fields that are saturated due to denitrification in the corn. He’s also concerned about increased disease pressure in the soybeans and says replanting will not be an option.
Abma says crop insurance will provide some assistance, but the amount will depend on the level of coverage each farmer purchased and where the fall crop insurance price ends up at.
