Wheat Damage, Livestock Losses Mount After Wild Weekend Weather
Farmers from the mid-South to the Great Plains are counting their losses and making plans to replant after a tumultuous storm brought deadly flooding to double-digit snowfall.
Heavy, wet snow fell in western Kansas, leaving as much as 20 inches of snow in some spots, causing wheat stems to snap under the weight. In response, the market saw 20-cent gains, something wheat producers haven’t seen in months.
The annual Kansas Wheat Tour began Tuesday morning in Manhattan, Kan. where scouts will gauge the hard red winter wheat crop prior to harvest.
The Kansas Wheat Commission says a combination of below freezing temperatures for multiple nights and heavy snow is devastating to the wheat crop.
Snow turned into rain as the system moved eastward. Flooding in Missouri forced the closure of hundreds of roads including a 57-mile stretch of I-44 in the southern part of the state. Between Friday to Sunday, more than a foot of rain fell in some parts of the state that contributed to the flooding.
While there are no exact numbers of how many cattle were lost, Drovers reports cattle losses could reach into the thousands.
@jerodmcdaniel @ChipFlory Boise City, OK pic.twitter.com/I99NQmbRXQ — Bull-Dozer (@HedgerD) May 2, 2017
Watch AgDay for continuing coverage of the damage from the flooding in the Corn Belt. Check your local listings.
