Farm News, IA
03-07-07
Working together in a storm
By Kristin Danley-Greiner, Farm News staff
Bill Williams and Colby the dog inspect the snow that covered nearly the entire
north end of a hog barn northwest of Lake City belonging to Williams' son, Scott.
Williams and local excavator Randy Alexander spent more than a day digging out
the massive snowdrift.
As if the first winter storm wasn’t bad enough, the second storm that evolved into
a blizzard worsened problems for many Iowa producers.
When the first storm struck the state and knocked out power, producers
frantically contacted the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
(IDALS) seeking a solution. They had lost power and were unable to water their
livestock and keep heated barns warm. The situation surfaced at a bad time,
when many farmers were calving. Five or six counties reported that 80 percent to
90 percent of their rural areas were without electricity and there were losses of
calves.
Caleb Hunter, a spokesperson for IDALS, said the department teamed up with
Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices to help out livestock producers. The officials
launched a database accessible online that listed what businesses and fellow
producers had generators available for rent, loan or purchase. Producers also
could contact the state office.
“As soon as the storm hit, we heard of power outages and calls started to arrive
from folks looking for generators. Conversations we had with the electric
companies informed us of the likelihood for extended power outages especially in
rural Iowa. The department of agriculture created the generator database
Monday to help match up those with generators with those with needs. The most
significant need we heard from were in east central Iowa,î” Hunter said.
Hunter confirmed that the demand for generators was strong, but “many of the
commercial outlets did good work” reallocating resources to the most affected
areas.î
“Of course, many farmers had their own generators, but we were pleased to be
able to help many find generators in their time of need,”î he said. “The
department of agriculture set up the database to do whatever we could do to try
to assist livestock producers who were suffering long term power outages. Many
producers can easily handle power outages for 24 hours or so, but power
companies were telling us in some rural areas outages would last up to seven to
10 days.
“Producers without generators don’t have those kind of reserves available. That
need prompted us to work to connect producers in need of generators with
individuals or commercial outlets with generators available,Ӕ Hunter continued.
“There were over 250,000 customers who lost power from the first storm over the
weekend. I think it’s safe to say tens of thousands of producers originally lost
power and several thousand were still without power (once repairs began).î”
Thankfully, loss of livestock was limited. Hunter said a few dairy barns and hog
confinements collapsed under the heavy snow load in northeastern Iowa, but
animal loss in those cases were less than a dozen each. An elevator also lost
electricity and couldn’t grind corn for livestock feed, so it instead delivered whole
corn kernels to its customers.
“The worst case of verified loss was the death of 250 goats in Bremer County.
We may well hear of more losses as folks dig out. The second storm produced
more snow, though thankfully less ice and less electrical power loss,î” Hunter
said.
After the first storm hit, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey encouraged
livestock producers to prepare for anticipated power outages that could last for
several days on top of the second storm that was then brewing.
“We saw this last storm produce extended power outages and we are
encouraging producers in the strongest possible terms to build feed and water
reserves for this coming severe weather,î” Northey said last week.
Livestock producers were to prepare reserves of feed and water for a minimum
of three to four days, Northey said. Gov. Chet Culver instructed local fire
departments to make themselves available to fill livestock water tanks and that
producers should take water tanks to their local fire departments to be filled.
Beth Doran, an Iowa State University (ISU) Extension livestock specialist
based out of Orange City, said that her area saw zero visibility, sizable drifts
and upwards of a foot of snow. Power outages occurred in several areas within
her coverage area, but most farmers prevailed.
“Most are used to winter weather. Quite a few have portable generators or backup generators for buildings,î” she said.
Rural Runnells farmer Bob Heemsbergen placed his tractor-powered generator
on the IDALS database on a loan basis. Heemsbergen said he decided to offer
his generator to others because he’s a Christian “and that’s what I believe we
should do.î
“We should help others, and I decided that’s what I should do. I’m not in this life
for immediate benefits and if I’ve got it to loan out, then I’ll help somebody,î” he
said.
Heemsbergen said he acquired his generator when he purchased his farm and
lost power for the first time there.
“My wife made it clear that she wasn’t going to have that happen again,”î
Heemsbergen said.
Hunter said that everyone’s generosity during the storms was what really stood
out for him.
“The way farmers and neighbors helped each other out is, in my opinion, the
biggest story coming out of this storm. Rural Iowans worked together to address
the needs of their friends and neighbors. From hauling water for livestock to
loaning generators to many other various acts of service, Iowans did a
phenomenal job of taking care of each other,î” he said. “Their work was nothing
short of inspiring. As of March 2, the department of agriculture staff networked
well over 500 people through the Web site and incoming phone calls.î”