DARLINGTON - Large hail and tornado-strength winds from the recent storms hurt more than crop yield in Lafayette County, farmers and members of the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department told Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Rod Nilsestuen, Thursday.
At the his farm on Pleasant View Road west of Darlington, Mark Riechers told Nilsestuen, while crop farmers lost a marketable crop, farmers in the livestock business have lost feed, as well as bedding, all of which will have to be replaced.
Custom harvesters, most of which are regional, will most likely be hurt also, in addition, other ag-dependent businesses will also suffer, he added.
"Crops are rotting, and livestock, whether dairy or beef, need to be fed," Riechers said.
Nilsestuen, accompanied by state Reps. Steve Hilgenberg, D-Dodgeville, and Phil Garthwaite, D-Dickeyville, toured three farms between Cuba City and Darlington, which received heavy damage from the severe storms last week.
"We want to make sure the state government is plugged in, after what southern Wisconsin went through a year ago with rain," Nilsestuen said. "We'd never seen the kind of flooding they had. Up until a few days ago, we were thinking we had some good crops coming. In this state you don't see this kind of damage and particularly this kind of breadth. We're going to try to do all we can."
The Riechers maintain 800 acres of farmland; of that only 170 acres still have viable corn and bean crops.
The crops were "real good, although a couple weeks behind because of the cool weather," said Riechers' son, Joe.
The father-son team carries crop insurance.
But besides the crop and cattle feed loss, Mark Riechers said the six inches of rain has saturated the soil.
"We had run-off Friday and on Monday, more run-off because the soil is saturated. It hurts the harvest and damages the soil," he said.
Then winds hit 87 miles per hour, as recorded by the metering station located on his farm.
"The economy fell off the table and now you get a disaster on top of it," Nilsestuen said, to Riechers and his neighbors.
Dairy farmers with no crop insurance are now "really, really hurting," Reichling added. "We are experiencing despair among the farm community."
"The collateral effect - we're seeing that right now, not only financial but family stress," Nilsestuen said. Recalling the stress and family break-ups during the 1980 farm crisis, Nilsestuen added, "We're teetering on the edge of that now again."
"Lafayette County relies on agriculture more than any other county in Wisconsin," Sheriff Scott Pedley said.
The most severely damaged crops he's seen are near County A and Summit Road, east of Shullsburg. In one field, 1,000 acres of corn, once 12-feet tall, now stands ripped and shredded, and broken down to about four feet. Hail punctured the husks of young corn ears, which are now turning brown.
Bean fields appear as if they have been harvested and cut.
One insurance company has 57 vehicle claims in Shullsburg and 330 vehicle claims in Platteville, he said.
"We have five buildings down," besides damaged houses and sheds, he added.
"This kind of devastation to the local economy will have a terrible ripple effects," Pedley said.
According to Mike Klein, a representative from Monsanto Company, 60 percent of the crops in the state's most productive area have been hurt, "the scope of which has never been seen before."
At its tassel stage of development, a 70 percent loss of foliage on corn is "virtually a 100 percent loss," he said.
Close inspection reveals 20 to 25 hailstones hits per plant. "That opens the date to disease potential," he said.
Klein has reported to his company 100,000 acres in Grant and Lafayette counties are impacted by the storm, and expects that number too increase.
Beans are a "wild card," he said. "You can bang the yield out, but they are more forgiving." Klein said the beans could be cut and grow back, but would be bushier and difficult to harvest.
David Hammer from of the Lafayette County Farm Service Agency said some farmers didn't see much damage at first.
"As days go on, it's starting to show up," he said.
Farmers are encouraged to contact their local farm service agents or the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at 800-942-2474.
Monsanto is advising farmers to see their local seed advisors or dealerships about potential assistance. Klein said farmers could receive up to a $107 refund per bag, if their crop is zeroed out, and they are willing to use Roundup over the top of the lost crop.
At the his farm on Pleasant View Road west of Darlington, Mark Riechers told Nilsestuen, while crop farmers lost a marketable crop, farmers in the livestock business have lost feed, as well as bedding, all of which will have to be replaced.
Custom harvesters, most of which are regional, will most likely be hurt also, in addition, other ag-dependent businesses will also suffer, he added.
"Crops are rotting, and livestock, whether dairy or beef, need to be fed," Riechers said.
Nilsestuen, accompanied by state Reps. Steve Hilgenberg, D-Dodgeville, and Phil Garthwaite, D-Dickeyville, toured three farms between Cuba City and Darlington, which received heavy damage from the severe storms last week.
"We want to make sure the state government is plugged in, after what southern Wisconsin went through a year ago with rain," Nilsestuen said. "We'd never seen the kind of flooding they had. Up until a few days ago, we were thinking we had some good crops coming. In this state you don't see this kind of damage and particularly this kind of breadth. We're going to try to do all we can."
The Riechers maintain 800 acres of farmland; of that only 170 acres still have viable corn and bean crops.
The crops were "real good, although a couple weeks behind because of the cool weather," said Riechers' son, Joe.
The father-son team carries crop insurance.
But besides the crop and cattle feed loss, Mark Riechers said the six inches of rain has saturated the soil.
"We had run-off Friday and on Monday, more run-off because the soil is saturated. It hurts the harvest and damages the soil," he said.
Then winds hit 87 miles per hour, as recorded by the metering station located on his farm.
"The economy fell off the table and now you get a disaster on top of it," Nilsestuen said, to Riechers and his neighbors.
Dairy farmers with no crop insurance are now "really, really hurting," Reichling added. "We are experiencing despair among the farm community."
"The collateral effect - we're seeing that right now, not only financial but family stress," Nilsestuen said. Recalling the stress and family break-ups during the 1980 farm crisis, Nilsestuen added, "We're teetering on the edge of that now again."
"Lafayette County relies on agriculture more than any other county in Wisconsin," Sheriff Scott Pedley said.
The most severely damaged crops he's seen are near County A and Summit Road, east of Shullsburg. In one field, 1,000 acres of corn, once 12-feet tall, now stands ripped and shredded, and broken down to about four feet. Hail punctured the husks of young corn ears, which are now turning brown.
Bean fields appear as if they have been harvested and cut.
One insurance company has 57 vehicle claims in Shullsburg and 330 vehicle claims in Platteville, he said.
"We have five buildings down," besides damaged houses and sheds, he added.
"This kind of devastation to the local economy will have a terrible ripple effects," Pedley said.
According to Mike Klein, a representative from Monsanto Company, 60 percent of the crops in the state's most productive area have been hurt, "the scope of which has never been seen before."
At its tassel stage of development, a 70 percent loss of foliage on corn is "virtually a 100 percent loss," he said.
Close inspection reveals 20 to 25 hailstones hits per plant. "That opens the date to disease potential," he said.
Klein has reported to his company 100,000 acres in Grant and Lafayette counties are impacted by the storm, and expects that number too increase.
Beans are a "wild card," he said. "You can bang the yield out, but they are more forgiving." Klein said the beans could be cut and grow back, but would be bushier and difficult to harvest.
David Hammer from of the Lafayette County Farm Service Agency said some farmers didn't see much damage at first.
"As days go on, it's starting to show up," he said.
Farmers are encouraged to contact their local farm service agents or the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at 800-942-2474.
Monsanto is advising farmers to see their local seed advisors or dealerships about potential assistance. Klein said farmers could receive up to a $107 refund per bag, if their crop is zeroed out, and they are willing to use Roundup over the top of the lost crop.