How are the Iowa members?

[loveRedcows]

Has anyone heard from road warrior or any of our other Iowa folks?  The floods are so terrible there I wonder how everyone is doing.  We're sitting here in country so dry & parched it's hard to comprehend the problems they're dealing with in the midwest.  I just hope they're all on dry ground.

 

[TMJ Show Cattle]

We are not in Iowa, but only a few miles from the eastern border.  The news says the levees have broke downstream (the Mississippi).  Last Thursday we got 5 inches of rain in 1 hour....out town was closed down, all the roads going out were closed from mudlsides and water over the roads.  Last I heard, there was a 150 head of sheep that had drown.  They found 4 left on an island.  The guys will be starting second crop soon, but crop damage here and in Iowa is terrible.  Not only the % of corn that needs to be replanted, and now is getting too late, but now they are estimating an additional $25-$30/ acre in nitrogen again.  Every one that I have talked to is very optimistic, we NEED to be.  There isn't much else we can do!

 

[minimoo38]

we are fabulous. our lake is quickly disappearing, and the lots are finally drying out. but there is a lot more rain forecasted within the nex week.    :

 

[Joe Boy]

Our prayers are for all those suffering such great losses.

5 towns on each side of our farm have been hit with tornadoes and large hail in the last week.  The damage is great.  No lives were lost here in north Texas.

 

[Show Heifer]

It hasn't rained in 5 days, which is a record I think! Corn around here is about 75% planted and now about 50% of that is under water or too wet. Beans that are planted are stuggling. New seeding alfalfa is too wet and not growing well due to cool weather.  Pastures are growing so all is not bad.

A trip south for me included a 40 mile detour due to bridges/towns/highways being closed because of water. Our local towns were saved from huge loss due to heroic efforts of volunteers sandbagging and keeping 24 hour watch. Many lost houses, etc, even with sandbags

Major Fact: This 100 and 500 year flood  (that happened in 1993 also) is due in fact by the Army Core of Engineers. Rathbun Lake and Sailorville lake were created and sold to the Congress as FLOOD CONTROL lakes, NOT recreation lakes. They were designed to be very shallow during times of normal or little rainfall, and so when it did rain in large amounts or for extended periods of time, they could hold it all and then let it flow out in a controlled matter. Well, after the lakes were approved by Congress, they were then created for recreation and developement. Rich people build fancy homes, hotels etc and of course had boats.  They had beaches in their back yards.  The rich folks obviously have someone in their back pockets, as now the lake is kept full for the benefit of those people and so when it rains, they have no reserve room. And God forbid we let those rich people deal with the flood waters.  The river I live close to, was not even close to bank full in the month of May or late April, when we were getting nailed daily with huge rains.  Somehow, we need to convince Congress and the "uppper powers" that this flooding is MAN MADE.  Everyone in my area laugh that we have all aged so well for being 500 years old!!!
Mother Nature herself wasn't this bad before "man" decided he knew better.

 

[Dusty]

It hasn't rained in 5 days, which is a record I think! Corn around here is about 75% planted and now about 50% of that is under water or too wet. Beans that are planted are stuggling. New seeding alfalfa is too wet and not growing well due to cool weather.  Pastures are growing so all is not bad.

A trip south for me included a 40 mile detour due to bridges/towns/highways being closed because of water. Our local towns were saved from huge loss due to heroic efforts of volunteers sandbagging and keeping 24 hour watch. Many lost houses, etc, even with sandbags

Major Fact: This 100 and 500 year flood  (that happened in 1993 also) is due in fact by the Army Core of Engineers. Rathbun Lake and Sailorville lake were created and sold to the Congress as FLOOD CONTROL lakes, NOT recreation lakes. They were designed to be very shallow during times of normal or little rainfall, and so when it did rain in large amounts or for extended periods of time, they could hold it all and then let it flow out in a controlled matter. Well, after the lakes were approved by Congress, they were then created for recreation and developement. Rich people build fancy homes, hotels etc and of course had boats.  They had beaches in their back yards.  The rich folks obviously have someone in their back pockets, as now the lake is kept full for the benefit of those people and so when it rains, they have no reserve room. And God forbid we let those rich people deal with the flood waters.  The river I live close to, was not even close to bank full in the month of May or late April, when we were getting nailed daily with huge rains.  Somehow, we need to convince Congress and the "uppper powers" that this flooding is MAN MADE.   Everyone in my area laugh that we have all aged so well for being 500 years old!!!
Mother Nature herself wasn't this bad before "man" decided he knew better.

I haven't been to Sailorville, but I know for a fact that there are no McMansions, Hotels etc on the shores or Rathbun lake.  The reason we have a 100 year flood every 15-20 years is because our modern agricultural practices.  Before the white man settled and plowed the land the land had a much greater water holding capacity.  The land held more water and released it more slowly.  Now, we have tilled everything, built drainage ditches and put in tile lines.  So when it rains more than the current holding capacity, the water has to go somewhere.  We have made it so that the excess water gets off the ground as quickly as possible.  Thats why we have floods like this.  The Corps of Engineer lakes have little to do with it.  It's a downside of row crop production in areas that used to be prairie and swamps.

 

[cattlejunky]

Does anyone know the status of Charlois jr nationals.  It was suppose to be in Des  Moines or somewhere in Iowa around June 29.

 

[SWMO]

Everything is good at this point for the Charolais jr Nationals at least I haven't heard any different.  The Fairgrounds as I understand it is on high ground. 

We'll be there June 22 thru June 27.  I personally wish it were a couple of days shorter but it is hard to do everything we do without all the days.  Just gets expensive being in a motel for that many nights.

 

[cattlejunky]

I hope everything goes well for you.  I just wondered what would happen since I have seen that area on the news a lot.

 

[Show Heifer]

hate to tell ya this dusty, but your wrong. Rathbun is used for recreation, but it was "sold" to the Iowa public and congress as a flood control lake. THAT is fact. You obviously haven't been to the boat docks or seen the plans for the multi million dollar golf course, event center, hotel, resturant, and lodge that is due to be built within a year??? I have. THAT is a fact. I can show you maps of the water shed area and where ag practices vs. forest/pasture and where the sedement is the most (hint: NOT ag land!!). THAT is fact.  BEFORE all the rain, rathbun lake was bank full. THAT is fact. BEFORE all the rain, the Des Moines river was NOT bank full. THAT is fact. BEFORE Memorial Day, rathbun lake was bank full. THAT is fact. When it started raining, the lake, which was designed to store all the water, had no holding capacity. THAT is fact. So in order to keep flooding from going north, they opened the gates and flooded the south. THAT is fact.
I can tell you what the Corps tell us (off the record of course) and that is "We have to keep the vacationers, tourist, and society happy and they want a full lake."  They (Corps) could give a rats butt about agriculture or the little towns that it effects. The problem is, THIS flood effected MAJOR towns and now the Corps are pointing fingers saying "Look at the weather, blah, blah, blah. It isn't our fault, blah, blah, blah. ETC, ETC"......

Modern ag practices have actually DECREASED flooding and erosion. Trust me, I see the studies, percentages, all the time.
We have progressed greatly  since the dust bowl age....but, since ag takes the blame for everything else, hell, why don't we blame high oil prices, the shuttle blowing up, the decrease of coral beds in the ocean, and don't forget the disease epidimics in south america. Yep, blame it on agriculture....I'm sure it is OUR fault. Right dusty?

 

[doubled]

We are fine here too, I live appx 2 miles from town but due to the Iowa river had to drive 54 every day just one way just to get to work, did this for 4 days straight, we ran 3 sump pumps
in one pit each day continiously for about 6 days, lost 1/2 of our hay and my brother in law still has 150 acres he cant get close too, but considering what some of the other people here
in Iowa have been through we are just ducky, literally, hehe

I feel so sorry for all the folks this year in the US mamma nature has really raised H---- with alot of people, we must all count our blessings.

 

[Dusty]

[No message]

 

[Show Heifer]

You're right, I did completely miss your point on ag ground....sorry.

And I don't own a big screen TV, Nike shoes, have beer in my fridge, nor do I own a marker and a cardboard box, so I guess I won't fit in with New Orleans crowd!!!

But, it is the general opinion, that the Corps are not doing their job in reducing the flood threat. Even our "wonderful" governor pretty much agreed, but he also said that "we must keep everyone happy, from the boaters to the normal citizen".