Farmers near Onawa wait to plant
Storm that brought tornado dumped fresh rain on farmland
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, June 14, 2008
ONAWA, Iowa -- Mike Ryan sipped a beer at the B&B Roundup on the Widest Main Street in America Thursday night. He lit a cigarette and promised he wasn't blowing smoke.
"I've farmed for 32 years and this is as bad as I've seen it," said Ryan, 49.
The Blencoe, Iowa, farmer finds himself in the same boat as hundreds of Siouxland farmers -- waiting for his land to dry. He's running out of time.
"To get federal crop insurance, you have to have your beans planted by June 15," said Ryan. "That's Sunday."
Looking across fields from Storm Lake to Schaller and Mapleton to Onawa, it appears there will be thousands of bags of soybean seeds left unopened in 2008. The market, according to Ryan, showed the stress by climbing "limit up" Wednesday.
That's how grain markets work. Prices surge on news that yields this fall may shrink. Less supply means more demand.
Ryan hates celebrating higher prices as it generally means a farmer elsewhere will struggle to harvest a crop. It could be a grower in Illinois, Missouri or Minnesota.
This year, it's him. He still has 200 acres of beans to plant. Other farmers have more than 1,000.
Even if Ryan could plant his soybeans by Sunday (which won't happen), he'd likely only earn 70 percent of his average yield, the level at which he insures. (Others insure higher or lower.) Seed and fuel prices, along with the increasing cost of groceries, had Ryan...well...crying in his beer.
"It is depressing," he said with laugh. "Why do you think I drink?"
Ryan and his farming brethren realize things could be worse. The storms that again dumped much unneeded rain Wednesday night in Monona County also caused the deaths of four Boy Scouts. Little Sioux Scout Camp is seven miles from Ryan's farm, as the crow flies.
"It just missed us," he said. "I could see the wall cloud and I saw a couple of funnels."
The storm passed, followed soon by a train of flashing lights used by emergency responders who converged on this otherwise picturesque portion of the Loess Hills.
Ryan said he nearly began weeping while looking at TV images of blood donors lining up in Sioux City immediately after the storm.
"We are good people," he said as he put his glass of beer on the bar.
He took off his John Deere hat, scratched his head and floated ideas like planting wheat or oats in his saturated ground. He'd throw tomato seeds in the soggy soil if it came to that.
"I'm getting taxed on the ground, so I may as well get something out of it," he said.
Soybeans stalled
The Iowa crop report this week showed 86 percent of the state's soybean crop has been planted, down 11 percent from last year. Generally, 97 percent of the beans are in the ground by this time.
"I've farmed for 32 years and this is as bad as I've seen it," said Ryan, 49.
The Blencoe, Iowa, farmer finds himself in the same boat as hundreds of Siouxland farmers -- waiting for his land to dry. He's running out of time.
"To get federal crop insurance, you have to have your beans planted by June 15," said Ryan. "That's Sunday."
Looking across fields from Storm Lake to Schaller and Mapleton to Onawa, it appears there will be thousands of bags of soybean seeds left unopened in 2008. The market, according to Ryan, showed the stress by climbing "limit up" Wednesday.
That's how grain markets work. Prices surge on news that yields this fall may shrink. Less supply means more demand.
Ryan hates celebrating higher prices as it generally means a farmer elsewhere will struggle to harvest a crop. It could be a grower in Illinois, Missouri or Minnesota.
This year, it's him. He still has 200 acres of beans to plant. Other farmers have more than 1,000.
Even if Ryan could plant his soybeans by Sunday (which won't happen), he'd likely only earn 70 percent of his average yield, the level at which he insures. (Others insure higher or lower.) Seed and fuel prices, along with the increasing cost of groceries, had Ryan...well...crying in his beer.
"It is depressing," he said with laugh. "Why do you think I drink?"
Ryan and his farming brethren realize things could be worse. The storms that again dumped much unneeded rain Wednesday night in Monona County also caused the deaths of four Boy Scouts. Little Sioux Scout Camp is seven miles from Ryan's farm, as the crow flies.
"It just missed us," he said. "I could see the wall cloud and I saw a couple of funnels."
The storm passed, followed soon by a train of flashing lights used by emergency responders who converged on this otherwise picturesque portion of the Loess Hills.
Ryan said he nearly began weeping while looking at TV images of blood donors lining up in Sioux City immediately after the storm.
"We are good people," he said as he put his glass of beer on the bar.
He took off his John Deere hat, scratched his head and floated ideas like planting wheat or oats in his saturated ground. He'd throw tomato seeds in the soggy soil if it came to that.
"I'm getting taxed on the ground, so I may as well get something out of it," he said.
Soybeans stalled
The Iowa crop report this week showed 86 percent of the state's soybean crop has been planted, down 11 percent from last year. Generally, 97 percent of the beans are in the ground by this time.
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