As if the ongoing drought had not done enough to affect local crops, recent storms may have just made the issue even worse.
Saturday saw the north half of the KVOE listening area impacted by strong thunderstorms beginning in the mid-afternoon and lasting through the late evening to early morning hours. With the storms came large hail and damaging winds up to 65 mph in some areas leading to downed trees, power lines and reported crop damage across the area.
Lyon County Extension Ag Agent Brian Rees says he has heard some reports of impacts to local crops and says if they are as serious as he has heard that could be a major issue for local yields.
Rees says the damage to local crops could have significant financial impacts to local producers.
This comes just a week after Rees stated local crops, specifically corn and soybeans, were poised to miss their estimated yields by a wide margin due to ongoing drought and inconsistent rainfall over the past several months. Along with the reports to local fields, Rees says there have been reports of damage to equipment and storage containers following this weekend’s storm activity.
Rees says those impacts could be felt both in the present and well down the road.
If you have rain, wind and hail reports or photos of damaged crops, message those to the KVOE-Bluestem Farm and Ranch text line at 620-342-5863.
