June 23, 2008
By Matthew Wilde, Courier Staff Writer
Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
CEDAR FALLS --- Record prices make the smell of rotting grain even more nauseating.
About two weeks ago, an estimated 650,000 bushels of corn and 13,000 bushels of soybeans was high and dry in bins at the East Central Iowa Cooperative in Cedar Falls on Lincoln Street. Capacity is 1.2 million bushels.
Photo: Floodwaters rise in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Tuesday, June 10, 2008. (Matthew Wilde / Courier Photo Editor)
Up to 5 feet of water surrounded the elevator on June 10 and stayed for several days. Bins aren't designed to be flood-proof, and all sustained damage. Water-logged corn swelled to the point that the tin sides of one 95,000-bushel bin burst, spilling its valuable contents onto the ground. Thousands of bushels continue to decompose in muddy neighboring yards and Gateway Park.
"We had corn 5 feet deep, 125 yards long and 50 yards wide. And the top was completely flat due to the current," said Brad Stewart, East Central grain merchandiser, describing the spill. "It's a disaster."
On Tuesday, 30 semis and a bevy of skid loaders and grain vacuums started to save as much grain as possible.
The cleanup will continue for weeks, officials said, before reconstruction can begin.
Stewart said the vast majority of grain will be OK, but thousands of bushels are lost.
With corn nearing a record $8 per bushel and soybeans flirting with $16 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the loss is staggering. The elevator has insurance, Stewart said, but what and how much will be covered is undetermined.
However, Stewart said farmers who stored grain at the facility shouldn't worry about losses or the financial security of the cooperative. ECIC also has elevators in Hudson, Jesup and La Porte City --- none sustained damage --- with more than enough grain to cover losses.
"A lot of our customers are nervous," Stewart said, "Should (members) worry? No."
The elevator will remain closed for the near future. Contractors are shoring up foundations around bins that were eroded during the flood. One 40,000-bushuel bin is severely leaning as a result.
REGIONAL DAMAGE
East Central Iowa Co-ops isn't alone when it comes to weather-related damage. The spring hasn't been kind to elevators and farmers throughout Northeast Iowa.
A deadly tornado wiped out the Sinclair Elevator just west of Parkersburg and dozens of farms in its 40-mile-plus path before lifting in Buchanan County. Flooding damaged several other elevators and feed mills, not to mention old-crop grain stored on farms.
The scene is familiar throughout the region: Elevator and salvage workers and farmers desperately trying to save what they can.
"We'll do whatever we can to keep it (grain) in condition. Run it through a dryer or whatever it takes," Stewart said.
For farmers and businesses dealing with soggy grain, time isn't on their side.
Howard Shepherd, program director for the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative based at Iowa State University in Ames, said grain needs to be removed from wet bins as soon as possible. Corn needs to be dried to be stored again or processed and soybeans need to be used, he said.
Otherwise, mold and seed germination can start within a day under the right conditions --- hot and humid weather --- and spread in a matter of days or weeks.
"The longer it sits, the worse it will be," Shepherd said.
In some cases, water surrounded bins for a week or more.
Shepherd suggests farmers check with elevators prior to hauling in grain affected by flooding. Some won't accept it.
However, there are grain salvage companies and livestock feeders that will buy damaged grain at a significantly reduced price. Grain that isn't good enough to be processed as is, can be blended with non-damaged grain at low amounts or fed to cattle.
One eastern Iowa cattle feeder, who wished not to be identified, was scooping up corn off of Lincoln Street on Tuesday for use at his 4,000-head feedlot. If the corn is contaminated, which would endanger animals or meat quality, he said it won't be used."
"I'll put it in a pit silo, pack it and make silage. It's just water soaked," the feedlot operator said. "Actually, it makes it more palatable."
Ron Bader, who farms near La Porte City, is in danger of losing a good portion of 9,500 bushels of corn. Flood waters seeped into a 10,000-bushel bin he owns just east of town and corn swelled to the point the clean out door burst.
He said at least 2,500 bushels poured out, a few more thousand still inside got soaked in 4 feet of water and the rest is still dry --- he hopes.
As of Tuesday, Bader said he wasn't sure if he was going to try save the corn himself or sell it to a salvage company.
Cash corn at ECIC closed at $6.57 on Thursday at ECIC in La Porte City. Salvage companies were offering about $1.75 per bushel, he said.
Prior to the flood, the corn was worth about $62,500. And with corn prices going up due to the poor growing season, Bader hoped to cash in later this summer.
"It kind of puts a pit in your stomach, but it's one of those things," Bader said. "I'm not the only one. There's a lot of damage."
Bader said his farm insurance policy didn't cover the bin.
Beaver Creek was not kind to the Farmers Cooperative in New Hartford. General Manager Dick Hatterman said grain loss alone would be $200,000-$500,000. That's not counting dry fertilizer that was washed away, and repair to motors and other equipment.
The cooperative didn't have flood insurance.
"Structural damage was minimal compared to inventory. Anytime you sustain this much loss, it's not a good thing," Hatterman said. The financial health of the cooperative is being reviewed. The co-op is open. Grain is being shipped out by rail and truck.
In Greene, the Farmer's Cooperative Co. sustained some damage when Shell Rock River left its banks. Employee Remington Bolt said the grain pit --- were trucks and wagons empty corn and soybeans --- cracked after the ground around it washed away. The grains bins, though, escaped unscathed.
The facility is expected to reopen this week, he said. Grain delivery contracts were extended while the facility was closed for producers to avoid penalties.
Attempts to reach elevator officials in Clarksville, also hit hard by flooding, were unsuccessful.
SINCLAIR UPDATE
A new Sinclair Elevator east of Parkersburg is taking shape.
The wood frame of a new fertilizer and chemical warehouse and office is up. How much more will be rebuilt, owner Roger Baker says, is still up in the air.
The EF5 tornado on May 25 that leveled one-third of Parkersburg, destroyed the large grain and livestock feed facility, as well. Grain bins capable of holding 2.3 million bushels were ripped apart, along with the mill that churned out hundreds of thousands of tons of hog feed a year.
Officials estimate it will cost about $8 million to $9 million to rebuild the facility and another $500,000 to $700,000 to clean up the property. However, insurance will come up about $2 million short.
An initial insurance payment allowed the warehouse project to begin, but the final settlement and outside financial help will determine if the facility can be fully rebuilt.
"Pending insurance and promised government help, we're kind of in limbo right now," Baker said. "We hope to know more in a few weeks."
Demolition crews are dismantling the feed mill and grain is still being hauled from damaged bins. New grinding equipment and storage structures are ordered, and if finances allow, Sinclair officials hope to be selling hog feed in two months and be fully operational by fall.
"Cleanup is still going on; it's a lengthy disaster," manager Brent Kannegieter said. "Hauling 1.5 million bushels takes awhile."
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/06/23/news/metro/10415710.txt
Weather, as we have warned for the past 6 months, has taken a terrible toll on crops. Floods, hail and tornadoes have hammered America's breadbasket. Drought is killing California's huge agriculture belt and hitting crops in the Southeast this year. Decimated bee populations have added to crop decline. Grain reserves are non-existent. Wheat that hasn't drowned or fried is being attacked by rust and head scab. Mysterious circumstances surround grain elevators burning and collapsing and escalate food costs. Other are flooded where grain is rotting.