Some Ag Damage Reported from Hurricane Beryl

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported Tuesday that “it will take time to assess all the agricultural damage in Texas and other states from Hurricane Beryl and its remnants, but at least some grain infrastructure was knocked out by winds that reached 95 miles per hour in some areas.”

“For farmers in areas such as Wharton County, Texas, south of Houston, the hurricane damaged crops as farmers were looking to rebound from years of drought. At least some producers were already harvesting crops such as sorghum and corn, or they were getting ready to harvest when the hurricane hit,” Clayton reported. “In Hillje, Texas, three grain bins for the United Agricultural Cooperative Inc. that had collective capacity to hold 1.1 million bushels were crushed by the winds. The bins were largely empty to prepare for harvest. That immediately wiped out about one-third of the cooperative’s storage at the Hillje facility.”

Growing Produce’s Paul Rusnak reported that, “according to Gary Joiner, Director of Communications for the Texas Farm Bureau, there are varying degrees of damage from Hurricane Beryl to local farms and ranches in the landfall areas. Rain totals ranged from 2 inches to more than 10 inches. Some localized areas picked up nearly 15 inches.”

“‘Grain sorghum in the impacted areas that was in the middle of harvest was damaged, but farmers feel a portion of the crop can be salvaged,’ Joiner says,” according to Rusnak. “‘Also impacted were corn fields that were just a few days from harvest and cotton that was anywhere from two weeks to a month away from being defoliated. A lot of the corn was blown. Thankfully, it appears most was not blown over all the way to the ground. Farmers are saying they think harvest equipment will still be able to get through the fields and harvest the corn.'”

The Texas Farm Bureau reported that corn and cotton farmer Bob Reed, who farms just southwest of Houston, told the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network that “there are varying degrees of damage. I didn’t see anything that wasn’t damaged. Some of it was damaged more than others. There’s some milo in the field that hadn’t been harvested yet, and it looks pretty sad.”

“Much of the corn crop, which is ready to be harvested, suffered under Beryl’s 70 mile per hour (mph) winds,” the Farm Bureau reported. “‘I didn’t see anything that was blown over all the way to the ground. All of it just leaned pretty bad, so I think the harvest equipment will still be able to get through once things dry and field conditions get better,’ he said.”

Beryl Remnants Brought Hail to Midwest

Clayton reported that “farmers in other states are now posting more social media posts about hail damage from storms from the weekend. Farmers stretching across Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and a few spots in Iowa and Minnesota showed swaths of areas hit, as well as their own crop damage.”

“Garrett Love (@Garrett_Love), a farmer in southwest Kansas, posted on social platform X, ‘Took a direct hit from 2 massive hailstorms last night here in Gray County on our farm and many others. Had some beautiful crops get wiped out along with a lot of other damage including several flipped sprinklers. Over 5 inches of rain …,'” Clayton reported. “Mike James (@cornandcalves), in southeastern Nebraska, also showed a damaged field from flood waters on the Missouri River bottoms. ‘The mighty Mo giveth and she taketh away. We don’t count our chickens before they hatch around here …'”

Took a direct hit from 2 massive hail storms last night here in Gray County on our farm and many others. Had some beautiful crops get wiped out along with a lot of other damage including several flipped sprinklers. Over 5” of rain…. #kswx pic.twitter.com/nRXqHcgdeu

— Garrett Love (@Garrett_Love) July 8, 2024