Area flooding forces farmers to wait

Pumpkin Seeds Without Shell Fields around Columbus looked more conducive to growing rice than corn following last week's storm. "With more than 4 inches of rain in the last week" 1.85 inches alone from Thursday's storm, according to Loup Power District" all area farmers say they can do is take the wait-and-see approach and assess the damage once the fields dry out. Farmers have reported hundreds of acres damaged due to flooding, washout and hail damage. During a time of premium corn and soybean prices, Bill Wemhoff, a farmer of 35 years, said approximately 800 acres of crop was severely damaged due to the rain, hail and flooding of Shell Creek. "We got quite a bit that's washed out, quite a bit drowned out and some that was hailed out," Wemhoff said. "I have lived along Shell Creek my whole life. It kicks you in the teeth every once in a while. This kind of goes with the territory. It is just the way it is." Now, he said all he can do is attempt to salvage what he can and move forward. "We will replant when we can. It all depends on the weather," he said, but "mother nature hasn't given us too many breaks this spring." Even though he has experienced similar disasters before, noting storms from 1990, he said it is nothing a farmer can predict, control or brush off. "You never seem to get use to it. (Sometimes) it takes a few years to recover from (and) it's a crap shoot every year. That's farming," Wemhoff said. "No one said it was going to be a slam dunk. All you can do is go out and do the best you can with the situation." Platte County Extension Ag Educator Allan Vyhnalek said he hoped the ground would dry out sometime this week, but found it unlikely with showers forecasted throughout the week. "I feel bad for these guys. When it dries out, whenever it is ... farmers will have several tasks to do all at once," Vyhnalek said. The significant levels of precipitation will cause problems for both farmers who had planted their fields and those who have yet to, he said.