Record 140 MPH Winds Flatten Corn in Iowa

Record 140 MPH Winds Flatten Corn in Iowa

When you see devastation like this in Iowa farm country, you immediately think tornado.  This would not be the case for a straight line windstorm that passed through the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area on August 10, 2020.  Wind speeds set a new record for the straight line winds, called “Derecho.”

The only remaining grain bin of 30 right next to our base camp in Keystone, Iowa

When you see devastation like this in Iowa farm country, you immediately think tornado.  This would not be the case for a straight line windstorm that passed through the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area on August 10, 2020.  Wind speeds set a new record for the straight line winds, called “Derecho.”

Corn field flattened by the winds of up to 150 mph, the strength of an EF3 tornado

Up to 10 million acres of farmland was destroyed by the storm, both corn and soybeans. Looking at the results first hand, I would say that the corn fared much worse than the beans. Nearly 4 billion dollars has been requested by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, and the counties of Benton, Linn, Jones, Cedar and Clinton have been declared disaster areas. President Donald J Trump has visited the area and supports federal funding for the disaster.

Base Camp in Keystone, IA

The Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International has set up a base camp across the road from P&K John Deere dealer. For the first time since the wildfire disaster in Western Kansas a few years ago, the FCFI Motorcoach and fifth wheel command center are together in Keystone to house volunteers of disaster recovery.

Left to right: Mark Freed, Ralph Shallenberger, Darold Sindt, Dave Weber

Mark Freed and Dave Weber, Lexington, IL natives, delivered the motorcoach and Kubota to the base camp yesterday, August 25. Ralph Shallenberger remains on site, and will serve the volunteers with meals, and maintain the base camp. Darrel Sindt is the former owner of the John Deere dealership across the street. He is 80 years young and owns a collection of nearly 400 antique tractors.
FCFI Area Leader and chainsaw operator extrordinaire, Mike Weaver is on hand and inviting many more volunteers to help with the clean up. To volunteer, visit www.fcfi.org and find the “Volunteer” button, or call Executive Director Dennis Schlagel at 309-530-7004. If you can’t work in 90+ weather, but still want to participate, prayers are always needed and appreciated. Or you can donate to the cause here –> Donate. And thank you for your support!

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