Iowa's farmers count the cost of a rare storm – photo essay | Iowa

Alvin Pavlis and his wife, Donna, have farmed their land for nearly 50 years. Photograph: Jordan Gale/The Guardian

The hurricane-like storm, called a derecho, tore through Iowa this month, damaging buildings and threatening the harvest

By Jordan Gale

A rare inland storm known as a derecho passed through the state of Iowa on 10 August, leaving widespread damage in its wake.

Winds reaching 140 miles an hour demolished many parts of the city of Cedar Rapids. But it’s the state’s farmland where the long-term impact is expected to be felt most.

Nearly 35% of the state’s corn has been destroyed by the storm’s straight-line winds. As farmers continue to assess the damages more than two weeks later, it is becoming clearer that the storm has left a giant hole in 2020’s harvest season.

A destroyed living room in a Cedar Rapids apartment complex.

Kids remove storm debris from a park basketball court in Newhall, Iowa.

Robert Miller, 88, and his son Bruce have a farm in Norway, Iowa, which was badly hit by the derecho.

Robert has been without power for 12 days. He believes he has lost the majority of this year’s corn crops but still wants to try and harvest what he can. “We’ll be lucky to get out 25% of the fields. We won’t know until we get in there, though,” he said.

“I’m no scientist, but global warming is here. This is it,” said Bruce.

Robert Miller, who is 88 years old has been farming this land for nearly 40 years. Last week a derecho storm destroyed the majority of his corn crop. He has been without electricity for twelve days and says he’ll be lucky if he can salvage even 25 percent of his corn fields. Wednesday, August 19th, Newton, Iowa. Photo by Jordan Gale — Robert Miller, 88, has been farming this land for nearly 40 years.

Miller and his son Bruce clear bricks from a damaged silo.

Left: Bruce Miller farms with his father in Norway, Iowa. The derecho has destroyed the majority of their corn crop and their grain bin. Right: A destroyed silo in Atkins, Iowa on Thursday 20 August that reads: 'Iowa has it all.'

Left: Bruce Miller farms with his father in Norway, Iowa. Right: A destroyed silo in Atkins, Iowa, on Thursday 20 August that reads ‘Iowa has it all’.

A semi truck drives past a destroyed silo in Atkins, Iowa.

A dead corn field lies behind the fence of a local cemetery in Atkins, Iowa.

Robert’s other son, Van, drove up from Kansas City earlier in the week to help with the clean up process. Because the farm’s silo is so badly damaged, they have no choice but tear it down.

Millions of dollars in damage had been dealt not just to the crops, but to trailers and silos for grain transportation and storage. With no way of storing or transporting the remaining crops, this year’s yields could be even lower than what was left after the storm.

Alvin Pavlis has been farming his land for nearly 50 years. He has lost four metal grain bins, two garages and the majority of his corn crops. “I don’t know where to start or what to do,” he said. “The pickup is gone. I have no way to haul anything or to tear down anything … I don’t want to live through this again.”