Farmer finds more than floodwater in fields
By Jean Caspers-Simmet
simmet@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 08/19/2010 9:07 AM
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HOPKINTON, Iowa —When Joe and Lori Hoeger were warned about the Delhi dam breach, they moved their Holstein steers to the feedlot next to their barn. The water ultimately came up to the edge of the concrete lot. It didn't reach the barn, but it was within 30 feet of their house.
"That was close enough," Joe said.
The Maquoketa River hit its peak about 4 p.m. July 24.
Joe Hoeger showed Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and other conservation officials mud-caked corn stalks from his field last week. One corn ear, tightly wrapped in its muddy husk had tree leaves stuck to it.
Joe said 60 to 65 acres of his corn was completely covered with water. About 70 to 75 acres was flooded above the ear.
"I'm concerned about what will happen in the next three to four weeks," Joe told Northey. "Will it all have fungus, mold and bacteria? If there's high levels of fungus, I can't feed this."
While out in his field, he came across a corn plant with a deck plank stuck above the ear. When Joe pulled it out it was 5 feet long.
"When you're in the combine, you can't see that," he said.
From their deck, the Hoegers showed Northey what the flood did to fields and pastures.
The river created a new channel through the Hoegers' pasture by taking six feet of river bank. It left an 8-foot-tall sand bar on the other side. Joe estimates that 75 acres of crop ground and 120 acres of pasture were destroyed. His pasture is covered with a foot of mud and sand.
"The power of water is incredible," Joe said. "I've never seen anything like this, and I've been here since the 1960s."
As far as debris in the fields, Joe said he has no idea what to expect. He hasn't walked a lot of fields yet, but driving by he has seen boats, decks, LP tanks, docks and tires.
Lake Delhi Recreation Association president Jim Willey offered Joe help in finding young people to walk his fields and see if anything is out there.
"I've also had an offer from a Manchester resident who has a helicopter to fly over and see if there are big things we can spot and get out early," Joe said.
Joe said he doesn't have an opinion on whether the dam should be rebuilt. If it is, he said it should be controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers or a certified hydrologist.
"My main concern is that we need some practices at the top of the watershed up by Arlington and Dundee and Lamont, grass filter strips, sediment basins and terraces to slow this water down before it gets to Manchester so we don't have this devastation again," Joe said.
Lori showed officials a stack of photos showing the high water and the damage it caused.
Joe said his neighbors along the river also suffered damage. Row crops and pastures were destroyed, and they lost ground along the river. Keith Krause, district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Delaware County, said there is damage to farms along the Maquoketa all the way to Monticello.