Agricultural News
Kentucky Agriculture Takes Massive Hit from From Mile Wide Tornado over the Weekend
Mon, 13 Dec 2021 04:50:26 CST
Oklahoma and the southern Plains have been there before- with tornados and massive wildfires. But the multi state tornado outbreak from this past weekend is on a whole other level. Various estimates have death totals approaching a hundred people killed in Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and Kentucky. Western Kentucky clearly has taken the brunt of this massive storm- and it has occurred in an area that has a lot of the agricultural production of that state.
Farm Broadcast Colleague Jeff Nalley talked on Sunday afternoon with Dr. Ryan Quarles, State Commissioner of Agriculture for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and his description of the damage that has been seen(and they are just scratching the surface) can be heard by clicking on the Listen Bar at the bottom of this story.
Dr. Quarles told Nalley that while the images of Mayfield in far southwest Kentucky show a town of 10,000 people leveled by the storm- there actually is major damge all the way from Louisville westward over 200 miles to Fulton County- which has its western border the Mississippi River. As of Sunday afternoon- the Commissioner says that he understands that at least 15 chicken barns were destroyed with efforts to depopulate and dispose of those birds and at least one dairy is "putting down" many of their cows and trying to save those that they can. Dr. Quarles says that farmers are busy helpng with rescue of neighbors but also turning their attention to accounting for their livestock and caring for them.
Dr. Quarles also confirmed to Nalley that the Univesrity of Kentucky Research Station in Princeton, Ky was leveled and that grain bins along the 200 mile path of this storm are also either gone or have damage- exposing hundreds of thousands of bushels of recently harvested corn and or soybeans to the rains that came with the high winds.
Nalley asked Dr. Quarles if he had any idea as to how much damage might have been done to Kentucky agricluture and his response was simply "I don't know." He did say that he would be spending his week in western Kentucky where the damage is- and will be working with Extension and the Kentucky Farm Bureau to establish a conduit for those who want to help the farm community specifically to have a way to contribute money, resources like fencing, fence posts, hay and feed to do so. Expect those opportunities to come early here in the week.
Based on experiences here in Oklahoma- there will also be a need for volunteers who understand agriculture to go and help with cleanup as well- and that call may come in the days ahead as well.
Dr. Quarles did tell Jeff Nalley that this is not a quick clean up- he says we are talking not weeks- but certainly months.
And the Kentucky Ag Commissioner asked for our prayers. Kentucky's farmers (and farmers in the other states) need the prayers of the farm commuinity across the country now and for quite some time to come.
Our thanks to Jeff Nalley of the Cromwell Radio Network for sharing his interview with Dr. Ryan Quarles of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.
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