As the drought continues to get worse, farmers are starting to figure out how recoup their losses. The drought has hit the area around Burlington especially hard and Iowa State Extension held a meeting in Mediapolis Friday to discuss the drought.
"We've got some very, very good looking crops in areas, we've got some crops that are total disasters and we've got everything in between," says Virgil Schmitt with ISU Extension.
Officials with ISU Extension are holding a series of drought meetings around the state.
"We are reviewing what has happened in terms of the drought and what challenges it is going to bring us as we look forward to harvesting the crop," adds Schmitt.
In the Quad City area about a fourth to a third of crops have been lost. Around the Burlington and Mediapolis area it's worse. However, a better look at the damage won't be available until harvest.
"We won't really know until the crops mature what we've got on our hands," says Schmitt.
The extension office is comparing this year's drought to the drought of 1988 to give people a better reference point. Experts say the drought we are currently experiencing is not as bad as the one 24-years ago.
"The drought of 1988 actually started in 1987," says Schmitt, "Back then we had a dry fall, and a dry winter and we started out with very little soil moisture to begin with."
This time around there was more soil moisture in the spring. There have also been changes to how plants are bred.
Schmitt adds, "The plants are bred so that when we have this type of environmental stress, plants can survive better," says Schmitt.
Extension specialists also want to work with farmers who have livestock, because the dry weather is in some cases doubling the cost of feed.
"It's really a tough situation for these folks, because there's no hay, there's no grass growing in the pastures and there's very little foliage, besides what's growing in the fields," says Byron Leu with the ISU Extension.
These meetings also work with farmers on the economics of the drought. At least 2000 insurance claims are being filed every day, so the extension wants farmers to assess their losses early.
For more information on drought resources click here.
