As severe weather came through Iowa on Monday, as many as 10 million acres of crops were affected, including in Dallas County.

A derecho, otherwise known as an inland hurricane, tore through Dallas County Monday morning. This resulted in power outages, agricultural infrastructure damage, and flattened crops throughout the area. Dallas County Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Field Agronomist Meaghan Anderson says there were various amounts of damage caused by the storm, “We’ve seen several kinds of damage out in crop fields. First of which would be a portion of corn stalks that are completely broken off below the ear and by now those plants will be wilting. So those plants are essentially dead. We also see a number of varying types of injury that are really damaging to the corn crop, but didn’t kill it outright. We’ve also seen a lot of root lodging in the corn. So all of these are detrimental to grain fill at this point.”

Anderson adds that in her time working in agriculture, she’s never seen weather cause such widespread damage like what Monday’s storm did. Those who have been affected are encouraged to work closely with their crop insurance provider to navigate through the next step. Anderson emphasizes there are many resources available through ISU Extension and Outreach.