DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is estimating that 550,000 acres of Iowa corn will not be harvested this fall due to damage caused by the Aug. 10 wind storm that swept across the state.
That estimate places the value of the lost corn crop based on the yield and price anticipated before the storm at around $344 million.
Corn prices have gone up due to the crop losses so farmers will likely get more money for the corn they do harvest.
Most farmers also have crop insurance to cover some of the loss and other federal programs may help. The soybean crop was largely unaffected.
Rod Pierce walks through a cornfield damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Rod Pierce stands in a cornfield damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) The top of a grain storage bin damaged from the derecho earlier this month sits in the middle of a bean field near the Rod Pierce farm, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Rod Pierce stands in a cornfield damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Rod Pierce looks at grain drying bins on his farm that were damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Rod Pierce looks at a cornfield that was damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A cornfield damaged in the derecho earlier this month is seen on the Rod Pierce farm, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Rod Pierce looks at grain storage bin on his farm that was damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Rod Pierce holds an ear of corn he pulled from a stalk in a cornfield that was damaged in the derecho earlier this month, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, near Woodward, Iowa. Pierce is among hundreds of Iowa farmers who are still puzzling over what to do next following the Aug. 10 derecho, a storm that hit several Midwestern states but was especially devastating in Iowa as it cut west to east through the state’s midsection with winds of up to 140 mph. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)