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Derecho estimate ranges from 225 million to 410 million corn bushels lost

The impact to crop production from the derecho wind event earlier this month has drawn a wide range of estimates.

Kent Beadle with CHS Hedging narrowed his focus to 22 counties in Iowa that he believes sustained the most damage to develop an extreme, moderate, and conservative projection.

“I did that after talking with my associates that are working in (Iowa), clients we have working in the state, and then also with growers who have had wind damage in the past and what the yield results were.”

His most extreme assessment in those 22 counties was a loss of about 410 million bushels of corn.

“With my more conservative estimate in about the 225 million-bushel loss. And not surprisingly, the middle-of-the-road estimate was in the mid 300 million-bushel loss.”

Beadle tells Brownfield while the damage is significant, his conservative estimate would essentially displace the increase in yield seen in USDA’s latest supply and demand report.