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Iowa farmer dodges derecho and drought

A farmer in north-central Iowa dodged two major bullets this growing season.

Casey Schlichting of Clear Lake says he was north of the derecho and east of the drought.

“So I feel very, very fortunate. Every year you write that check for crop insurance and it kind of hurts, but you know you’re writing that check so other guys who aren’t so fortunate that year can get paid.”

The derecho wind event in August flattened corn across more than 25 Iowa counties.  Most of the state has also been in varying levels of drought since mid-summer.

“It’s never fun writing checks, but when you write one like that because you had a decent crop, that’s never a bad deal.”

Schlichting tells Brownfield yields were good and his corn consistently had test weights from 58 to 60 pounds.