Eastern Iowa Farmer Spring 2021

mother nature
In fact, it was an inland
hurricane called a derecho,
something nobody in Iowa or
Jones County had heard of or
even thought of prior to the
storm raging through Iowa and
leaving millions of dollars in
damage behind.
In the 45 minutes it took
the storm to pass, the Crock
family suffered well over 1
million dollars in losses as
the storm ravaged nine grain
bins, their machine shed, the
roof to their 1,800-head hog
confinement, parts of their
home, eight other buildings
and one cow, as well as their
entire corn crop that was now
flat and littered with trees, tin,
siding and lumber.
By this point there was no
electricity, and their first concern
was the welfare of their
pigs. Thankfully, they owned a
generator and were able to get
feed and water to the animals
Eastern Iowa Farmer photo / ashley Johnson
Shown is a view of the Crock’s corn as it was being combined. In
a typical year corn stands tall in perfect rows. But last year it was a
tangled, flat mess.
that evening.
Their second concern
was the downed trees. They
worked until 10:30 p.m.
cutting, piling and burning,
trying to make light of what
they were really facing. Their
home suffered minor damages,
and they were able to get
a second generator to run it.
By Wednesday power was
restored and lifted a major
burden for Lee as gas was in
short supply.
He recalled federal officials
showing up Tuesday for a
Federal Emergency Management
Agency assessment.
They asked what he needed,
and while it sounded a little
wild at the time, he responded,
“Power and probably a million
dollars to fix everything.”
As he calculated his loses
over the days to come, he
realized one million wasn’t far
off. He lives on his family’s
farm, passed down over generations,
and recalled living
in the home he does now as a
child with his parents.
Both Lee’s and Lori’s had
parents die young, and Lee
relied on his grandparents
for advice and guidance as a
young married farmer. They
lived just down the road. Lee
acquired his grandparents’
farm when his grandpa retired
Pictured: Owner Duane Stickley
The
righT
fiT
for all your
elecTrical
farm needs
563-652-2439
Fax: (563) 652-2430 • 113 Western Ave., Maquoketa, IA
66 Eastern Iowa Farmer | Spring 2021 eifarmer.com