The twister knocked over trees and grain bins
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A tornado damaged at least two Iowa farm properties on Sunday.
The tornado touched down just before 6:45 Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said.
One farm in Pella, in Marion County, lost two machine sheds. The storm also damaged silos, uprooted trees and caused other damage on the property.
Parts of Marion County, Mahaska County and Decatur County were placed under tornado warnings.
The storm came and went quickly, said farmer Larry Terpstra.
The Terpstras had just returned from vacation when the tornado came.
“We just got home, and it looked like the rain was coming,” he told WHO 13. “We were watching the sky and all of a sudden it hit. We heard it and we headed for the basement … We went down there for three minutes and it was gone; it was just calm.”
Local news outlets also received photos of a damaged grain bin on another farm.
The National Weather Service is scheduled to assess the damage on Monday to confirm the tornado’s presence.
The USDA has multiple assistance programs available for farmers who are affected by natural disasters.
The Emergency Loan Program, for example, provides loans for producers to help them recover from losses due to drought, flooding or other natural disasters.
And the Emergency Conservation Program provides assistance to farmers if a natural disaster damaged their land and the land needs conservation practices.
Farms.com has contacted members of Iowa’s ag community for comment.