Future unknown for South Dakota farmers after devastating storm

SALEM, S.D. (KELO) — It’s not solely cities the place persons are selecting up the items. Thursday’s storms broken farm after farm throughout a number of counties.

Toppled grain bins, mangled gear, blown down barns and sheds…these are all frequent sights as you drive by the countryside round Salem.

“Technically I don’t suppose now we have any sheds or bins useable proper now,” Salem farmer Drew Peterson mentioned.

Drew Peterson misplaced all of his sheds and several other grain bins together with gear.

The harm is so unhealthy the Governor even toured his operation.

“Total operations worn out. Sheds, buildings, vehicles, livestock. We’ve obtained dairies and hog barns which might be gone. So it’s going to be a protracted course of placing that again collectively,” Governor Kristi Noem mentioned.

Peterson mentioned the storm occurred shortly, and a few of his neighbors have been caught of their tractors.

“They usually simply sat there and I do know that they have been on the CB, telling their household they cherished them as a result of it was so scary,” Peterson mentioned.

Noem says state and metropolis officers are working with emergency response companies to assist everybody out.

“It’s a problem for these ag producers. As a result of you possibly can farm for 20 years and make a great dwelling, you possibly can have one unhealthy 12 months like this and lose every little thing,” Noem mentioned.

With destruction throughout, farmers are attempting to determine what the following step is.

“There’s simply lots of unknowns proper now. I feel we are going to get by it, we are going to, now we have to,” Peterson mentioned.