The rain and snow that fell during the last few months have had a significant impact for people living in northwest Missouri. The storms have caused flooding in the area that have displaced residents living in Atchison and Buchanan Counties.
The weather has been so significant that Gov. Mike Parson activated the Missouri State Emergency Operations Plan on March 21, allowing state agencies to coordinate directly with local jurisdictions.
There are several of them working together to help not only farmers who are trying to recover their businesses, but also residents seeking information for accessing resources to meet their basic needs — including food and shelter.
Among those agencies is the University of Missouri Extension. One manner in which representatives have helped is by providing resources to famers about what to do with gain that has been contaminated because of the excess water.
“There was a lot of grain still in grain bins in the fields, and that created a question of what can we do with this grain. Can it be used, can it be salvaged, what do we do with it,” said Debbie Bennett, a nutrition and health education specialist for Missouri Extension.
In response, agricultural specialists have recommended that farmers destroy the contaminated grain to prevent it from infecting the food supply.
They have also established resources for residents by hosting sessions for people affected by the flooding to ask questions.
“So we have already participated in the multi-agency resource center where people have gone in to sign up for assistance and things like that,” said Joe Lear, the northwest regional director talks about what he and his staff are doing to help residents.
People attending the meetings have been offered advice for cleaning their homes as well as their wells and septic tanks.