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Central IL farmer picking up after Thursday tornado

Severe storms moved across the Midwest Thursday, and central Illinois farmer David Brown is thankful his planter wasn’t in the shed.

The Macon County farmer tells Brownfield…

“We had a tornado come through and we were very fortunate that nobody got hurt.”  He says, “Our planter had been pulled out in this one particular shed to be ready for our planting season. We had moved it and had it hooked up in another location.”

Brown’s machine shed was one of several hit by a tornado.

“This tornado just sucked it up into the air.” He says, “It pulled poles completely out of the ground, so I think it just pulled it right off. However, the roof hit a grain bin right across the driveway and smashed in the roof on that.”

He says several neighbors are helping with cleanup efforts…

“It was probably a three-mile debris field.”  He says, “It’s siding. It’s roof sheet metal, things like that. So, we’ve got to go out into these fields because a couple of those fields are not planted.”

And, he says the storm was a good reminder…

“We are so fortunate for living in rural areas.”  He says, “It’s reassuring that there’s good people around and good people that care.”

The National Weather Service in Lincoln confirmed the tornado and is surveying the area.  Brown says he expects to get back to planting next week. 

AUDIO: David Brown – Macon County, IL farmer