News

NW MO farmers prep for Missouri River flooding

A farmer in northwest Missouri says grain and equipment are being moved and levees are being checked in preparation for flooding along the Missouri River.

Travis Milne farms in Holt County. Milne tells Brownfield he’s been pumping water from recent rains out of the levees and checking in on other flood pumps in the area.

“My best friend and I are in control of one district’s flood pumps and then, we farm around Big Lake. We haven’t hardly needed those pumps since 2019. Now, we need them to save a crop. We’re asking a lot out of those pumps.”

Milne says the river is supposed to hit its crest on Saturday night in the area and farmers are preparing for flooding similar to what happened in 2019.

“In the bottom ground, the water is starting to creep out in the fields for farmers planting outside the levee. I just took a drive around everything and the water is in fields now, starting to run across roads.”

Hydrologist Scott Watson with the National Weather Service in Kansas City says the Missouri River is above flood stage across northwest Missouri due to the runoff from excessive rains in the north.

“In St. Joseph the crest is going to happen next week up into the moderate category. And upstream, it looks moderate.”

Watson says it currently doesn’t look like the flooding will be as widespread as 2011 or 2019 and central Missouri shouldn’t be as impacted as much as the northwest corner of the state.

The National Weather Service in Kansas City has issued flood warnings along the Missouri River and NWS in St. Louis also has minor flood warnings in effect for the Mississippi River until further notice at Lock and Dam 21 and in Quincy. 

Missouri Governor Mike Parson has signed an executive order that extends the current state of emergency declaration in the state to prepare for potential flooding along the Missouri River.

A state of emergency for Missouri was first declared in early May responding to severe weather.

Photo: Missouri River flooding in 2019