99 



TESTIMONY OF DAN COOPER 

 BEFORE THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

 COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE 

 Subcommittee on Speciality Crops and Natural Resources 



November 16, 1993 



Chairman Rose and Committee Members. I would like to thank 

 you for this opportunity to testify before you on the flood 

 devastation experienced by horticultural producers in Iowa 

 during the past summer. 



The floods were unprecedented in the Midwest this summer, as 

 illustrated by Lan satellite imagery that coded Iowa the same 

 as the Great Lakes. our disaster did not come in one fell 

 swoop nor did it affect only an isolated area. Every 

 waterway and navigable stream repeatedly rose up out of its 

 banks as unrelenting storms dumped as much as 6" of rain in 

 an hour. Flood walls and levees, which have stood the test 

 of time for decodes, gave way under the unyielding pressure 

 that was created from the long duration and force of the high 

 waters. 



For the past half century, it appears that the United States 

 has been attempting to totally harness the variability of our 

 waterways. These engineering efforts were thought to prevent 

 stream meandering that eroded banks and altered land survey 

 boundaries, and to prevent the sprawling effect of floods. 



Agricultural lands, in addition to urban areas, were thought 

 to be out of harms way because of the construction of flood 

 control reservoirs and extensive levy systems. Iowa neither 

 escaped this development trend nor the related false sense of 

 security that it created. But mother nature has illustrated 

 for us once again that man-made structures have their 

 limitations, especially when dealing with something as 

 catastrophic as a 500 year flood. 



As can be noted on Attachment 'A,' Iowa's 1993 heavy rainfall 

 began prior to spring planting and continued throughout the 

 production season. In some cases it prevented planting 

 altogether. Then there were crops that were planted but 

 could not be harvested, as was the case with an estimated 

 8000 acres of Iowa sweet corn. Still in other cases the 

 planting occurred but the crop was soon lost. An example is 

 illustrated by the experiences of one of our vegetable 

 producers who did get 10 acres of sweet bell pepper seedlings 

 planted. Shortly thereafter an unprecedented rain totally 

 wiped out his young crop. After the water dissipated, he 

 went in and replanted again. Once again the rains came to 

 wash away his efforts. It should be noted that his cost for 

 a single planting of sweet bell peppers was $6,000 per 

 acre.... the ten acre loss egualed a $60,000 investment. .. .and 

 the double planting loss equalled $120,000 on nis sweet bell 

 peppers alone. 



