Farm Progress

Video: Missouri farm family faces floodwaters

Missouri farmers race to get machinery, livestock to higher ground at all hours of the day and night.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

December 30, 2015

1 Min Read
ALL OUT: Missouri farmers are moving out of the river bottom ground along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Missouri farmers are in a race against time. Historic rains are pushing both Mississippi and Missouri rivers to near record highs, some reaching levels not seen since the Flood of 1993. Fears of water topping levees have many farmers, like the Banze family, moving machinery to higher ground.

Just how bad is it?

The Banze family farms along the Missouri River in southern Warren County. Todd and Beth Banze, along with their three children--Zach, Allison and Nick--worked from Monday evening at 9 p.m. to early Tuesday morning at 1 a.m. relocating their farm equipment.

The video below was captured by Allison from the evening. As our family friend, she agreed to share it with Penton Agriculture readers. It shows the tractor ride the family endured to get their belongings to safety.

Our nations farmers and their families are resilient. They are fearless. And our Missouri farmers will overcome yet another historic flooding event because they face troubled waters head on.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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