In what was described as hurricane-force winds, some state farms took a direct hit from the March storm

As if Kentuckians have not endured enough natural disasters over the past year and a half, the last thing they needed was a historic windstorm that plowed through most of the state on March 3.

From a farming perspective, Kentucky Farm Bureau President Mark Haney said many farm families incurred anywhere from minor roof damage to total losses of barns or other structures at a time when they have been preparing for spring planting.

“There is never a good time for a storm such as this one to happen but producers across the state were readying themselves and their operations for spring planting, and this weather event was certainly the last thing they needed,” he said. “Many of their barns, workshop, and equipment storage facilities were damaged due to these high winds leaving many scrambling to get repairs completed to the point of being able to meet their production schedules."

Isaac Greenwell and his family have been farming in Union County for several generations and currently grow corn and soybeans on their 11,000-acre farming operation. He recalls the day of the storm and how quickly things changed.

"It was warm that day and calm, but we knew some storms were coming through the area," he said. "Then, around lunchtime, I had been working behind a storage building unhooking equipment before leaving for lunch. I had just left and was no more than a couple of miles down the road when I got a call telling me that the storage building was completely gone.”

The 150 by 66-foot structure stored implements including two corn planters that had just been put back in ready for spring, all their tillage equipment, a couple of applicators, three tractors, and unfortunately two recently purchased semis.

“The timing was terrible and something like this just blindsides you thinking to yourself, ‘What am I going to do in a world where we can't get stuff on time already,’” Greenwell said. “But as soon as it happened, we called our Farm Bureau representative, and he was here on the scene immediately. And he definitely brought some peace of mind to us. The main thing was no one was hurt, and we can move on and try to pick up the pieces from here.”

Not far from the Greenwells is White Farms with the center of their farming operation in the Union County community of Sturgis. This area also took hit by the storm. Dustin White, one of eight family members who run the farms said he and several workers got a firsthand look as the storm hit.

It was raining pretty hard, so we had gone into the shop to eat lunch all of a sudden the sirens went off, and we came out to look outside," he said. "All the doors in the shop started shaking and sucking in and there was a loud roar, so we all hung on under some of the big pieces of machinery in the shop that fortunately wasn't harmed, but the shed next to it took the brunt of it."

That shed which lost most of its metal roof and some siding contained grain trucks, and various pieces of equipment as the Whites were also preparing for spring planting.

“We had other structures on the farm damaged and several trees were down, but everyone was safe and not a lot of machinery was hurt, so we were very fortunate,” White said.

The reaction from community members was immediate as passersby stopped to see if they could help along with their Farm Bureau agent. 

“It's a tight-knit, small community, all rural, everybody willing to help each other, and it means a lot,” White said. “Our Farm Bureau agent was on top of things, and it was an immediate response. It's been a great, great partnership.”

The thing perhaps so unique about this storm was the fact that it swept through nearly the entire state. Dr. Jerald Brotzge, Kentucky State Climatologist and Director, Kentucky Climate Center and Kentucky Mesonet said the storm was quite a historic event.

“We recorded 70-plus mile-per-hour winds at seven Mesonet stations across the state,” he said. “These were ‘straight-line’ winds, some associated directly with the passage of the cold front, and most associated with winds ahead and behind the frontal passage.”

Brotzge added that there were at least three tornadoes that day as well, an EF2 tornado in Fremont, KY; an EF1 near Hanover, Indiana; and an EF1 near Dale, Indiana. 

“The flooding was also historic, with a large area of north and western KY receiving over three inches of rain within 24 hours,” he said. “Yet another aspect was the record low pressure recorded with this system.  Paducah and Evansville recorded their lowest pressures on record.”

Hart County endured its share of weather devastation during the tornado outbreak in late 2021. Unfortunately, the area saw more damage because of the recent windstorm.  Mitchel Logsdon has endured both. The tornado event caused damage to his home and destroyed some structures on his cow-calf operation in Munfordville. This storm also took its toll on the farm.

“That Friday started as a typical day with feeding and checking all the cows,” he said. “Of course, there had been thunderstorm warnings out for the morning, but that seemed to have missed us and we had relatively really good weather here until about 10:30 a.m. when those straight-line winds started picking up and wouldn't let up. They were constant and relentless.”

Logsdon, who also serves as a KFB state director, said before the day was over nearly every neighbor around his had damage including the loss of his tobacco barn and damage to four other structures.

The barn that was destroyed was originally a tobacco barn, and we raised tobacco on this farm all of my life until four years ago,” he said. “That was a big part of our history on our farm, but we had changed those barns over to using them for everything from equipment and storage to using them during calving season. Fortunately, we didn't have any cattle in it when it went down.”

Like other farm families affected by the storms, the outreach from the community including their local Farm Bureaus has been swift for the Logsdon family.

“I've been involved in Farm Bureau for most of my life and that's always the story,” Logsdon said. “They show up, and show concern, and are interested in your farm and your community, and it's reassuring, and reaffirms what I've always known that Farm Bureau, the entire organization is very strong, and it’s a family.”

Logsdon said while this storm did not cause as much damage and stress as the 2021 tornado, it is still frustrating, but they will rebuild and move forward.

Larry Clark of Green County also felt the force of the winds sweeping through his farm and causing destruction, especially to a storage building that holds much history for him and his family.

"We had about three hours of strong winds which is something I've never seen before but it took some of our tool sheds, did some damage to one of our barns, and took out a lot of trees," he said. "But the shed that dad and I build was the hardest to lose. We've been on this farm most of my life and we built that tool shed about 45 years ago. It was one of the first buildings my dad and I ever built together. I hated to see it gone worse than anything else we lost because it had so much sentimental value to it.”

But the family will move forward on their tobacco, grain, and cattle operation. Clark, who is also a KFB state director, said it’s times like these when the community pulls together, including his Farm Bureau family.

“It's always good to have Farm Bureau on your side and they're always out working for us every day showing the love and support they have for their customers,” he said. “They sure have always taken care of us when we needed it.”