Tornado debris causing problems for local farmers

CRITTENDEN, Ky. - It's been almost 3 months since the March 2nd tornado outbreak that ripped through the Tri-State, but farmers in the areas hit will be feeling the effects of the tornadoes for years to come.

Dairy farmer, Dave List of Crittenden, used to have cows in a field north of his farm, but now, because of all the debris leftover from the large EF-4 tornado that destroyed his home and farm, he is unable to allow the cows back in.

His field is littered with two-by-fours, fencing, staples, nails and more - all of which wreaks havoc on his farm equipment, leaving him with flat tires from time to time.

Unfortunately, for a dairy farmer, the tornado debris can cause much more damage to his farm than just a flat tire.

“All the metal and the nails and stuff that’s out there… I mean, the flat tires, that’s secondary, but my main thing is with having a dairy and all the cows, them picking up a nail or something and swallowing it,” List said.

“Well, they get what they call hardware, when the nail or something works its way through their stomach and it starts affecting their heart, and it will kill them," he said.

List has done a lot of things to clean up as much debris as possible, including using a magnet. 

Companies like Arlinghaus Builders, also use magnets, and other special equipment to clear an area before building.

Bob Schroder, Vice President of Arlinghaus Builders, told us about it.

“One of the things we have right here is something called a landscape rake, which we use when we’re preparing yards.  It picks up debris and rocks and that sort of thing.”

A landscaping rake could help List in cleaning up his field, but it might be difficult now, since the grass is so tall. 

Schroder said that it could take years before collecting all of the debris from this tornado.  He offers some advice for those who run into the same situation in the future, where a tornado scatters debris across your yard or field.  

“Get out there as quick as possible and get up as much debris as you can because what happened in March is the grass was low, you know, three inches high, or whatever, and now it’s three feet high,” Schroder said.

In the case of the List farm, he did everything right.  In fact, over a hundred people came out to his farm shortly after the March 2nd outbreak and combed the field for debris.

He’s got a ditch in the back of the field where all the debris that is collected is stored, for now.  Unfortunately, there’s still much more to clean up.

If you’re a Northern Kentucky tornado victim in need of assistance, or just want to volunteer to help, send an email to NKYTornadoRecovery@gmail.com.