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In Iowa, the flood inundated nearly 256,000 acres of cropland in six western counties, while in Nebraska, it swamped about 119,000 acres. Dan Steinkruger, the Farm Service Agency's Nebraska state executive director, said Iowa has more low-lying fields along the banks than his state. Farmers in Nebraska and western Iowa lost a combined $300 million or more in crop sales and other economic activity to the flooding, according to the two states' Farm Bureaus. Neither the Farm Service Agency nor other federal and state agencies have kept tabs on how much land has been cleared so far. But in speaking with farmers, it appears there is a long way to go. Scott Olson has managed to restore about 140 of his 500 acres near Tekamah, Neb., that were submerged in last year's flood. In one regard, he was lucky; as most of his 3,000-acre farm was spared. But in the section that did flood, the water cut new holes and channels, creating drainage problems Olson expects will last for years. When the river receded, it left up to 15 feet of sand in some areas. Up to 5 feet remain. The 55-year-old said he has spent more than $200,000 on bulldozers, land scrapers and workers thus far. He's confident most of the cost eventually will be covered by disaster aid, but he's still waiting for that money to come through. Hansen said he also will qualify for disaster aid, but he expects the payments will cover only about half of what he's spent. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved more than $20 million in disaster aid for Iowa and Nebraska, which will help farmers with the cost of moving sand, grading land and filling scour holes. "It's just totally, totally devastating," Olson said. "The dollar amount for what it takes to put it all back together again is going to be tremendous. And it's going to cost you, the taxpayer, in case you haven't already figured that out."
[Associated
Press;
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