Nebraska officials estimate that flooding has caused $1.3 billion in damage in the state, more than half of it to crops and cattle. The disaster there and in neighboring Iowa follows a difficult year for both states’ farmers, who’ve been reeling from the ongoing trade war and softening global economy. Now Iowa and Nebraska, with the second- and fourth-largest agricultural economies in the nation respectively, are contending with floodwaters that have washed away stored grain, killed herds of cattle and threaten the spring planting season.

Click the audio player above to hear the full story.