MADRID, Iowa—On August 10, 2020, a powerful derecho tore through Iowa, leaving a path of destruction, including uprooted trees.

In 2021, Farm Bureau Financial Services and its agents began replanting trees across various communities that lost so much. This comeback continues to take root this year.

On Saturday, May 21, Farm Bureau Financial Services agent Jerad Dreeszen and other volunteers planted trees at the Iowa Arboretum, purchased from Bentley Ridge Tree Farm & Nursery. The event was an effort to replenish those destroyed during the derecho; trees planted included Eastern Redbud, Blue Arrow Juniper, and Crimson Spire Oak. The Iowa Arboretum volunteers will continue to plant provided trees throughout the week.

This will be Farm Bureau Financial Services’ fifth such tree-planting event since the August 2020 derecho.

“In these moments, when people come together to plant trees and speed up our community’s recovery, I’m so thankful to be a part of Farm Bureau Financial Services,” said Jerad Dreeszen, Farm Bureau agent in Madrid. “Working with the Iowa Arboretum and Bentley Ridge Tree Farm & Nursery shows how Iowans can move past the August 2020 derecho – by pitching in and helping our neighbors.”

“This effort means a lot to us, considering we lost 350 trees in our collection and countless more in our woodlands during the August 2020 derecho,” noted David McKinney, Iowa Arboretum curator of collections and grounds. “We appreciate the hard work of these volunteers as they help us maintain our collection and educate Iowans about the value of trees, shrubs, and other plants in our landscape.”

(contributed press release and photos, FB Financial Services)