Bwana
10-14-2013, 12:36 PM
I posted a link last week which showed some photos the story below relates to. Hard to imagine what you will read below and the affects it will have on the ranchers involved.
JP
Livestock Losses May Top 100,000
Some western South Dakota cattlemen lost 50-60% of their cows to early fall blizzard.
Published on: Oct 11, 2013
As many as 100,000 cattle, horses and sheep may have died in western South Dakota and southwest North Dakota in a blizzard that dumped four feet of snow in the Black Hills and two feet across the Plains.
Some ranchers have lost 50%-60% of their cows, says Gary Vance, owner of the livestock auction in Faith, S.D.
"It will be devastating," he says.
Hardest hit are areas in the Dakotas are immediately east, north and northeast of the Black Hills. The storm also affected eastern Wyoming.
Many cattle apparently died of exposure. The animals hadn't developed winter coats and were soaking wet from the 1-2 inches of rain that fell ahead of the snow. Others were smothered by snow as they took shelter in draws. Some were trapped in creek bottoms and stock dams. Many died in highway ditches and along fence lines. Cattle that survived are scattered across the prairie.
Cows found dead in a draw along the New Underwood Road near Faith, S.D. Photo from http://www.bigballsincowtown.com/storm2013.
Facebook is flooded with stories about what ranchers are finding.
"We held each other up when we found half of our missing yearling heifers in a creek bed, buried in snow, and we forced ourselves to look beyond them to the white grave that we assumed held the rest of our count," wrote Heather Hamilton Maude, a Scenic, S.D. rancher. "There is no describing what goes through your mind when you come upon a pile of partially exposed animals that froze, suffocated or died of hypothermia. The challenge of mentally bracing yourself as you climb down off your horse and wade through deep snow to resolutely dig until you expose an ear tag is difficult. So is the sickness deep inside you as you wait to discover if the animal is one of yours. Never mind the gut-wrenching, almost physical pain when you discover it is your own."
The situation is made even more dire because few of the losses are insured. There is no Farm Bill, no livestock indemnity program and no disaster aid.
A private relief fund has been established. The South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association and South Dakota Sheep Growers Association established the fund with the Black Hills Area Community Foundation .
To donate, visit www.giveblackhills.org and search "Rancher Relief Fund" or click here. Donors can also mail checks to Black Hills Community Area Foundation/SD Rancher Relief Fund made out to the "Rancher Relief Fund." Address: PO Box 231, Rapid City, 57709.
JP
Livestock Losses May Top 100,000
Some western South Dakota cattlemen lost 50-60% of their cows to early fall blizzard.
Published on: Oct 11, 2013
As many as 100,000 cattle, horses and sheep may have died in western South Dakota and southwest North Dakota in a blizzard that dumped four feet of snow in the Black Hills and two feet across the Plains.
Some ranchers have lost 50%-60% of their cows, says Gary Vance, owner of the livestock auction in Faith, S.D.
"It will be devastating," he says.
Hardest hit are areas in the Dakotas are immediately east, north and northeast of the Black Hills. The storm also affected eastern Wyoming.
Many cattle apparently died of exposure. The animals hadn't developed winter coats and were soaking wet from the 1-2 inches of rain that fell ahead of the snow. Others were smothered by snow as they took shelter in draws. Some were trapped in creek bottoms and stock dams. Many died in highway ditches and along fence lines. Cattle that survived are scattered across the prairie.
Cows found dead in a draw along the New Underwood Road near Faith, S.D. Photo from http://www.bigballsincowtown.com/storm2013.
Facebook is flooded with stories about what ranchers are finding.
"We held each other up when we found half of our missing yearling heifers in a creek bed, buried in snow, and we forced ourselves to look beyond them to the white grave that we assumed held the rest of our count," wrote Heather Hamilton Maude, a Scenic, S.D. rancher. "There is no describing what goes through your mind when you come upon a pile of partially exposed animals that froze, suffocated or died of hypothermia. The challenge of mentally bracing yourself as you climb down off your horse and wade through deep snow to resolutely dig until you expose an ear tag is difficult. So is the sickness deep inside you as you wait to discover if the animal is one of yours. Never mind the gut-wrenching, almost physical pain when you discover it is your own."
The situation is made even more dire because few of the losses are insured. There is no Farm Bill, no livestock indemnity program and no disaster aid.
A private relief fund has been established. The South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association and South Dakota Sheep Growers Association established the fund with the Black Hills Area Community Foundation .
To donate, visit www.giveblackhills.org and search "Rancher Relief Fund" or click here. Donors can also mail checks to Black Hills Community Area Foundation/SD Rancher Relief Fund made out to the "Rancher Relief Fund." Address: PO Box 231, Rapid City, 57709.