Massive cattle losses in US

The snowstorm buried eastern Wyoming, southern Montana, western South Dakota and northwest Nebraska in 50cm of snow and is being described as one of the worst disasters ever for cattlemen in the region.

Early estimates put the number of cattle killed in the region at 60,000-100,000 head.

South Dakota state veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven says total confirmed cattle deaths in his state are about 2000 head and he expects the final total will be 10,000-20,000 head.

“Everybody wants to know the number, but truthfully we don’t know,” Oedekoven told the Capital Journal newspaper in Pierre, the state capital. “We won’t know for some time.”

Snowdrifts covered fences and cattle were able to wander at will, making it harder to get a casualty count.

Oedekoven says the death toll was not uniform across western South Dakota and while some ranches lost 50% or more of their herds, others lost just a few animals.    Losses in Nebraska were put at up to 3000 head.

North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp told the US Senate the cattlemen urgently need help because the livestock indemnity programme expired when the farm bill expired at the end of September and Farm Service Agency offices are closed because of the government shutdown.

Heitkamp says people mistakenly believe one cow is just like the next and can be replaced.

“The herds are the product of years and years of selective breeding, years and years of working to improve the quality of their herd and to meet different specifications in the market,” she told KFGO Radio in Fargo. “It’s not an exaggeration to say they’re more than cows. They contain an intellectual property component that is not easily replaced.”

A fund has been established by state livestock groups to help affected cattle producers.

“With the government shutdown and no farm bill in place, we need South Dakotans to help their neighbours,” Gov. Dennis Daugaard says. “Many concerned individuals are wondering how they can help, and this fund will provide a way.”

Heitkamp says it’s time for congress to do something.

“We have got to get the Congress back working for the American people, particularly for the hard hit farmers and ranchers of southwestern North Dakota and of west river South Dakota.”

The beef cattle industry ranks as the leading agricultural industry in South Dakota with about 17,000 ranchers and cattlemen producing 3.7 million head of cattle a year. – Alan Harman