# Livestock and freak storms



## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

So to start off with I am not new to raising livestock, we have been doing so succesfully for over 100 years in the same place. We have always done so with an eye to preparedness and that is why I got involved in these circles. We have always kept large amounts of food on hand in case of drought, planned for downturns, blizzards, etc. All of this is just to say it would be easy for us to say "we've seen it all" however, that is never really the case, maybe we have seen the 1 in 100 year storm but there is always the one in 200.

This storm in South Dakota really made me stop and reconsider our plans and practices.
For anyone who missed it
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131022-cattle-blizzard-south-dakota-winter-storm-atlas/


> Rancher Marvin Jobgen has weathered many storms in his 40 years in business, but he's never lost as many cattle as he did during the record-setting winter storm Atlas. A third of his cows, about 100, and 15 percent of his calves died. Two weeks after the October 4 blizzard, livestock producers in western South Dakota are still counting their losses and burying would-be profits in bone pits.












Now we are about 1300-1400km (800-900miles) north of South Dakota, it gets really cold up here:chilly: but we have never had losses on that scale. So it made me wonder, what exactly went wrong and are we prepared for such a thing here?

Well the reasons for the worst losses seem pretty clear.
From the Natgeo article above;


> The storm was especially deadly for cattle partly because the animals had not yet grown their winter coats and were grazing in summer pastures rather than more protected winter pastures. In addition, the ground hadn't frozen, so cattle that sought protection in low-lying areas became stuck in mud. Rain soaked the cattle; then winds up to 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour and heavy snow froze them.
> 
> Jobgen says he found some of his cows dead behind protective barriers against the wind where there wasn't even an inch of snow. But the strain that the cold and snow placed on the animals' heart and lungs, and the resulting buildup of fluids, possibly caused many of the deaths.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/14/us-usa-weather-cattle-idUSBRE99D0NS20131014


> A freezing rain, followed by an avalanche of four feet of snow and winds of 70 miles an hour, hit thousands of cattle still grazing on "summer pastures" at a time when the animals had not yet grown their protective winter coats and were ill prepared for the harsh conditions.
> 
> Swirling snow lodged in some of the animals' lungs, suffocating them. Hypothermia killed more. And others were caught in gullies, or plunged off slickened rock ledges, livestock experts said.
> 
> "I've been in this business 50 years and I've never seen anything like this," said Jobgen, who estimated her family lost nearly half of its herd of 350 when the storm swept through October 3-5.


http://beefmagazine.com/blog/early-south-dakota-blizzard-leaves-thousands-cattle-dead


> Cows are smart and know the draws to hunker down in, in just about any direction the storm comes from. But when the storm fills your hiding place, you must leave or get buried. Many cows did not leave and did not survive. The cows that left got stuck in drifts and had the same fate."


So the fact that it happened so early that the cows didn't have thier winter coats is not something that can be changed except by more "hardy" breeding, we strictly select animals for their ability to handle extreme cold. In the past we have made the mistake of buying cows from someone who babied them and mixed them with some of ours, what a debacle, our cows were walking around fat and happy while the new ones were looking like fashion models and withering away, lost one or two had some had frozen ears, COWS! Mind you these were the same breeds we were using, just different animals.

As for the rest of it, our solution is trees and lots of them, a shelterbelt is sometimes not enough on it's own. Most of our pastures include large areas of them and I can attest that even in crazy winds the center areas will be decent. Ridges or gullies that are tree covered are ideal but even on the flat they work. Of course in many places having trees is not as easy as just letting them grow.

My biggest concern right now is stubble and hay fields, this is the time of year we are grazing them and they tend to have very poor shelter. It has certainly got me thinking about what I/they would do if a storm like that were to hit.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

I missed this when it was first posted, I think that we were on the edge of that same storm, not nearly as wild here, but we got a pretty heavy dump of snow, on top of unfrozen ground. Storms like this seem to be the norm now, so we may have to change our methods. A lot of pasture in this part of the country is "marginal" , not really suited to tillage, and so is often covered with swampy conditions, sometimes pretty big swamps if the season has been wet. Our neighbor has a 1/2 section across the road from us that is about 1/2 marginal land pasture, and some of the very problem described in the above post are pretty possible on that land, it hasn't happened yet, but this year it could have easily been possible. when the snow hit his cattle were at his home place, having just been weaned. A persons time with some kind of elevation measuring tool in some of the animals favorite shelter places would be well spent, the difference between a lake and a puddle might be a few hours with a loader or hoe.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Mother Nature is the warm summer winds or the kick ass winter storm...

Just a fact...

It is hard for me to look at "the large folks" ... while thinking homestead. As a homestead person, we have a plan.

And when Mother Nature gives you a twist or turn ... you work it as well as you can.

It is what it is ... Deal with it...


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

A lot of small producers lost animals as well, even those with decades of experience, the numbers don't get them in the articles though, they have to prove just how bad things were.

I have certainly been considering how we can improve our plans in case of such a freak storm, particularly when grazing the animals on stubble. Maybe I will have to think about the effects of a major heatwave too, I don't know how well we would deal with some of the temperatures I see in other places.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Just the amount hotter it gets in your part of the world compared to ours, weird being a far way south of you, (I know it is our altitude and proximity to the mountains) But you have a really good point a person needs to think about extremes, like if the snow keeps coming down here like it has, the rocks under the mountain snow pack are still relatively warm, with no real frost before the first heavy cover, that could mean a really quick melt again come spring. one of our well pits still has water in it, that has never happened before as far as I can find out. 2 years ago I was digging trees with a truck mounted spade, right up to the 27 of November, just finished my last job that day and drove home in a blizzard.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

It is easy to get into the mindset of "we have seen it all" after doing the same thing for so long, always good to reconsider.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Mother Nature can be a bitch... We can plan, prepare and do all that we know and in the end she will be the one making the calls.

A freak storm can and will happen... (history folks... )

Small producers or large ... poof ... gone. It is called life. (That would be IMHO )


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## MsSage (Mar 3, 2012)

We have been in the upper 60s all week and going to be getting freezing rain, sleet, snow all weekend starting tomorrow afternoon prob with rain first. I know last time I was caught unaware 
and my horses had ice all over them and we had a LONG hard winter and I almost lost my oldest mare this spring she was so bad I knew I was going to find her dead. This year they have a better run in shelter and tomorrow I am putting a winter blanket on them for the weekend. Sometimes the weather will catch you and there is not much you can do ...BUT learn and do something different_ if_ you have a bit of notice. The Dakotas had no notice which is so sad. I still pray for the ranchers.
I have been trying to explain to some people I know who have no clue about cattle and different grazing pastures but like me they dont get it ...I never understood alot of things about the west and higher altitude, I do now. LOL Off to bed got a BUSY day LOL going to be making final preps for the storm.


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