CALF_News_June_July_2019

22 CALF News • June | July 2019 • www.calfnews.net How Do We Survive? By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor Significant disaster has dotted human lives as long as there have been people to record it. From fires to floods, blizzards to tornados, man has been digging himself out of misery to regain a measure of normalcy and, finally, exceed his previous productivity. No one entity can be hit harder than agriculture. Every person can lose life, home or loved ones, and agricultural losses are chronically a monumental risk to the whims of Mother Nature. Our lives as well as livelihoods are spread over a large area. It can affect anyone who eats food. A ccording to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA), as of mid-April, estimates of livestock loss due to the prolonged cold, March blizzard and flood- ing, was approximately $400 million. Crop loss also was $440 million. Additionally, there were more than 3,000 miles of roads damaged or wiped out. The NDA would not give out any estimates on livestock death loss; they expect the repercussions of extreme winter to tally up for months. This article contains interviews from folks who suffered the 2013 Atlas blizzard in South Dakota and the recent “bomb cyclone” in Nebraska. The Nebraska folks interviewed are not cattle producers. Rather, the focus is on outlying cattle-related businesses and people, looking at how the weather has affected a wide range of entities in a given community. ATLAS STORM South Dakota, October 2013 Jim and Robyn Goddard Jim and Robyn Goddard of Prairie City, S.D., experienced the Atlas storm six years ago, suffering relatively little stock loss but encountering the situation and stress suffered by the entire region. The couple made it plain right up front that, as bad as Atlas was, they do not consider it as impactful as the Kansas wild- fires or Nebraska flooding. Part of the problem lays in the fact that weather forecasters missed the mark badly, leaving almost everyone unprepared. The early fall storm lasted 27 hours before blowing itself out.Winds were so fierce and snow so heavy that one could hardly stand up or see to walk across the yard. The storm left thousands without electricity for 10 days to three weeks. Nearly 2,000 power poles collapsed under the weight of the snow. When the clouds cleared, people started digging and searching for livestock. The death loss was primar- ily from winds driving and crowding cattle into low, muddy areas such as ponds, and from suffocation due to the intensely wet condition of the snow. Robyn Goddard reported that the snow was so wet that it became a hue of blue. They remember mostly working and communicating with neighbors. When livestock had been located, they were cared for, regardless of ownership. Often, there would be up to five owners involved in a group of drifted cattle. Calls were frequent and supportive in any given community; folks making sure they all pulled through together. Because of the early fall arrival of Atlas, adequate amounts of hay had not been hauled in to any ranch headquarters from outlying hay ground. Fields and rural roads, impassable long after the storm, remained an extended problem. The Goddards say hay donations came in from around the country. Even bred heifers showed up for folks who had suffered severe losses. Community outreach was exceptional. South Dakota is serious horse country and sheep abound by the hundreds of thousands. They were heavy casualties of the storm, as well. Some of the most emotional reports came from horse losses. After six years, the Prairie City ranchers have been able to put the nightmare behind them. They related that, once the TOP: Kiley Hammond of Verdigre, Neb., wades through floodwaters on his way to feed cattle. ABOVE: Christmas chores. Continued on page 25  COVER STORY: AFTER THE STORM