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To: HiTech RedNeck

Cattle will drift before a storm. I’ve seen lots of them facing south against a fence in the Oklahoma panhandle when storms came through from the north.

This was an early storm. Most cattle would still be on pasture for a few more weeks before being moved to a sheltered area.


39 posted on 10/14/2013 4:55:59 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (Sometimes you need 7+ more ammo. LOTS MORE.)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
Cattle will drift before a storm. I’ve seen lots of them facing south against a fence in the Oklahoma panhandle when storms came through from the north.

I recall driving across Northern Oklahoma after a particularly brutal blizzard in the late seventies-early eighties. The cattle were lined up, facing south, against the fence on the north side of OK-11 west of Medford -- frozen to death.

Back in the days of the Open Range, the "drifting" phenomenon of cattle before a blizzard was a recognized factor in the High Plains. The Panhandle Drift Fences were to help control this factor, keeping the free-ranging cattle north of the Canadian Breaks in the Panhandle.

Panhandle Drift Fence

The linked article notes that, in the Winter of 1884-85, an estimated 200K free-range cattle died when they finally reached the Panhandle Drift Fence.

The incident led to the abandonment of the Free Range and fencing off properties -- which enabled a policy of improving pastures.

41 posted on 10/14/2013 5:29:05 PM PDT by okie01 (The Mainstream Media: Ignorance On Parade)
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