Posted on 10/07/2013 6:29:58 PM PDT by Olog-hai
A record-breaking storm that dumped 4 feet of snow in parts of western South Dakota left ranchers dealing with heavy losses, in some cases perhaps up to half their herds, as they assess how many of their cattle died during the unseasonably early blizzard.
Meanwhile, utility companies were working to restore power to tens of thousands of people still without electricity Monday after the weekend storm that was part of a powerful weather system that also buried parts of Wyoming and Colorado with snow and produced destructive tornadoes in Nebraska and Iowa. At least four deaths were attributed to the weather, including a South Dakota man who collapsed while cleaning snow off his roof. …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Looks more like a section line road than a county road. I have been in storms where you can’t see the Interstate because of the snow.
Nope.
Some of these storms come in far harder than forecast. Sometimes, far less. The last five years, we’ve had forecasts that were predicting inches to feet of snow... which might have turned out to be anything from a skiff to an inch of snow.
Native Wyomingites are telling me that this weather is much more “like we had when we were kids” (about 40 to 60 years ago) and a rapid reversal of what we’d seen since the early 60’s.
The worst of these sheep-killing winters in Johnson County were back in the 30’s to 50’s. They’ve moderated since then.
What people need to understand is that the ranchers aren’t just sitting around with the thumbs up their ass. This is often their entire livelihood. A cow-calf or sheep man is losing perhaps DECADES of breeding and genetics when hit with a killing like this. This is a major hit for most of them. They’re not sitting at the TV, watching some NFL game. They’re out on the range, doing and saving what they can. Which isn’t much when the weather turns on a dime.
The problem is that once it becomes apparent that there’s a big storm bearing down on you (when you might have only a day’s notice), you simply have too much country to cover to get everything moved to easier ground. Since the settlement and fencing of the west, it’s nearly impossible to just “round ‘em up and move ‘em out” - you’re usually talking about moving the herd/flock down to a gathering point, putting them on trucks (who you have to call with some advance notice - there’s only so many truckers who haul livestock any more) and then truck them over to your lower pasture. There’s fencing, roads, neighborhoods, etc in your way. In cases where the ranchers could drive cattle, I’ve seen two-lane paved roads covered with cow poop for days - after ranchers have called up the county sheriff and said “We MUST move today - no choice - please lend a hand” and they’ve moved hundreds to thousands down a road anywhere from a mile to 20 miles in a day to get to easier ground.
Weather forecasts around here don’t firm up until maybe 24 hours ahead of time. That’s today. 50 years ago? Feh. You might as well consult a witch doctor. Many a hunter got killed in the mountains by being snowed in. I’ve heard tales of men who got caught out in the mountains, had to kill and eat their horses and set up shelter until they could build a sled, snowshoes and drag their food behind them to get out. No one knew for months whether they were alive or dead.
Even today, right now, there are hundreds of RV’s and camps snowed in all over Wyoming, western MT and the Black Hills. Those guys now likely won’t get their RV’s and camps out until spring.
Life is tough up here. Winters kill people, too. It isn’t a place for city slickers who think they can get their butt out of a jam with just a phone call.
AMEN!
Bank loans. They are in debt forever. Bad years, the local banks support the ranchers. Good years, you make progress on those loans. Disasters like this, people lose their ranches, family homes, it is horrible.
100 years.
I can imagine the European farmers, British and so on, who have owned the lands for hundreds of years and feel the same way. It probably seems as if there is no other way to live. Understandable if it's been done for so many, many, many generations.
These are posted from the links on this thread to this happening...
I would live no other way. I grew up in California, spent my summers working on the farm since I was 5, grew up and moved back after my grandfather died to run the farm. I would never go back to living in the city or a 9to5 job, its not worth it.
Even now, though I am retired (partly due to health reasons), I still can’t imagine going back or selling the land or living anywhere else. These are my people, this is my heritage and this is God’s country. You can keep the crazy CA laws and taxes. I’ll stay on the farm.
Dumbass..zot
No, there were weather forecasters actually pooh-pooh’ing their computer models.
There were forecasters out of Rapid City on TV saying “the models are telling us we might have up to four feet, but there’s no way I see that happening, maybe a foot to two feet in spots...”
Well, as you see from caww’s pictures on this thread, eastern WY and into Rapid City got four-freakin’-feet. For real. With drifts much deeper than that. Winds up to 50+ MPH.
And there’s not much insurance on cattle in events like this. It’s not like crop insurance.
You scare the crap out of me! NOT
Yep you are a troll and nothing on here has been ‘tree hugging’ or lying other than you.
I am a farmer, not a rancher. I have relatives and friends who are ranchers and grew up in a family that ranched, but I only have cropland now.
And again you show your stupidity. They were watching the forcast, and many read the Almanac, that doesn’t guarantee that the storms won’t change. Just because an animal will be aware of a change doesn’t mean they are smart enough or even able get to safe ground or that the ranchers could move that many head that fast.
Don’t presume you know the first thing about this. Go back to your little rock that you crawled out from. You are a first class idiot.
Then why do they call it Rapid City, South Dakota?
Hmmmmmmmm...?
Hey, we got a dumbass who doesn’t realize Rapid City is in South Dakota.
You have no idea the size of these operations! You are such a fool. You should go to bed before you embarass yourself anymore.
......”A cow-calf or sheep man is losing perhaps DECADES of breeding and genetics when hit with a killing like this. This is a major hit for most of them”.....
I have no problem believing that as I was aquainted with a couple who did a lot of genetic work with their herd. Young couple just starting out....he dreamed of being a farmer. Though his herd was very small ,compared to many ,they were highly prized animals and therefore other nations sought him out to breed their cattle.
I still don;t understand much of the genetics involved but it’s very significant to a farmer....that much I do know.
Rarely do all the animals die. If all the animals die then the rancher has to quit ranching and get a job unless he has money from inheritance or another source. When ranchers suffer a big loss they cut expenses as much as possible, sell any thing they can live without. I have eaten a lot of beans in my life. Ranchers and their families will also take outside work to rebuild, which can take years. Most ranch wives work now anyway, but after a great loss the rancher may get a job and ranch in his spare time working both his job and his ranch work is still there so many long days for possibly years. Wife may also get a second job.
Ranching is in the blood, something done out of love of it and not money. The truth is if a family can get the land and livestock paid for then ranching can pay quite well. It can take generations to get things paid for depending on mother nature and a lot of other things along the way. Many ranchers are sacrificing their hard work and frugal ways most or all of their lives so their children and grandchildren can have a ranch that does pay.
Some ranchers do get some government help, but mostly large ranchers qualify for all the grants, loans, and even when it comes to disaster relief. Small ranchers are just like many small businesses, just hanging on as best they can. Money from the government has never been as freely given to ranchers as it is to farmers though.
Gotcha. Movies are reality.
only a stupid troll would make that comment.
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