Early October Blizzard

Lazy WP

Well-known Member
I find it really interesting that the national news is telling all about the tropical depression, that MIGHT hit the east coast, but little to nothing about the thousands of head of livestock that died during the storm last weekend.
My prayers go out to the livestock owners that are devastated by the storm. Lots of calves, still on the cow, that were ready to be sold. These guys receive one payment per year, and their wages are in snow drifts.
Prayers again!!
 
Farmers are always last for any type of compassion or understanding. Probably the reason is that we know how to take care of ourselves. We don't stand around hunting a hand out.
 
Not to mention expenses they may incur due to trees going down and damaging homes, outbuildings, vehicles, tractors or equipment.

Plus hay or other crops that may be sitting out underneath that snow.

And yes, barely a blip on the news about it.
 
I am in the area that has had the terrible cattle deaths. I have heard that there may be up to 100,000 dead cattle. We got extremely lucky and did not lose any. Some producers death numbers are in the hundreds. One rancher had 400 bred heifers. 300 of them ended up dying in a stock dam. Stories like this are very common in western South Dakota after this last storm. Most of the ranchers will just dust themselves off and get back to work though. Not many will probably wait for the government to come and help them out. Most will help themselves and their neighbors and get their lives back to as normal as possible.
 
First I heard about it too.

I can learn more about what's going on from this site then any news program !
 
I guess I don't understand how or why they would lose many? What killed the cattle, death by falling debris? We get several storms like this a year here in Michigan and there is no reason to lose cattle from it. It may take longer to get the feed to them but it can't be that hard, we do it almost every year.
 
out here we do not have many trees to block/breakup the wind, when a blizzard hits here like the last one the 70 mph winds and up to 30" of snow combine and drive the cattle with the winds they go until they hit some thing be it a fence dam or drop off ect they just pile up on one another and then the snow covers them and they smother to death most times, if you think you can get to them always to feed you have not been in a plans style blizzard you can not see 2' in front of you and we have hills, valleys, drop offs that you have no way of knowing they are there, one second you are in 10" of snow the next it may be a 10' drift and even if you do get to them it is not lack of food that kills them very sad news we were lucky here as the worst of it was east of us 500-100 miles
 
I also live in the blizzard area. No losses here that we know of. what cnutty said is correct they just start moving the direction of the storm and pile up. also many ranchers here don't want gov. assistance, everytime they get involved everything gets completely f---- up. the gov can give the welfare to the ones that truly need it standing in a line never had a job, only had welfare.sarcasm intended.
 
For sure!

I've always said, if you haven't experienced a plains blizzard, ya really don't know what 'winter' is. :>(

Allan
 
Allan I would guess you have done the "rope" thing like we have done, tie a rope between buildings so you can find your way? things really do get western here in storms!!
 
I was born and raised in eastern WI. Grew up on a dairy farm. I can remember alot of blizzards and hard winters. I moved to SD in 1998. I have a new found respect for blizzards and winter in general. These plains will kill you as help is a long ways away in most cases.

Casey in SD
 
From the Black Hills east to Eagle Butte sounds like the worst of it. You can see hundreds of carcasses from the road. I had a friend text me pictures from his trip yesterday.
 
Here are some photos from internet.

Incredible amount of snow!
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I'm in SD, but not in the blizzard area. I just want to say that a grandson in Kansas said, "We drove in a real blizzard on the way home from church." Well, how fast did your Dad drive? "Down to forty miles an hour!" Yah, right, you don't know what a blizzard is!
 
I'm in east central, up on top of the Buffalo Ridge. Brookings is a half hour south and Watertown is a half hour north. Both towns have a completely different climate then up here on the ridge. Actually you ca go around 5-10 miles in any direction and be down hill enough already to get out of the bad weather. I should have settled down elsewhere.

Casey in SD
 
Are distances that far that a few livestock shelters scattered around the pastures could not have saved enough of those cattle to pay for the shelters?

I realize that compared to older stock cows, steers and heifers are pretty dumb, so they can't anticipate a storm at the start or to head for home until after it's too late. Even in a milder climate like Minnesota and Iowa, providing winter shelter for the entire herd is a basic neccesity to keep feeders gaining weight efficiently and profitably.

Was the storm so early that those cattle were not moved to their winter ranges yet?

I live in a different climate, so i'm just asking.
 
(quoted from post at 10:37:06 10/08/13) Here are some photos from internet.

Incredible amount of snow!
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hat looks nasty,hard to believe without the pics :shock:. I have never seen that much snow in my life and we get the odd blizzard here as well, , no wonder cattle die like flies in that amount of snow.
I feel sorry for these ranchers.
 
Old article noted Buffalo head into wind during snow storms and herd bunchs a bit with younger calves in toward center. when they slow advance to a shelter, the herd pauses in lee of shelter. first cattle herds in Dakotas drift down wind and end up bunching, some of the longhorns joined buffalo herds and survived. The survivors come spring bred with the young Buffalo bulls that old bull was chasing away from "his" harem and the "Beefalo" offspring were noted in 1890s. Humans caught in blizzards snuggle up to whatever warm body with shelter- and some offspring also result with combined features, sometimes features of "Buffalo soldiers". Scotch ox not noted as big pile up critters- lager up with calves in middle and wait out snow storm. Wild horse herds in northwest may be trimmed back- but the old Siberan Pony bloodlines have survived since 1880s bad winters so likely to survive this one also. Now if someone can figure a cheap way to get the snow to Texas to relieve the drought? Be kind of nice, don"t think the thirsty texas critter would complain about cool water/snow melt. RN
 
You guys must be tough to live out there. I won't complain about winters here anymore. Thinking of you folks. Hey can I sell anyone some red cedars for a wind break.
 
Also understand this is open range country with no fences for miles. So to have a windbreak in the middle of nowhere vs a feedlot is a big difference. In the days of truly open range this was diminished somewhat by the fact that they could drift out of the storm or into shelter instead of running into a fence. That was an old timers report anyway.
 
I drove across I 90 a few years ago in early September and in glorious weather, but it did strike me how open it was, and i talked to some ranchers who told me just what it gets like out there... I can imagine how bad it is just from being there and I do feel for you all...Hope the rest of the season is kinder to you.
Sam
 
Someone noted that the curvy road is NOT a SD photo... cars are on the wrong side of the road - they thought it was a pic from Japan.

But the other photos are from a newspaper - so I believe them to be of South Dakota.

I feel bad for them too - what a mess. Hope it warms enough to melt a bunch of it away before winter really does set it.
 
I had a guy tell me he lost a 3 year old, 1 ton Angus bull. Basically froze to death. Last week it was 70 degrees. Older cattle weren't haired up yet. He said that he hasn't found any calves dead, yet, but about 18 to 20% of his cows are gone.
 
(quoted from post at 14:17:38 10/08/13) Old article [b:f9f1a797db]noted Buffalo head into wind during snow storms and herd bunchs a bit with younger calves in toward center.[/b:f9f1a797db] when they slow advance to a shelter, the herd pauses in lee of shelter. first cattle herds in Dakotas drift down wind and end up bunching, some of the longhorns joined buffalo herds and survived. The survivors come spring bred with the young Buffalo bulls that old bull was chasing away from "his" harem and the "Beefalo" offspring were noted in 1890s. Humans caught in blizzards snuggle up to whatever warm body with shelter- and some offspring also result with combined features, sometimes features of "Buffalo soldiers". Scotch ox not noted as big pile up critters- lager up with calves in middle and wait out snow storm. Wild horse herds in northwest may be trimmed back- but the old Siberan Pony bloodlines have survived since 1880s bad winters so likely to survive this one also. Now if someone can figure a cheap way to get the snow to Texas to relieve the drought? Be kind of nice, don"t think the thirsty texas critter would complain about cool water/snow melt. RN
ep buffalo's are smarter, they head for the tree's if they are nearby or they just stay put.
I had some calves born in 3' of wet snow this spring, it didn't bother them none.
 
Around here (Frontier County) if we get a wet heavy snow you are by far better off to stick to the gravel. We don't get the snow like back in the Pennsylvania snowbelt, but it blows a lot worse here. And colder, first time I had fuel gel on me it was 17 below, then we had 40-45 MPH winds on top of that.
 
Like so many problems that face our country, and the farmer comes up last on the list of solutions. Pretty typical.
 
Yes, most of the cattle were still on summer grazing, which has, in almost every case, no shelter. It was a "once in a lifetime", (we hope) early October blizzard. Was in the upper 80's only a few days before it hit. Many factors contributed to the disaster.
 

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