Western South Dakota

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It's always especially bad when it's this early. Snows wet & heavy, trees still have leaves and take out everything in sight.
I'm so sorry for everyone's losses :frowns:
 
I grew up in the Dakotas, and do not remember a storm this bad in October. I remember a bad spring storm, that froze cattle to the ground by their noses. This is really bad for the Dakota and Wyoming people. Heart goes out to them.
 
kenny thomas":2uq6todw said:
Anyone heard from BRG? He is in that area. He was chopping green silage only last week.
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Hate to see anyone lose their stock, but if they lost a lot of theirs, it would even be a little worse with as nice of cattle as they are.
 
Stupid question time but what caused the massive loss of life? The sudden change in the temperature? Inability to forage through the snow?

Seems like these cattle would be used to harsh conditions albeit not all at once I suppose.
 
TennesseeTuxedo":3s8wn212 said:
Stupid question time but what caused the massive loss of life? The sudden change in the temperature? Inability to forage through the snow?

Seems like these cattle would be used to harsh conditions albeit not all at once I suppose.
Click to expand...

I am in no way an expert, and thought the same thing. The thing I can come up with in my herd is lack of hair? Cows have not had enough time to lay down hair or a fat layer to make it through the cold. Wind blowing will drop the body temp pretty quickly, and they die of hypothermia. The snow was so high in spots that they walked right over fences and got lost. So maybe wet to add to it?
Regardless, I feel sorry for the ranchers that lost so much. And for the cattle that had to endure that fate. Very sad.
 
TennesseeTuxedo":30mw3vg0 said:
Stupid question time but what caused the massive loss of life? The sudden change in the temperature? Inability to forage through the snow?

Seems like these cattle would be used to harsh conditions albeit not all at once I suppose.
Click to expand...
Here is what Pharo said:
Storms of this magnitude are always destructive, but when they come this early they are worst of all. Ranchers are unprepared. Most have not weaned their calves yet. The cows and calves have not haired up yet and are not conditioned for winter weather.

If the cattle are not protected from the wind and driving snow, they will start walking with the storm. They will walk until they run into a fence or other barrier. They can push through some fences. It is not unusual for cattle to drift 10 to 20 miles. As long as they are walking, they can survive a pretty severe storm. The cattle will suffocate (drown), however, when they pile up against a fence or walk into a ditch or low spot full of snow so deep they cannot get out.

Once a blizzard starts, there is absolutely nothing you can do until it subsides.
 
Thanks HD-- that makes the pictures I have seen more understandable. My prayers go out to all those dealing with this.
 
i heard a story of one blizzard years ago where the cattle froze in their tracks,,, in the blizzard of 93 we had alot of cattle die here, and some running loose... the night it hit i put all mine in the barn till it blew threw. i still had some registered brahman then...it of course wasnt as bad as theirs.. but it was here, where we sure aint use to it...
 
HDRider":s3pp8lm8 said:
TennesseeTuxedo":s3pp8lm8 said:
Stupid question time but what caused the massive loss of life? The sudden change in the temperature? Inability to forage through the snow?

Seems like these cattle would be used to harsh conditions albeit not all at once I suppose.
Click to expand...
Here is what Pharo said:
Storms of this magnitude are always destructive, but when they come this early they are worst of all. Ranchers are unprepared. Most have not weaned their calves yet. The cows and calves have not haired up yet and are not conditioned for winter weather.

If the cattle are not protected from the wind and driving snow, they will start walking with the storm. They will walk until they run into a fence or other barrier. They can push through some fences. It is not unusual for cattle to drift 10 to 20 miles. As long as they are walking, they can survive a pretty severe storm. The cattle will suffocate (drown), however, when they pile up against a fence or walk into a ditch or low spot full of snow so deep they cannot get out.

Once a blizzard starts, there is absolutely nothing you can do until it subsides.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the education. I can only imagine weather like that.
 
They got a lot of cold rain as the temperature was dropping. The cattle were soaked and cold before the worst of the storm blew in. It was a double hit that killed some of them.
 
I live north of Belle Fourche which was hit really hard with this blizzard. We were lucky and only lost a roping steer all of our beef cows made it through just fine....so far. But we have neighbors that have lost 90% of their herds. I also work for a large animal vet supply company and I have been talking to ranchers all week that have lost everything or almost everything and their neighbors only lost a couple. I also have friends that have lost 13 head of horses.The weather is a strange thing. The worse part everything was still out on summer pasture so not much protection.

HD is right the cows smother or walk until they drop and get covered with snow.

Here is a link to some pictures of some herds that are farther north of us but DO NOT open the link if you have a weak stomach. It is very hard to see. http://bigballsincowtown.com/storm2013.htm

Thank you all for all of your thoughts and prayers. They are greatly needed.
 

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