Wildfires in Texas have been burning for some time. Even with the fire reported to be over 70% contained, the loss of property and life is terrible. Cattle spread across both of those spectrums. While they are livestock property of ranches, they are also lives being lost in a devastating event.
To give perspective on the scope of the size of this fire; when we were in Texas two weeks ago, the damaged area was already the size of the state of Maine. The fire continued to grow from there, as firefighters worked around the clock to slow the tide.
Now as we look at the devastation to the cattle herds in Texas, we see that this effect is going to be with us for some time to come. Firstly, in the immediate loss of cattle to the ranchers. Our friends at the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network shared some information with us.
While the count of cattle loss is still going on as animals are gathered and some still have to be euthanized, the loss could be in the tens of thousands, if not more. Lane Konkel is with Beaver County Stockyards, and he says that the loss is doubly devastating as herd sizes were already low from the drought conditions which helped to fuel this fire. Herd rebuilding isn’t something that happens overnight. Many herds across the plains states have culled herds because of drought, and just like humans, it takes a cow nine months to produce a calf.
Pat McDowell is a farmer, rancher, and district judge in Wheeler County, Texas. He talks about how the mop-up efforts are going to finish off this fire.
Texas Governor Greg Abbot has been offering all the efforts of the state to help ranchers affected by the worst wildfire in Texas history. Even though the wildfire was so large, McDowell says they won’t qualify for any FEMA disaster help and will have to rely on state and private donations.
Tyler Schau of AgMarket.Net says that the reach of these fires will not be felt immediately on the markets, however, he expects that we will notice the implications over the months yet to come.
If you want to donate to wildfire relief, the Texas Farm Bureau has a fund set up. You can learn more on their website.
