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South Dakota ranchers reel after 'catastrophic' storm leaves up to 100,000 cattle dea
Ranchers in South Dakota fear they may lose everything after a freak storm dumped up four feet of snow in parts of the state last week, killing as many as 100,000 cattle.
Matt Kammerer, a 45-year-old rancher whose family has operated in South Dakotaâs Meade County since 1882, told FoxNews.com that he lost 60 cattle in the storm, or one-third of his entire herd.
" ... Itâs just dead cow after dead cow, where theyâve gotten caught in dams, streams, fences, you name it. Theyâre dead everywhere."
- Rancher Matt Kammerer
âYouâre talking about $120,000 of assets that are just gone,â Kammerer said Friday by phone. âAnd we still owe the banks, too. Itâs like driving a brand-new pickup off a cliff and still having to make payments.â
Kammerer painted a gruesome scene north of Rapid City, where a record 23 inches of snow fell.
âItâs just unreal,â he said. âThere are cattle that are 8 or 9 miles away from the pasture they were in, just lying dead. And within that whole stretch, itâs just dead cow after dead cow, where theyâve gotten caught in dams, streams, fences, you name it. Theyâre dead everywhere.â
Carcasses of mature cows as well as calves were floating downstream local waterways in droves, Kammerer said, stoking fears of a potential outbreak of disease.
âIf you donât get those picked up and buried, youâre looking at the possibility of disease or possibly contamination,â he said. âYouâve got to get them all picked up.â
Most ranchers in the state lost anywhere between 50 to 75 percent of their herds, according to Silvia Christen, executive director of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, which represents 1,500 ranching operations.
âWeâre certainly looking at tens of thousands if not pushing 100,000 at this point,â she said of the dead livestock.
Aside from the economic losses, which will be severe once finally tallied, the unprecedented storm has left an âincredible emotional burdenâ on the stateâs ranchers, Christen said.
âThey know how dependent these livestock are on them and theyâre absolutely emotionally devastated at the losses theyâre seeing,â she said. âItâs been extremely difficult.â
In the days since the storm, Christen said ranchers are now focusing on providing medical care to the animals that did survive.
âThat really has to be the priority before we start counting loss,â she said. âThey need to make sure theyâre safe and that they stay healthy now.â
Complicating matters is this weekendâs forecast, which calls for heavy rain and strong winds just a week after the early fall blizzard. Crews in South Dakota and North Dakota are also still working to restore power to thousands of customers left in the dark.
The storm also killed a man in the Lead-Deadwood area of South Dakota and damaged numerous buildings, causing at least one to collapse from the weight of snow and relentless winds.
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., flew over the affected areas during an aerial assessment Thursday afternoon. The stateâs congressional delegation has also vowed to push ahead for quick passage of the stalled farm bill to provide immediate financial relief to ranchers.
âWe need to be doing everything we can to help the livestock producers whose livelihoods have been endangered by this storm,â Thune said in a statement. âLast weekendâs devastating storm is another example of why we need to complete work on the Farm Bill for our farmers and ranchers.â
Christen said passage of the legislation is critical for the region.
âItâs a disaster situation here, like a hurricane in other parts of the country,â she said. âWeâre not looking for a handout or any kind of special subsidy, however, weâve had a devastating loss to our industry. Itâs critical to our economy in South Dakota and frankly the entire agriculture industry that we pass that. These cows feed a lot of this country.â
Gary Cammack, a 60-year-old rancher near Union Center in Meade County, said he lost about 15 percent of his herd, including 70 cows and some calves, which normally sell for $1,000. A mature cow usually brings in $1,500 or more, he said.
"It's bad. It's really bad. I'm the eternal optimist and this is really bad," Cammack told The Associated Press. "The livestock loss is just catastrophic ... It's pretty unbelievable."
Livestock were initially soaked by 12 hours of rain before 48 consecutive hours or snow and winds up to 60 mph, Cammack said.
"It's the worst early season snowstorm I've seen in my lifetime," he continued.
Ranchers in South Dakota fear they may lose everything after a freak storm dumped up four feet of snow in parts of the state last week, killing as many as 100,000 cattle.
Matt Kammerer, a 45-year-old rancher whose family has operated in South Dakotaâs Meade County since 1882, told FoxNews.com that he lost 60 cattle in the storm, or one-third of his entire herd.
" ... Itâs just dead cow after dead cow, where theyâve gotten caught in dams, streams, fences, you name it. Theyâre dead everywhere."
- Rancher Matt Kammerer
âYouâre talking about $120,000 of assets that are just gone,â Kammerer said Friday by phone. âAnd we still owe the banks, too. Itâs like driving a brand-new pickup off a cliff and still having to make payments.â
Kammerer painted a gruesome scene north of Rapid City, where a record 23 inches of snow fell.
âItâs just unreal,â he said. âThere are cattle that are 8 or 9 miles away from the pasture they were in, just lying dead. And within that whole stretch, itâs just dead cow after dead cow, where theyâve gotten caught in dams, streams, fences, you name it. Theyâre dead everywhere.â
Carcasses of mature cows as well as calves were floating downstream local waterways in droves, Kammerer said, stoking fears of a potential outbreak of disease.
âIf you donât get those picked up and buried, youâre looking at the possibility of disease or possibly contamination,â he said. âYouâve got to get them all picked up.â
Most ranchers in the state lost anywhere between 50 to 75 percent of their herds, according to Silvia Christen, executive director of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, which represents 1,500 ranching operations.
âWeâre certainly looking at tens of thousands if not pushing 100,000 at this point,â she said of the dead livestock.
Aside from the economic losses, which will be severe once finally tallied, the unprecedented storm has left an âincredible emotional burdenâ on the stateâs ranchers, Christen said.
âThey know how dependent these livestock are on them and theyâre absolutely emotionally devastated at the losses theyâre seeing,â she said. âItâs been extremely difficult.â
In the days since the storm, Christen said ranchers are now focusing on providing medical care to the animals that did survive.
âThat really has to be the priority before we start counting loss,â she said. âThey need to make sure theyâre safe and that they stay healthy now.â
Complicating matters is this weekendâs forecast, which calls for heavy rain and strong winds just a week after the early fall blizzard. Crews in South Dakota and North Dakota are also still working to restore power to thousands of customers left in the dark.
The storm also killed a man in the Lead-Deadwood area of South Dakota and damaged numerous buildings, causing at least one to collapse from the weight of snow and relentless winds.
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., flew over the affected areas during an aerial assessment Thursday afternoon. The stateâs congressional delegation has also vowed to push ahead for quick passage of the stalled farm bill to provide immediate financial relief to ranchers.
âWe need to be doing everything we can to help the livestock producers whose livelihoods have been endangered by this storm,â Thune said in a statement. âLast weekendâs devastating storm is another example of why we need to complete work on the Farm Bill for our farmers and ranchers.â
Christen said passage of the legislation is critical for the region.
âItâs a disaster situation here, like a hurricane in other parts of the country,â she said. âWeâre not looking for a handout or any kind of special subsidy, however, weâve had a devastating loss to our industry. Itâs critical to our economy in South Dakota and frankly the entire agriculture industry that we pass that. These cows feed a lot of this country.â
Gary Cammack, a 60-year-old rancher near Union Center in Meade County, said he lost about 15 percent of his herd, including 70 cows and some calves, which normally sell for $1,000. A mature cow usually brings in $1,500 or more, he said.
"It's bad. It's really bad. I'm the eternal optimist and this is really bad," Cammack told The Associated Press. "The livestock loss is just catastrophic ... It's pretty unbelievable."
Livestock were initially soaked by 12 hours of rain before 48 consecutive hours or snow and winds up to 60 mph, Cammack said.
"It's the worst early season snowstorm I've seen in my lifetime," he continued.