Bitter storm devastates Texas ranches

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture

Texas ranchers suffered their own version of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, when a winter storm named Shirley hit the state last week.

Texas’s Odessa College Head Rodeo Coach and rancher Tom Kelly felt that the storm caught ranchers by surprise,.

“Coming from Wyoming we knew how to handle the weather.” Said Kelly, “A lot of ranchers don’t know how to deal with the cold.”

Midwestern cattle producers raise breeds like Angus cattle to adapt to the cold winters.

Cattle producers at the southern end of the U.S., on the other hand breed for the opposite. 

Many southern ranchers breed their cattle with Brahman or Texas Longhorn cattle, to better equip cattle to live in dry and hot conditions.

With cattle not built to live in the cold conditions, ranchers have had to work hard to help cattle survive the cold snap.

“Eared influence cattle or Brahmans are great cattle for hot weather, since they are originally from India.” Said Ron Bolze, CSC professor, “They have a thin skin and little hair covering on their bodies. I imagine that they are having a hard time in really cold conditions.”

With harsh conditions hitting at the beginning of calving season, many ranchers may see a loss of calves and mother cows alike. 

As of right now there are no official numbers or predictions on how many cattle have died due to the storm.

Ranchers aren’t just having worry about the cold killing cattle but also the lack of water and available feed and forages.

Many ranchers rely on winter pasture as a main source of feed, with excessive snow cover some ranchers may have had to supplement feed. 

“Supplements can be a great nutritive resource.” Said Bolze during an animal nutrition lecture, “They can be expensive and need to be budgeted for to make sure they are worth the money.” 

The weather also brought power outages that caused other problems for the ranching community.

Ranchers in many states use electric pumps to draw water into tanks. Lack of electricity also means that water tank heaters can’t be used to stop tanks from freezing. 

Texas livestock owners have had to haul water and break water tanks open just to provide enough water to keep livestock alive. 

Kelly is responsible for not only caring for his own beef cattle but also the livestock used by Odessa College to practice.

“It’s a full-time job providing water right now.” Said Kelly, “I have 200 rodeo stock animals that I have to haul water to from town.”

Water resources are important to all livestock producers and not all ranchers have easy access to a water source that runs without electricity.