Praise God as farmers across the country donate cattle following the devastating blizzards last October dumping up to 4 feet of snow in South Dakota killing about 14,000 cattle.
Friday, 45 donated cattle from Montana designed to serve as breeding stock were sent to ranchers in The Mount Rushmore State. Another 400 cattle, including yearling and bred heifers worth as much as $75,000 have also been sent from neighboring Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota to help the afflicted ranchers get back on their feet ahead of what appears to be a continued harsh winter still yet to come.
“The support from other states has been phenomenal,” Silvia Christen, executive director of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association said. “We have volunteers from the state who have helped with cleanup, we have people from surrounding states who shipped heifers and about $1.5 million has been donated to the Rancher Relief Fund.” Christen estimated that after the storm, as many as 100,000 cattle would ultimately die as a result of the devastating storm, although state officials have said the blizzard killed roughly 14,000 cattle, more than 1,200 sheep, nearly 300 horses and 40 bison. That number is expected to go up quite a bit in coming weeks.
Damage reports are sketchy as state officials have relied on self-reporting from ranchers, some of whom could be dealing with quilt of not suffering widespread losses like their counterparts. “They’re a very private, self-sufficient group,” Christen said. “The emotional flow of this whole thing has been incredible. These ranchers define themselves as caretakers of their animals and many of them feel they have failed in their role.” Many of these ranchers will not be able to financially survive this.
One rancher in Montana who wanted to help is Rene Brown who began gathering cattle donations from northern Montana through Heifers for South Dakota. “Twelve hours this way with that storm and that could have been us,” Brown stated. Brown’s brother-in-law, Earl Brown, started moving the donated cattle on Friday. “I told him I wanted to get a pot load of cattle together to send to South Dakota,” Rene continued. “He told me I couldn’t do it and that if I did, he would drive them there. Well, we did and even have donations for the fuel, so he’s donating his time for the drive.”
Many smaller ranchers in South Dakota did not have insurance due to the high costs, Brown said. “Congress may approve some disaster aid, but that’s not a sure thing and they can’t even pass a farm bill,” Rene continued. “This donation will make a big difference to ranchers in South Dakota. I knew the Hi-Line would come through, but it is humbling to see this come together.”
The ‘South Dakota Rancher Relief Fund’ was established by a consortium of livestock organizations following the blizzard and has raised $1.5 million, Christen said.
“It has been incredible to see the kind of support we have gotten,” Christen said. “It’s really kind of beyond words. It’s been very humbling.”