Atlas Blizzard

I know this is slightly older news, but I feel as if not enough people are aware about the blizzard that hit South Dakota. An early devastating blizzard wiped out large amounts of cattle, and livestock throughout the state. I was reading articles about the incident, and literally became sick to my stomach. People are completely blaming the ranchers for all the dead livestock. These were clearly under educated people bashing the ranchers. As many as 75,000 head of cattle died in the storm. Ranchers are facing complete and utter devastation. Due to the government shutdown the farm bill was not renewed. This means the government is not giving them any money so people need to quit saying they will get subsidies. This is the ranchers livelihood many will be facing bankruptcy. Even those with insurance on their livestock won’t be completely covered.

We are talking about the cows that produce babies each year. These were not just feed lot cows about to be slaughtered. They were well cared for, and it can take years to build up a herd. The South Dakota ranchers had less than 48 hours to prepare for this Storm. They experienced hurricane force wind gusts. Many did not have time to herd cattle in, that can take days to do. No one was prepared for the magnitude of the storm that hit. This is completely tragic for the Agriculture World. These Ranchers are not only facing complete devastation, but now they must go out and dispose of the cattle. An immediate concern is proper disposal of the dead livestock, which state law says must be burned, or buried within 36 hours for the health not only of surviving herds but also for people. These Ranchers deserve our SYMPATHY not to be scolded. They have already been through enough. This effects us all meat prices are bound to increase. Don’t shake this off like it is nothing if you like to eat meat it concerns you to. Here is a link to an awesome blog by someone effected by the blizzard.
“>http://doublehphoto.blogspot.com/