South Dakota cattle ranchers struggle to recover after devastating snowstorm

Monday, October 28, 2013

South Dakota cattle ranchers struggle to recover after devastating snowstorm

State waits on Congress farm bill talks after October blizzard which killed up to a third of some ranchers' stocks

Associated Press in Philip, South Dakota
theguardian.com, Monday 28 October 2013 09.48 EDT

Rancher Joe Carley works at the Philip Livestock Auction in Philip, South Dakota. Photograph: Chet Brokaw/AP

Joe Carley has nearly finished burying the cattle he lost in a freak early fall blizzard that killed tens of thousands of cattle in western South Dakota. Now, he is figuring out how to dig himself out of the financial hole left after about a quarter of his cows and maybe a third of his calves died in the storm.
"There's some sleepless nights. There's a lot of worry. My brain's always rolling. We're pulling ourselves out of it, you know. We're trying to figure things out and step forward," said Carley, 40, of Philip, during a break from herding cattle at the local livestock sale barn, where he works to help make ends meet.
Other ranchers in the area also don't plan to give up, despite what state officials have estimated as a loss of 15,000 to 30,000 cattle in the 4-5 October storm that dumped up to 4ft of snow in some parts. The financial loss is staggering, with each calf worth more than $1,000 and each pregnant cow worth $1,500 to $2,000. To make matters worse, most ranchers were only a few weeks away from selling the calves born last spring – their paycheck for the year.
Ranchers like Carley may get low-interest loans or loan guarantees from a US Agriculture Department program and could get some help from a relief fund set up by livestock organizations that have so far collected donations of $400,000 from people in nearly every state and some other countries. A Montana organization is asking ranchers in that state to donate heifers that can be given to help South Dakota ranchers rebuild their herds.
Ranchers also could get a big boost if a federal livestock disaster program that expired in 2011 is revived in a new farm bill. The House and Senate versions of the new farm bill include provisions to do so and to provide retroactive payments, but the two chambers have been unable to agree on a farm bill after passing different versions several months ago. Spurred partly by the disaster, the House and Senate now plan to restart negotiations.
"Anything will help, I guess," said Carley, who lost 51 cows and 70 calves. "We're not asking for handouts, either, but there are a lot of people in need around here."

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