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USDA meeting with livestock producers hurt by Atlas Blizzard
Image by USDA NRCS South Dakota
In Union Center, SD, on October 21, 2013, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Undersecretary Michael Scuse met with South Dakota agricultural producers for an update on the devastating impacts of Blizzard Atlas on producers in western South Dakota and neighboring states. Conservation district and county committee representatives also attended.
Photo by Tanse Herrmann, District Conservationist, USDA NRCS Sturgis Field Office.
NRCS Helping Farmers and Ranchers Recover from Winter Storm Atlas
Caption: USDA Under Secretary Michael Scuse, NRCS, conservation district and other local, state and federal officials met with producers onsite to help streamline assistance for disaster-affected farmers and ranchers. FSA and NRCS employees attended many community ranch family gatherings to reach these farm and ranch families whose livelihoods cover nearly 18 million acres of private working land in South Dakota.
NRCS Helping Farmers and Ranchers Recover from Winter Storm Atlas
By Tanse Herrmann, Sturgis and Colette Kessler, Pierre, both with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
Despite challenging weather, conservationists are working diligently – and often in sub-zero temperatures and snow-covered fields and pastures – to help ranchers recover after Winter Storm Atlas.
The three days of cold rain, snow and powerful winds of the October 2013 surprise blizzard affected roughly 28,000 square miles of western South Dakota, an area the size of West Virginia. The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association (SDSGA), South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association (SDCA) and South Dakota Sheepgrowers Association (SDSA) organized community farm and ranch family gatherings reaching to outline social, economic and environmental assistance.
“These meetings were the catalyst for moving forward and the first opportunity for many of rural South Dakota to gather since the disaster struck,” says Jodie Anderson, Executive Director of the SD Cattlemen’s Association, Pierre. “At that time, we had serious concerns about environmental issues related to the catastrophic loss of livestock.” When the federal government reopened Oct. 17, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) help ranchers begin recovery work immediately. That work still continues.
NRCS has been helping farm and ranch family victims of the storm with technical assistance and more than million in financial assistance for hundreds of applications that helped with burying or disposal of livestock or repairing destroyed conservation practices.
In early January 2014, in the Sturgis, S.D. area, 15-degree weather allowed China inspection and certification of burial pits to ensure they were constructed in environmentally safe locations. The animal mortality facilities are part of the conservation recovery efforts for more than 300 producers who applied for help through the NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
Throughout western South Dakota, Atlas’ three days of cold rain, snow and powerful, icy winds pushed livestock into waterways and into and through fences. Some livestock were even found more than 20 miles away.
Ranchers and NRCS worked to quickly dispose of livestock carcasses to prevent contamination of water bodies. Tanse Herrman explained that “The secondary, and very real benefit, of removing dead animals from the landscape is for the people – the families who live off the land – to begin healing. The social effects of this catastrophic loss are deep and will take years to heal.”
Winter field work is often uncomfortable, but with the right equipment and clothing, conservationists like Tanse venture out knowing their work is integral to helping people help the land in a meaningful way.
Additionally, EQIP is helping replace blizzard-damaged conservation practices. Some renovating of windbreaks and shelterbelts to reinforce livestock and headquarters shelter components of ranching operations and provide protection from wind in future storms has been completed.
In some cases, a fabricated windbreak to replace the living shelterbelt was the best answer to protect animals from harsh weather, but also protect environmentally sensitive areas like waterways. We also worked with some ranchers to replace fencing necessary for rotational grazing systems and reconstruct of ponds that were breached or continue to be threatened by high waters because of three feet of snowfall.
NRCS field employees can’t fix the heartache and emotional loss they see in the eyes of ranch families, but we are responding with a caring professionalism that is appreciated, and even returned, though the circumstances have many families under significant stress.
The shared goal of all parties is protecting surface water quality, improving animal health and moving forward. And our work with ranchers to rebuild conservation practices prepares ranchers for a productive spring and next year’s winter.
Photos and captions:
(frosty blue grama3.jpg www.flickr.com/photos/nrcs_south_dakota/11874721595/)
Caption: On January 9, 2014, the weather cooperated somewhat (to 15 degrees above zero) while NRCS met with some ranchers to inspect their completed burial pits. In this photo, the heavy fog and cold temperatures had created a frost on the blue grama stems creating picturesque scene that anyone could appreciate, especially someone who cares about grassland health!
(DSCF1607.jpg)
Caption: USDA Under Secretary Michael Scuse, NRCS, conservation district and other local, state and federal officials met with producers onsite to help streamline assistance for disaster-affected farmers and ranchers. FSA and NRCS employees attended many community ranch family gatherings to reach these farm and ranch families whose livelihoods cover nearly 18 million acres of private working land in South Dakota.
CoveredPitDSCF1709.jpg – Photo by Tanse Herrmann, NRCS, Sturgis, SD
Caption: Horses and all-terrain vehicles have been the only way to maneuver through pastures since four-wheel drive pickups could not pass through the draws still deep with October’s snow. In this photo, the rancher escorted NRCS staff to document completion of practices in a remote location common of practice installations in the Great Plains.
Pit-DSCF1755.jpg – Photo by Tanse Herrmann, NRCS, Sturgis, SD
Caption: The day before Thanksgiving 2013, this Meade County ranch couple guided NRCS technical staff on a cold, 26-mile ride through nearly 12,000 acres of “Big Country” in central Meade County, SD, typical of the Elm Creek watershed area. NRCS certified that the 24 burial pits were completed to specifications. The four families involved lost 1,200 head of cattle to Winter Storm Atlas and refer to this as their “trail of death.” The ranch families used this grazing system as summer range only because of the lack of winter protection. The early storm caught everyone off guard because it wasn’t forecasted to be so severe until the day before. There simply wasn’t time to organize a crew to gather cattle from the remote pastures.
(KokLyndon(11).jpg and online: www.flickr.com/photos/nrcs_south_dakota/11735675714/)
Caption: Photos shows cattle using a fabricated windbreak in western SD that was part of an overall Conservation Plan provided to the rancher free of charge by the NRCS. Staff helped the producer with analyzing their resources, planning their grazing rotation and designing the windbreak. In areas where trees don’t grow very well naturally, the fabricated windbreak helps shelter their cattle from the harsh winter winds and snow. There are other benefits to society from conservation practices such as these. Notice the healthy riparian area in the foreground. Locating feeding areas away from waterways helps the vegetation to filter any water as it runs off the pasture. Photo by Gary Hendrickson, Belle Fourche Field Office.