Wildfires

Using the D.A.R.T. Method to Identify Smoke-Stressed Calves

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:27:31 GMT

Wildfires occurring in western and central Nebraska mirror a broader trend of increasing wildfire frequency and magnitude across the western U.S. While the immediate impacts of wildfire are devastating to beef production and rural communities, the effects of wildfire smoke may also pose risks to both human and animal health.

“In the weeks and months following a wildfire event, producers should remain vigilant and monitor calves for signs of respiratory disease or illness,” explains Brock Ortner, Nebraska extension livestock system educator .

Combustion of biomass during wildfires produces carbon dioxide and water vapor but also generates ash, a mixture of inorganic compounds. Of particular concern is ultrafine particulate matter (less than 2.5 microns), which can travel deep into the lung alveoli and enter the bloodstream. In humans, these particles have been associated with inflammation and oxidative stress.

Limited research has examined wildfire smoke exposure in cattle. However, work conducted by Ranches and others (2021) in a small group of Simmental × Jersey calves reported increased concentrations of cortisol, an indicator of stress, following exposure to smoke from a wildfire approximately 10 miles away from the study site. In the same study, concentrations of ceruloplasmin, a marker of systemic inflammation, were elevated following the wildfire event. Antibodies including IgM and IgA were also increased, suggesting activation of the immune system.

Physiological stress and inflammation can negatively affect cattle performance and immune function. When immune defenses are compromised, calves may become more susceptible to respiratory pathogens. In the development of bovine respiratory disease (BRD), opportunistic bacterial pathogens — including Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni and Mycoplasma bovis — are normally present at low levels in healthy calves. However, when viral infection or physiological stress suppresses immune function, these bacteria can proliferate in the respiratory tract, leading to morbidity, reduced performance and potentially death.

Because stressors, such as wildfire smoke, may increase disease susceptibility, monitoring calves closely for early signs of illness is important. One practical approach is the D.A.R.T. method, which helps producers identify calves that may require further evaluation.

D — Depression:
Observe calf posture and behavior. Droopy ears or head carriage, lethargy, increased time spent lying down and separation from pasture mates may indicate illness. Because cattle are prey animals and tend to hide sickness, subtle behavioral differences may only become apparent after calves become accustomed to your presence.

A — Appetite:
Reduced appetite — whether at the feed bunk or during nursing—can indicate a health challenge. On pasture, reduced gut fill relative to herdmates may also signal decreased intake.

R — Respiration:
Healthy cattle typically take 10 to 30 breaths per minute. Increased respiratory rate, shallow breathing, or abnormal sounds such as coughing or raspy breathing may indicate respiratory disease. Nasal discharge or excessive eye secretions may also accompany illness.

T — Temperature:
Rectal temperatures of approximately 103.5 to 104.0 degrees Fahrenheit or greater are indicative of fever and warrant further attention.

Early detection and treatment of sick calves improve the likelihood of recovery and helps reduce performance losses associated with respiratory disease. Extra vigilance and responsiveness may mitigate negative health outcomes in the weeks and months following wildfire smoke exposure.

Your Next Read:
Tips for Care Following Wildfire

CattleZen Calming Pheromone Available to Cattle Producers Facing Wildfires

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:18:35 GMT

In the wake of recent wildfires in Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, many cattle producers are managing heightened cattle stress caused by relocation, environmental disruption and changes in routine. To help support cattle during this transition, Solvet will be providing CattleZen at no cost to producers impacted by the fires. Designated area veterinarians have CattleZen on hand to distribute as needed. To find your participating veterinarian or determine how to receive product, email Dr. Doug Shane, Solvet veterinary technical support, at douglas.shane@solvet-us.com .

“The unfortunate wildfire conditions create significant stress for cattle, which can cause lasting effects on cattle health,” Shane says. “CattleZen is designed to stimulate a natural calming response, helping support cattle and handler safety through stressful events such as this.”

Shane adds that the resilience of cattle producers during these events does not go unnoticed.

“We hope offering this product will help producers with one aspect during a challenging time. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the producers, veterinarians and first responders working tirelessly to protect livestock and livelihoods.”

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After the Fire: The Need for Feed, Fence and Prayers
Tips for Care Following Wildfire

After the Fire: The Need for Feed, Fence and Prayers

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 21:19:00 GMT

Wildfires plagued the Plains last week from southern Kansas into Oklahoma and Texas. Hundreds of thousands of acres of grass are now burned to sand.

The Ranger Road Fire, which started in Oklahoma and made its way into southern Kansas, to date has burned more than 283,000 acres and is 65% contained as of Monday morning, according to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry .

The Oklahoma Forestry Services reports moderated fire weather over dormant fuels resulted in a downtick in wildfire activity over the weekend, allowing firefighters to improve the containment of recent large fires.

“Conditions also supported opportunity to execute burn plans for prescribed fires,” the report says. “If you engaged in prescribed burning, controlled burns or pile burns over the weekend, please ensure that fire perimeters are mopped up and secured ahead of increasing fire weather concerns Tuesday through the remainder of the week.”

Read more about how strong winds, above-average warmth and months of worsening dryness created a “perfect recipe”

for wildfires across the Southern Plains, scorching pasture and farmland — with little moisture relief in the forecast:

Why the Southern Plains Became a ‘Perfect Recipe’ for Wildfire

The wildfires have left a path of heartbreak and devastation. From the loss of livestock and homes, barns and shops to pastures and fence, the damage is hard to fathom.

Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur visited Oklahoma producers impacted by the wildfires on Thursday. “Please pray for our farmers and ranchers and our first responders who continue to battle challenging fires and weather,” she says.

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Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur

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Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur

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Secretary of Agriculture Blayne Arthur

Dr. Randall Spare, Ashland Veterinary Center Inc., says nine years after the losses resulting from the Starbuck Wildfire — still the largest, most extensive wildfire in Kansas history — many of the same ranchers have been affected by the Ranger Road Fire.

Spare explains the wildfire was unstoppable with little farmland or breaks to get ahead of the fire plus the extreme wind. The fire started near Beaver, Okla., at 11 a.m., and he reports many ranchers in the path were moving cattle by noon. He says the highest losses occurred where there were no nearby wheat fields or safe pasture alternatives for the cattle.

“When you have contiguous grass for 90 miles, and the fire line was 90 miles long, from Beaver, Okla. to Protection, Kan., and it was moving 70 miles an hour, it’s hard to get in front of it,” he says.

He also explains because of the good moisture in 2025 and good stewardship of the land, there was a lot of tall, dense forage to fuel the fire.

“Many of the best stewards — those who don’t overgraze and stockpile grass for calving and drought management — actually experienced some of the worst damage,” he explains. “Because they’ve done a good job of managing their grass and have forage to eat in the spring of the year before the growing season starts to calve on, they experienced some of the greatest damage.”

Spare says the Ranger Road Fire took the same path as the Starbuck Fire, but it did not burn as many acres in Kansas — about one-third less in comparison.

“The good thing is it did not go north of Ashland. It’s five miles south of Ashland before it starts and not near the acreage burned,” he summarizes. “Since it isn’t like the Starbuck Fire, we have an opportunity as neighbors to help neighbors, whereas before we couldn’t do that because we were all affected.”

He predicts producers in Kansas lost 1,000 to 1,100 head. He adds there will continue to be more loss as producers evaluate cattle condition.

“One of the biggest damage is feet,” he explains. “The walls of their hooves start to fall off due to the fire. And sometimes that doesn’t show up for five days.”

How Can You Help?

According to Reuters , other fires have burned thousands more acres in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.

In agriculture, community is strong. When one producer hurts we all feel it and, if possible, we step up and help our neighbors in need. Along with prayers, Spare adds the immediate needs are:

Hay
Money (financial support)

In response to producers offering help, Spare shares a list of ways others can support ranchers recovering from the wildfires on social media, including lessons learned from the Starbuck Fire.

“I would like to share what we learned from the Starbuck Fire that, hopefully, will be helpful as you consider making decisions about how to help,” he writes.

Fencing supplies: “After the Starbuck Fire, we learned that if federal funds are used to rebuild and replace fences, the construction requirements to access those funds are very specific regarding type of wire, posts, etc. While the generosity of those giving nine years ago was remarkable, we were limited in how much of the donated resources actually could be used simply because federal loss recovery funds needed to be used, and the donated fencing supplies didn’t meet government specifications.”
Money: “Today, money is the most precious resource and in the greatest need. Many of the ranching operations affected need time to truly assess their losses. Some are finding cattle they first thought to be lost, alive and safe. Others are experiencing the opposite and unfortunately are seeing the losses increase.”
Available pasture and grassland: “If you have pasture available either short term or long term, please reach out to Ashland Community Foundation, Kansas Livestock Association or Ashland Veterinary Center,” he suggests.
Hay: There are designated drop off locations ready to accept loads of hay.

Multiple organizations have stepped up and are organizing supplies and assistance.

• Kansas Livestock Association. KLA is helping connect those wishing to donate with the most suitable drop location. If you’re hoping to donate goods including livestock feed or hay, you can contact KLA at (785) 273-5115, or visit this website . On KLA’s Facebook page you can find posts from feedlots that are offering pen space to wildfire victims.

• The Ashland Community Foundation. ACF is accepting monetary donations to help those affected by the fires in their community. To donate, please visit the ACF website and select “Become A Partner” in the dropdown. Donations are also being accepted at Stockgrowers State Bank or can be mailed to ACF at P.O. Box 276, Ashland, KS 67831.

• Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation. OCF has established a relief fund to help cattle producers who have been affected. As the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association, the fire relief fund at the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation will distribute 100% of received funds to affected cattle producers. You can give online or make checks payable to Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation with “Fire Relief” in the memo line and mail to P.O. Box 82395, Oklahoma City, OK 73148.

• Beaver County Stockyards and Beaver County OSU Extension office. For those willing to donate feed or hay to the Beaver County, Okla., area, visit the Stockyards website or the Extension office website .

• Beaneighbor.org . The Oklahoma Healthcare Authority, provides access to local support including financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, and other free or reduced-cost help. Search for aid in your area at Beaneighbor.org.

Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry reminds the public to use caution before bringing hay to northwest Oklahoma to prevent the spread of invasive fire ants. Find out if your county is under quarantine for fire ants on the USDA website

Fire Weather is Not Over: Stay Prepared

The Kansas Forest Service reminds producers there are still months of fire season to come.

“As firefighters continue to mop up or extinguish hot spots along miles of fire line, recovery begins for the communities most impacted by recent wildfires,” the agency says. “Many wildfire managers are already preparing for the next round of fire weather.”

While recovery and readiness are happening at the same time, the forest service share these two tips:

Learn how to prepare your home and property for a wildfire. Proper preparation can help your home withstand a wildfire.
Have a plan when the wildfire is heading toward your home or property.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension has a Fires & Wildfires website dedicated to providing resources to help prepare for and survive wildfires.

A Note to Survivors

Spare says his message to producers who are recovering from the wildfires is to:

Think beyond today. Plan not only for immediate survival but for summer grazing and next winter’s feed. Recognize that hay now is also about having feed later, since grass is gone.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. “If you are struggling, reach out to a trusted friend and accept neighbor and outside assistance,” he stresses.

Spare summarizes producers from his area are deeply appreciative and humbled by people from across the country who helped nine years ago and are helping again now, even to the point that local folks feel “almost embarrassed” it happened again.

“But it is life, and we’re going to trust God and go on,” he says.

Your Next Read: Tips for Care Following Wildfire

NCBA and PLC Members Testify in Support of Grazing Bills to Prevent Wildfires

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 14:18:49 GMT

Members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Public Lands Council (PLC) testified on Nov. 19 before the U.S. House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands in support of legislation to expand the use of livestock grazing as a tool to reduce wildfire risk, make grazing permits more responsive to range conditions, and remove regulatory barriers to the maintenance of critical infrastructure. Each of these bills works together to protect beautiful landscapes across the West and support the ranchers who drive the economic success of rural communities.

“I see such a clear need for the Operational Flexibility Grazing Management Act. This bill provides much-needed flexibility to ensure land managers like me can be responsive to what the land needs while also maintaining compliance with our grazing permit,” testified NCBA member and Utah Cattlemen’s Association President Jeff Young. “Resource management shouldn’t be static; it should be responsive and collaborative. This bill represents an updated, modernized way to manage the land, understanding that you need flexibility to make things work from year to year.”

California rancher and Public Lands Council member Sherri Brennan shared her personal experience from the 2013 Rim Fire that burned over 257,000 acres in Tuolumne County, CA and the need to prevent recurrent resource damage.

“The combination of reduced grazing and timber harvest, and the lack of meaningful fuel breaks has made many parts of the West one long stretch of high fuel loads. Eight million acres have burned so far this year. What’s worse is that every year, the percentage of total acres that experience the worst kind of fire—high intensity burns—continues to grow,” Brennan testified. “There’s a way to fix this. Targeted grazing with the intention of fuels reduction can remove up to 1,000 pounds of fine fuels per acre. This means that if the area burns, the fire is likely to be shorter—flames under 4 feet tall—which means it’s safer for first responders. Less fuel, cooler flames, and safer firefighters should be common objectives.”

Together, Young and Brennan discussed NCBA’s and PLC’s support for the Operational Flexibility Grazing Management Program Act (H.R. 9062) introduced by Rep. John Curtis (R-UT), the Ranching Without Red Tape Act (H.R. 6441) introduced by Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), and legislation to increase livestock grazing to reduce wildfire risk (H.R. 7666) introduced by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA).

“Livestock grazing is a valuable tool for protecting our scenic Western landscapes from the ever-present threat of catastrophic wildfire, habitat conversion, and damage from a wide variety of sources,” said Executive Director of PLC and NCBA Natural Resources Kaitlynn Glover. “NCBA and PLC are proud to support legislation that supports and expands the use of livestock grazing as a tool to reduce wildfire risk and we are grateful for leaders like Rep. Curtis, Rep. Vasquez, and Rep. LaMalfa for addressing the needs of Western ranchers.”

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Oregon Ranchers Are Continuing to Battle Grueling Wildfires as Financial Losses Mount

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 18:10:08 GMT

As of Friday, more than 1.1 million acres has burned in Oregon. Lightning continues to spark new fires and with the flames still not under control, it will go down as one of the most devastating wildfire fires in the state’s history.

Clint Sexson ranches in eastern Oregon. He says between cattle lost and grazing areas burned, it’s been a grueling summer. The exact livestock losses are unknown at this time.

“I don’t even want to speculate,” Sexson says. “I mean, the one that’s pretty public is that the 300 head in the Durkee Fire that were lost,” Sexson says. “I know one producer who has lost probably hundreds.”

That particular fire, the Durkee Fire, has been a monster. At 86% contained, it’s already scorched 295,000 acres.

Plenty of Fuel for Fires

Just this week, lightning sparked more fires. Sexson says the reason the fires have been so bad is the amount of grass available to fuel the fires.

“There’s more fuel on the ground,” Sexson says. “Some of these areas have burned before. There hasn’t necessarily been a clean up after a burn, so there’s just a lot of fuel.”

A Devastating Loss of Grass to Graze

The livestock losses are heartbreaking and severe, but the amount of grass burned is causing concern in the state. As the fires rage, the losses of valuable grazing ground are mounting, which impacts livestock producers across the state.

“This part of the world is different,” Sexson says. “A lot of people don’t feed cows, but maybe 30, 60 days a year. The rest of the year, we are grazing cattle. It’s a budgetary thing and a management thing that they will have to work through. Emotionally, it’s tough on those people, especially those generational ranches.”

Sexson was fortunate. On July 20, as the fires raged and closed in on his land, he was able to get cattle out thanks to fellow ranchers who showed up with trucks and trailers.

“I work for Select Sires and every one of those trucks that showed up, they were all customers,” he says, as his voice cracks and tears fill his eyes. “We got the cattle out and right back to a customer’s feedlot. They were ready for them, and we were pretty fortunate.”

An Emotional Sale of Support

That emotion was felt late last week as Superior Livestock Auction sold special benefit lots as part of their video sale in Winnemucca, Nev. This was an example of ranchers helping ranchers. That money went to the Oregon Fire Relief Fund, which will help those producers in need.

“These are primarily purebred breeders who have made donations in sale credit or semen credit,” Sexson says. “They’re not directly focused on their customers alone. They’re just focused on the general beef industry in Oregon and the devastation some of these people are dealing with. I know two or three people who had their entire ranches burned by the fires. They may not have lost a cow, but it burnt all their private grazing ground.”

The special sale was a touching gesture, as the ranching community comes together at a time of need and the fires continue to burn. Emotions are high, losses are mounting and cattle producers impacted are feeling the financial pain.

Poor Air Quality from Wildfire Smoke can put Livestock, Pets at Risk

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:02:11 GMT

Wildfire smoke from Canada returned to the upper Midwest and extended to the Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic this week, resulting in poor air quality in some regions along with reduced visibility.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a report on Wednesday, saying “wildfire smoke from Canada will reduce air quality over parts of the Upper/Middle Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes, Western Ohio Valley, Central Appalachians, and Mid-Atlantic, prompting Air Quality Warnings over the area.”

Unhealthy levels of pollutants from the smoke spread across states in those regions including most of Michigan and Wisconsin and parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, according to tracker AirNow.gov.

The NWS is encouraging anyone with underlying lung conditions or asthma – especially children and the elderly – to limit their time outdoors in those regions affected by wildfire smoke.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) advises monitoring pets and farm animals that could also be affected by the smoke.

“If you can see or feel the effects of smoke yourself, you also should take precautions to keep your animals – both pets and livestock – safe,” the AVMA encourages on its website.

Animals with cardiovascular or respiratory disease are especially at risk from smoke and should be closely watched during all periods of poor air quality.

Look for the following signs of possible smoke or dust irritation in animals, including:
• Coughing or gagging
• Difficulty breathing, including open mouth breathing and increased noise when breathing
• Eye irritation and excessive watering
• Inflammation of throat or mouth
• Nasal discharge
• Asthma-like symptoms
• Increased breathing rate
• Fatigue or weakness
• Disorientation or stumbling
• Reduced appetite and/or thirst

The wildfires range from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador, and 239 were categorized by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) on Tuesday as being “out of control.”

Reuters reports that Canada is wrestling with its worst-ever start to the wildfire season, which has already burned 6.5 million hectares (16 million acres), an area a little bigger than West Virginia.

Trapped by Raging Wildfires in December, Kansas Ranchers Share Staggering Story of Survival

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 21:45:39 GMT

The serene setting in western Kansas is one that serves as an escape from the hustle of city life. Desolate with more prairie than people, Paradise, Kan., provides the perfect destination for raising cattle. And it’s where Ken Stielow’s family, owner of Bar S Ranch, has called home since the late 1800s.

“This quarter right behind me was homesteaded in 1900 by my granddad,” says Stielow. “My great-granddad homesteaded a mile west in the late 1880s.”

(Farm Journal)

At night, the skies can be painted with picture-perfect sunsets, at times allowing you to forget about the challenges that come with life. And those challenges are prevalent, as ranching in Paradise isn’t for the faint of heart.

“We’ll have some little prairie fires that start, and you get them put out in maybe a mile. But nothing of this magnitude. I’ve never been anything like it,” says Stielow.

Stielow’s family witnessed destruction for miles upon miles in December. Wildfires that were fueled by uncontrollable winds made Paradise look far from a dream destination.

“It looks like a desert or moonscape now, as somebody described it,” he says. “It’s kind of hard look at, really.”

What can be lush landscape with the right conditions is now charred and scarred, after a wildfire raged across the fields just seven weeks ago.

“It was December 15. It was a Wednesday,” recalls Stephanie Dickerson, Ken’s daughter. “The night before, there had been a whole bunch of schools canceled, and we knew that there was going to be wind.”

Stephanie, along with her husband, David, live and ranch on the family homestead. Winds come with the territory in western Kansas, so wind warnings aren’t unusual. However, on December 15, she says the wind was of a different magnitude.

“It wasn’t tornado weather. It wasn’t hail weather. It was just, you could just sense that there was something different,” she explains.

Despite wind warnings, even those were not enough to prepare area residents for what was about to hit. What they believe were downed power lines sparked a fire that changed their lives .

(Farm Journal)

“About 2:30 in the afternoon, our neighbors to the north and west of us, Craig and Joleen Lawson, called us. They said, ‘Hey, there’s a fire.’ And they said, ‘It is headed towards our house. Could you guys bring a couple of trucks and trailers over and help us evacuate our horses?’”

With that, the Dickersons took off, not knowing exactly where the fire was or how fast it was moving. David and their son in one truck and trailer. Stephanie and their son’s college roommate were in another truck following closely behind.

“Literally, you could only maybe see 20 to 30 yards ahead of you. It was just blowing that bad, and the dust and everything was terrible,” Stephanie says. “We got over to their house, pull into their driveway, and Craig meets us there. He’s like, ‘The fire is already here.’”

Raging Wildfires

Seeing the fire on the horizon, the Dickersons jumped back in their trucks to head back to their ranch when one truck and trailer flipped over from the high winds with David and their son inside.

“The truck that I was driving did not blow over,” Stephanie says. “So at that point, they ran back and jumped in with me. And we couldn’t necessarily see the flames. But we can felt the heat, so you knew that it was close.”

Knowing they had to escape the path of the fire, they drove back north. But they didn’t get even 100 yards north, and the fire was already crossing the highway. So, they turned around.

“Craig called and said, ‘Hey, Joleen is still in the house,’” says Stephanie. “He said, ‘You guys go and grab her.’”

So they did, but when they got there, barns and other parts of the farm were up in flames.

“David and I go into the house, we grab Joleen, and of course she’s frantic. She’s trying to put stuff in a bag, and we grab her and tell her we have to go,” says Stephanie.

What they didn’t know at the time, is the wildfires were so furious, they tore through a 25-mile path in about 18 minutes.

“It was blowing so hard, the fire would have been jumping half a mile to a mile at a time,” says David.

Trapped

At that point, they were trapped.

“We go to leave, and the fire trucks meet us at the end of their driveway, and we said we were going to go west. They said, ‘You can’t go west, there’s another fire coming over the top of this fire.’”

The Dickersons then followed the tanker truck and two rural fire trucks into a green, winter wheat field that the firefighters knew would provide the least amount of fuel for the fire.

“And this is all volunteer firemen at this point,” Stephanie says. “It is our local neighbor, people that we have known our entire lives.”

A Plan to Survive

And with that, those volunteer firefighters came up with a plan to try to survive.

“They told us, ‘We’re going to sit here, and we’re going to wait it out. And the tankers are going to pour water over the top of us when the fire gets close,’” Stephanie recalls.

She says with a limited amount of water left in the tank, they didn’t turn the water on until the fire was closing in.

“We’re sitting in the middle of the wheat field. And when the fire came over, [my son] Grady’s best friend, Tyler, was on the back of the fire truck,” says Stephanie, as she cries remembering how it all transpired that day. “He was the one that was outside and sprayed all the trucks with water.”

Video Stephanie captured on her phone shows just how close they were to not surviving that day. A thin ring of brown and green around the trucks is the only thing that wasn’t black in the entire field.

(Farm Journal)

House on Fire

Thankful to be alive, the Dickersons didn’t know if their own ranch and livestock were caught in the flames . So, after the flames passed they headed toward home.

“We got about a mile and a half, two miles from our house and I could see that the house was on fire. Our show barn was on fire. Everything at our house was on fire,” she says.

“There were nine structures there, and I think there’s two left,” says David.

(Farm Journal)

They lost nearly all their personal belongings, except the clothes on their backs. And their family lost livestock, other structures on the ranch and 40-miles worth of fence. And 200 head of cattle, all gone.

“We had one group of cattle that we had brought into a pasture, a winter pasture with a lot of grass, and that had cows with embryo calves on it. And we were to put embryos in the next morning, we had an appointment. And I think there were about 50 pairs in that pasture, and none of them survived,” says Stielow.

After the Flames

But what happened hours after Bar S Ranch was devastated by the fires is where this story gets better.

“Well, in the next three days, we shipped most of our cows to other locations,” says Stielow. “You really don’t know what kind of friends you have until something like this happens.”

(Farm Journal)

Six hundred head of cattle that survived were immediately taken in by friends up to 450 miles away.

“We’ve had physical donations from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, Iowa, the Dakotas and Colorado,” says Stephanie. “Not to mention monetary donations that I bet we’ve gotten from almost all 50 states. It’s pretty overwhelming.”

“It’s probably, as much as anything, letting you know that there’s still really good people left in the world,” says David.

Overcome with gratitude, the Stielows and Dickersons saw relief come from people they know personally, while other donations poured in from people they’ve never met.

“You see behind me the pile of hay? There was just a constant stream of hay trucks bringing hay people had donated. It was kind of overwhelming. It really was,” says Stielow, taken back by the generosity.

(Farm Journal)

A convoy of hay was trucked in from hundreds of miles away to help area ranchers who lost pastures and their own hay.

“I had a friend tell me this last weekend that we were so lucky, because the people that all showed up and people have sent donations. She said a lot of people don’t see how much you affect other people’s lives until your funeral. And they said, basically, you got to attend your funeral. But you’re still alive to tell about it. And for that, I will forever be grateful.”

While it’ll be at least three years before their ranch gets back to full capacity, this family is thankful that from the ashes rose relief that will continue to restore hope.

Here’s How You Can Help

As the Kanas Livestock Association continues to work to deploy resources, as LMA says there are four collection and distribution points for supply donations of hay, stockwater tanks, fencing supplies and more. Those designated collection points include:

Rooks County
Heartland Regional Stockyards
907 NW 3rd St, Plainville, KS
785-688-4080

Russell County
Russell Livestock
720 S. Fossil, Russell, KS
785-483-1455

Russell County Fairgrounds
702 Fairway Dr. Russell
Marcia Geir: 785-483-3157

Lane County
3 E Rd 120, Dighton, KS
Erik Steffens: 620-397-1687

From the Flames: A Lesson in Thanksgiving from a Man Who Survived a Raging Oklahoma Wildfire

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 21:20:43 GMT

Driving back to rural Dewey County, in western Oklahoma, floods Terry Burleson with memories and images from 3.5 years ago.

“How I escaped this wilderness on fire was by the grace of God,” Terry says.

Among the web of canyons and charred cedars, Terry survived. A miracle, left behind after nearly 300,000 acres burned in April of 2018. It started as a quick trip in the side-by-side to scout locations for a turkey hunt the following morning. Terry and two family members were rolling through the pasture when they saw the smoke.

“It seemed to be a long way off and we weren’t taking on any smoke,” he says. “So, it just felt like it was 10, 15 or 20 miles away.”

But in minutes, the fire was on top of them. It was being pushed by 50 mile per hour winds and now a wall of flames was racing across the landscape. Their road back was blocked and so they ran.

“From that point is where we, for whatever reason, decided to split up,” remembers Terry. “I don’t know why even to this day.”

Terry, not expecting to ever get out, was in loafers as he tried to sprint through the canyons. Somewhere during his sprint, Terry lost his phone. The other two men, via fence lines and dirt roads, found a way to safety. Terry ran for his life, up hillsides and down canyons. He ran until he couldn’t,

“My mind was telling me the fire was going to jump and at any moment I was going to be sandwiched,” Terry says. “I kind of gave up and I laid down to die.”

As he listened to the fire howling around him, he found peace.

(Farm Journal)

“I talked to my wife once, right when we got out of the Ranger,” remembers Terry. “I talked to her and told her we were out on foot; we were in it, and it doesn’t look good.”

He lay at the bottom of the canyon, as cedars exploded around him.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t scared and maybe that’s a God thing, too,” Terry says.

As the heat rolled over him, the burning drove Terry to his feet. He was gasping through the smoke as he climbed out of the canyon and eventually broke the tree line onto flat ground. A small road created the perfect fire line.

“The way that road angles and the way the wind was blowing the same direction, that’s the only thing that allowed that fire to backburn past me,” Terry says.

It wasn’t long before the flames came roaring back to life. This time it was on his side of the road.

“That grass was about waist high,” Terry says. “So, you can imagine the flames were probably 10 feet and created just a big wall.”

Terry worked his way from one safe spot to another, laying as flat to the ground as could, beneath the smoke. Eventually, he was forced back across the road and into the ashes. He was safe as the fire once again raged past him.

Several hours went by and as night began to settle in Terry got to his feet, disoriented, hurting and lost. By chance or by providence he turned left down that road.

“Something told me to go left,” Terry says. “I was very fortunate because when I turn the corner, I saw a water trough and a windmill.”

Water! Terry wet his face, but he didn’t drink. He says given his situation he was worried it might make him sick. Then he laid down, out of the smoke on the cool concrete ring. That’s where he stayed until daylight.

(Farm Journal)

Meanwhile, his family feared the worst. They were kept away from the area by authorities and the raging fire.

“Knowing what the wind was doing, seeing the fire and watching it on the news we were just holding out for hope, begging God that he survives and praying all through the night,” recalls Mark Price, a family member. “You can’t sleep, and everyone was worried, nervous, scared and frustrated.”

When daylight broke, Price rallied the others from the family.

“I said it’s time to go,” said Price. “We’ve got to go find him.”

That morning, a few hundred yards at a time, Terry followed the trail across the pasture to a dirt road and then started toward the western Oklahoma town of Camargo.

“When I got across this cattle guard that’s when I saw a pickup coming,” Terry says.

He sank to the ground, and the men offered him water. Five minutes later his family arrived.

(Farm Journal)

“When we pulled up to that cattle guard, I saw him sitting in the road and I threw it in park, jumped out, jumped up in the air and screamed, ‘He’s alive, he’s alive, thank God he’s alive,’” Price says. “Then I thought, I’ve got to call his wife. So I grabbed the phone and I called her. I said, we found him. He’s alive. Then I hung up.”

Price laughs he probably didn’t share enough information, which worried family at the time.

“I got in trouble for that, and they said, you know, you didn’t really give us a lot of information,” Price says.

Local ambulance director Katrina Bryant was the first to arrive.

(Farm Journal)

“Truthfully, [Terry] was in good shape,” Bryant remembers. “I was expecting to be doing a body recovery, and the way that fire was burning, we probably wouldn’t have found a body. We probably would have found ashes.”

She says the entire emergency team knew he was missing and seeing him alive lifted spirits.

“When they found him, the talk on the radio chatter was just renewed life,” Bryant says.

Terry spent 21 days in the hospital, suffering third-degree burns on his arms and parts of his torso. His head and face had first-degree burns.

Exactly how and why he survived is a question Terry has grown to live with.

“You’ll hear God’s in control and so either he is, or he isn’t. It’s one of the two. It can’t be both,” Terry says.

“I know if the same thing happened to me, he wouldn’t stop until he found me. And you know, that’s just it’s a story of brotherhood, a story of friendship,” said Price.

“I try not to get emotional about it,” Terry says, surveying the place once more. “To come back and see it is all still a little bit surreal.”

From fire and ashes to walking among the living, Terry counts it a miracle. He remains thankful for every step along the way.

Ranchers Now Faced With Difficult Decisions As Drought and Wildfires Wage War on the Plains

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 18:50:11 GMT

High winds and eerily dry conditions across Kansas and the Southern Plains have created what’s been a battleground for continuous wildfires this year. The drought-plagued area was already showing severe signs of what little to no rain-fed water will do, but fires are also robbing ranchers of vital grass.

Cooper and Chelsea Adams are the fifth generation of the Adams family to run cattle in the southwest corner of Kansas. What is typically a lush landscape for cattle ready to graze is now a backdrop covered in dirt and ashes.

“That fire was roaring so fast, 60- to 70-mile an hour gusts that day they said, it had already covered one entire pasture by the time I get down there,” says Cooper Adams.

The 70 MPH winds hit his area of Kansas on April 6. With the winds and dry conditions, the fire risk was high, but when Adams found out the fire was on their property, his first thought was saving whatever cattle he could.

“We went to the tail end of it and fortunately were able to get two sets of cows moved across the highway,” he says. “They were in an area that had not been burned, but I wasn’t going to wait and see if that wind was going to change, so we got them moved and then went to looking for other cows. You drive over a hill, and you just never know exactly what you’re going to see.”

Somehow, the majority of his herd was able to survive the wildfires, with some of the animals finding cover by a waterhole on the river. But the ranch didn’t escape it all, Adams lost some newborn calves and a large amount of grass.

“I lost five, maybe six baby calves is best I can tell for now, and about 15 miles of fence, and then about 5,000 acres of grass,” he says.

The fire was originally believed to be started by arson, but the Kansas State Patrol took the suspect into custody and discovered the fires were actually started in an unusual way. The individual’s truck was malfunctioning and kept backfiring. That caused a spark that then took off and turned into a destructive fire within minutes -- a situation that demonstrated just how dire the drought is in that part of Kansas.

And as the Adams worked to assess the losses caused by the fires on their ranch, just five days later, another fire started on their place.

“It was right over there in the middle of what burned last week. Fortunately, it was surrounded with farm ground, and what did border us was some hay that caught fire just 100 yards from our fence in some country that already been burned, but it sure enough makes you panic,” Adams says.

Trapped by Raging Wildfires in December, Kansas Ranchers Share Staggering Story of Survival

While thankful the majority of their herd survived both fires, the fact that the two fires finished off the already drought-stricken grazing ground is now weighing on their minds.

“We stock conservatively so I felt OK, but losing 5,000 acres of grass.... I’ve already bought some hay and am trying to find ways that I can supplement these cattle, but if we don’t have some rain in the forecasts, I’m going to be faced with having to sell some cows,” he says.

Don't know that I've ever seen it put this way before. NWS has a sense of humor or is very cruel. You be the judge. pic.twitter.com/YrplfF2ZKe
— Wes Beal (@txcat85) April 18, 2022

The talk of liquidation is a tough decision and one ranchers across the West are plagued with this year. According to Drovers, liquidation is already starting with the industry on track to reduce the nation’s cowherd to close to 2014 levels, which was the smallest herd since 1952.

With nearly 80 percent of the nation’s cattle herd seeing some level of drought, it’s liquidation that’s expected to continue if rains don’t drench the Plains in the coming weeks.

“As we get through May and into June and July, we will see a lot of ranchers forced to make some very, very painful decisions as a result of the situation we’re in,” says Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University livestock specialist.

From wildfires to lack of feed, Peel says widespread drought is the culprit for what he sees as accelerated herd liquidation.

“A spring drought is absolutely a worst-case scenario, because we come out of winter, we’ve used up most if not all of our hay, we don’t get any spring growth, we go immediately into severe decision-making,” explains Peel. “It’s not like a drought we sort of see building over a summer, and we can kind of plan and work our way through it. This one’s just here all of a sudden.”

Drovers Cover Story - Counting Cows: Drought, Costs Will Drive Further Reductions

Peel says the situation is severe enough that moisture is an immediate need. Peel thinks if rain doesn’t come to fruition within the next two to three weeks, cattle producers could experience a repeat of 2011.

“There are a couple of similarities and a couple of differences to that year,” says Peel. “The drought conditions right now in terms of time of year, and the potential impacts, are similar to 2011. The difference is that one was very severe but very localized in the Southern Plains. It was a big area, but still the Southern Plains. This year, we have much more widespread drought conditions.”

The scenario is setting up a last-resort situation, with cattle producers faced with making difficult decisions over the next eight to 10 weeks.

“Looking at a Q1 of next year and Q2 of next year, those prices are not encouraging any production expansion at all,” says John Payne, with Stone X Group, as well as publisher of “This Week in Grain.” “In fact, you might see cowboys go out of business.”

Feed costs are high, and while cattle prices have improved, prices on the CME haven’t risen at the same rate as grains or other livestock markets.

John Nalivka of Sterling Marketing says beef cow slaughter is racing higher, with year-to-date slaughter for the week ending March 26, 2022, up 16 percent compared to a year ago, which marks the highest in nearly 36 years.

Even without the drought last year, Kansas State University economist Glynn Tonsor tells Drovers that beef producers would likely have reduced their herds some this year.

“I think we would have shrunk the herd a little even without the drought magnifier, simply because of the price signals ranchers were seeing,” Tonsor says.

As California Wildfires Rage, State Leaders, Students and Veterinarians Launch Effort to Help Rescue Livestock

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 14:09:48 GMT

Western wildfires continue to rage in the West , as California’s biggest wildfire is leading to widespread evacuations of livestock. And now there are efforts underway to care for animals left behind.

The Dixie Fire is the second largest in California’s history. It has destroyed thousands of acres of rangeland, including for migratory cattle.

Leaders from the University of California-Davis, veterinarians, and California legislators have launched a new program. It’s called the “California Veterinary Emergency Team.” Their job is to help rescue livestock and domestic animals during disasters.

Students from U.C. Davis are helping out at other fires. Also right now, Farm Bureau organizations in Butte, Sierra and Plumas counties in California are partnering to help feed and maintain livestock. Similar efforts are underway in Nevada County’s River Fire.

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Ranchers Now Faced With Difficult Decisions As Drought and Wildfires Wage War on the Plains

Trapped by Raging Wildfires in December, Kansas Ranchers Share Staggering Story of Survival

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As California Wildfires Rage, State Leaders, Students and Veterinarians Launch Effort to Help Rescue Livestock