2006 blizzards pound state’s cattle industry

Cattle losses from two blizzards that struck Eastern Colorado in late December are estimated to be closer to 15,000 than the 3,500 originally thought. And even that total is preliminary as ranchers continued looking for lost stock in the first weeks of January.

“We have 8,000 confirmed,´ said Traci Eatherton, communications director for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, on Jan. 11. “It’s very hard to put a specific number on it and we probably never will. But we’re estimating between 8,000 and 15,000.”

Economic losses to the state’s cattle industry could approach $30 million, according to one estimate.

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Most of the cattle were lost in a sea of snow that left 15-foot-high drifts in some places in southeast Colorado. Western Kansas was also extremely hard hit by the storms that came just before Christmas and just before the New Year’s Eve weekend.

Volunteers on snowmobiles and National Guard troops in helicopters led an effort to find and feed stranded range cattle in several counties in the southeast corner of the state.

Leonard Pruett, a Colorado State University agriculture extension agent in Lamar, made an initial estimate of 3,500 cattle dead. That was tripled a few days later as more losses came to light on the windswept eastern plains and from feedlots across the region.

“We have around 100,000 mother cows in that area, and we’re guessing about 5 percent of those – or about 5,000 head – died, but they’re doubling that due to losses from dehydration, respiratory problems and loss of (spring) calves,” Pruett said. “I’m not going to argue with that figure – it’s certainly possible.”

Pruett said other losses not in the original estimate were for feedlot animals, another 5,000 of which are estimated to have perished. “There’s well over 200,000 feedlot cattle in those areas who didn’t have a dry place to lay down for several days. We’re hearing of some rather substantial losses in the feedlot industry as well.”

Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding based in Loveland, which has four Colorado feedlots including one in Yuma with a capacity of 125,000 head and another in Lamar with a capacity of 59,000, declined to comment on their losses.

“I’d rather not say anything about Five Rivers,´ said Matt Buyers, vice president of operations.

Cattle losses only part of impact

Pruett said each cow that died represented a loss of about $1,200. Add to that, he said, the loss of unborn calves, and the high cost of supplemental feed that will be needed to bring the storm-ravaged survivors up to market weight, and the economic impact on the state’s cattle industry could be considerable.

“I haven’t tried to put a pencil to it, but with 15,000 lost at $1,200 apiece, that’s $18 million – and that’s just a start,” he said. “Add in another $9 million to cover additional losses and unexpected costs, and it’s $27 million at least.”

Northern Colorado, which also got socked by both blizzards, was not affected nearly as much, according to local observers. Wayne Kruse, owner of Centennial Livestock Auction Co. in Fort Collins, said he had not heard of any major losses to Northern Colorado cattle producers.

“I’m sure everybody lost a few,” he said. “I lost three or four but it’s not a very big number up here.”

The Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Livestock Association and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association appealed to the federal government to get a disaster declaration for stock losses in the storm but had not received a reply as of Jan. 11.

And there may not be much help from insurance, according to Troy Bredenkamp, executive vice president of Colorado Farm Bureau. “Unless it is explicitly written into their policy for an event like this, I would say more than likely they’re not going to be covered, unfortunately,” he said.

Relief efforts under way

Meanwhile, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has set up a disaster relief effort similar to relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The NCBA is accepting monetary donations which they say will be 100 percent distributed to cattlemen in need.

Eatherton said the response from cattle producers and others across the nation has been “just incredible.”

“It’s ranchers helping ranchers, and people are really stepping up to the plate to help each other,” she said.

Eatherton said requests for donations netted about $10,000 from across the country in just the first two days. “And it’s not just cattle people,” she said. “It’s citizens, realtors – the donations are coming from all over the place.”

Eatherton said money is also being collected at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. “The Stock Show has just been incredible, too, putting up flyers and making announcements during the shows,” she said.

On Jan. 11, the relief effort got a huge boost when Golden-based Coleman Natural Foods made a “major donation” and said it would match dollar-for-dollar all personal donations made by its employees.

“Coleman recognizes the challenges faced as a result of these storms by farmers and ranchers across the High Plains region,´ said Mel Coleman Jr., Coleman’s chair. “These family operations are exactly the kind of partners that help make Coleman successful, and we want to do what we can to help them through this difficult time.”