Spring blizzard impacts herds

It's no secret that this year's winter was notably bad, even by North Dakota's standards.

High snow totals, bitterly cold temperatures and howling winds battered eastern North Dakota throughout winter, and not much has changed this Spring.

From April 12-15, a historic snow storm walloped most of the state, rendering roads virtually impassable and leaving behind massive snow drifts. Out west was hit hardest, with the Minot area recording a whopping 48 inches of snow accumulation from Tuesday to Sunday.

The blizzard's ferocity was evidenced by the number of school and road closures, event cancellations, and images of plows facing drifts taller than they are. Perhaps the most costly impact, however, was the loss of local livestock.

Spring blizzards have historically been fatal for livestock. Many still remember the early-spring blizzard of 1997, which resulted in the deaths of 127,000 head of cattle in North Dakota.

Karl Hoppe, Livestock Systems Specialist at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center, said this year's storm wasn't as bad as the blizzard of 97', but that cattle and calves have definitely been lost, including some in his own herd.

"Everybody has said they've had some losses, but how many or how much, we don't know," he said.

Chandy Howard, NDSU Extension Agent in Eddy County, also said it's too early for an accurate count of the death toll, saying fatalities could still occur among cattle that caught pneumonia from the blizzard.

Here in Eddy County, Adam and Ashley Fleming said they suffered a fair amount of losses on their ranch. Thankfully though, they managed to save at least three of their young calves.

Adam Fleming said the calves appeared lifeless when first brought in, but with the help of a whirlpool, a bathtub and a hotbox, all three were rescued and are now safe and staying warm.

"Believe it or not you can bed down all the fresh straw you want and you will still have cows go off and calve in a snowbank!!" he said in a Facebook post.

April blizzards are especially deadly as many ranchers begin calving season in the spring, which can leave infant calves exposed to dangerous elements. Out west, where snow totals were double what Eddy and Foster County saw, some cattle could still be buried in snow drifts, said Hoppe.

The situation may also get worse before it gets better. On Wednesday, Chandy Howard told the Transcript that another snow storm, which was forecast for the weekend of April 23-24, could amplify the issues ranchers are already feeling, especially out west.

According to the National Weather Service in Grand Forks (NWSGF), the Red River Valley has already seen a record number of blizzards this winter/spring, reaching a total of 13 as of press time.

The 2013-14 and 1996-97 winters previously held the record at 10 blizzards each, making this winter one for the record books.

But the snow can't fall forever, and Austin Perroux, a forecaster for the NWSGF, said snow shouldn't be in our future much longer.

"We're getting into that period where it almost gets too warm when these systems come through for them to actually produce snow," he said. "There are signals for another system this weekend (April 23-24), but we don't know how much of it will be rain and how much will be snow."

Meanwhile, Hoppe said surveys are being distributed to local ranchers as they try to get an accurate count of the losses, and Howard added that ranchers with losses from the recent blizzard can take advantage of the Farm Service Agency's (FSA) Livestock Indemnity Program.

The program provides benefits to agricultural producers for livestock deaths, in excess of normal mortality, caused by adverse weather and other events.

A fact sheet for the program, which provides information on eligible livestock, eligible loss conditions and payment rates, is available on the FSA website by searching "FSA Livestock Indemnity Program."

Ranchers have to file a notice of loss with the FSA within 30 days of when the loss became apparent, and must file an application for payment no later than 60 days after the end of the calendar year in which the loss occurred.

For more information on the livestock indemnity program, residents of Eddy and Foster County can contact the Farm Service Agency in New Rockford at (701) 947-2427, or by visiting their office at 103 7th Street North in New Rockford.