A freak winter storm, Atlas, has killed thousands of cattle in South Dakota.
A killer early-autumn blizzard has slaughtered around 80,000 cattle near the Black Hills area in South Dakota. The disaster is the state's worst economic disaster in the last few decades, which has wasted around $7 billion livestock industry of South Dakota. The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association estimates that the state lost at least five percent of its cattle, which is mostly raised for beef.
The storm that started October 3 along with heavy rain and the next day grew up to four feet of snow and 70-mph winds, destroyed the cattle in the Black Hills region. Ranchers were left helpless as the livestock lay buried in the deep snow. Officials say 6,000 ranching operations suffered losses from the massive storm.
The tragedy has already caused price of live cattle to rise, which is eventually felt by consumers. South Dakota ranks sixth in the U.S. in livestock production and produces nearly four million head of cattle.
The partial government shutdown has also deprived people in the region of a safety net, as the Congress has not passed a new farm bill to subsidize agricultural producers, which means that legislators will not be voting on the topic soon.
Insurance for cattle is an expensive option and it comes with several loopholes, which ranchers usually do not take up. The climatic disaster has put some ranchers out of business.
Two 20-foot-deep disposal pits have been opened in western South Dakota to help ranchers dispose carcasses of their livestock. Ranchers are encouraged to bring carcasses to these sites, which are located in the eastern part of Pennington County. For ranchers raising cattle in Buffalo County the region is over 100 miles drive.
Animal Industry Board rules require carcasses to be burned, buried to a depth of four feet or disposed of by a licensed rendering plant within 36 hours of death. However, recognizing the difficulty in meeting the deadline, the law has been waived off.
