Cattle Ranchers Search for Feed as Wildfires Burn Grazing Lands
Article 0 Comments Pasture lands have been stripped down to a sea of sand after wildfires tore across the U.S. Plains, killing cattle and wiping out their food sources, and threatening a historically small herd already linked to rising beef prices. The loss of grass in Oklahoma and Kansas has sent ranchers scrambling for donations of hay to feed their herds as some face the prospect of running out of supplies. Since last week, the biggest wildfire, the Ranger Road Fire, burned an estimated 283,283 acres (114,640 hectares) in northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry said on Monday. It was about 65% contained. Related: Texas Fire Threat to Worsen as Oklahoma Panhandle Burns “Grass is gone,” said Collin Domer, 36, a volunteer firefighter for the Laverne Fire Department in Oklahoma who responded to the blaze. “It’s sand. Take a sand pit and cover that over 285,000 acres.” Cattle Supplies Lowest in 75 Years Other fires have burned thousands more acres in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Some cattle perished, state and industry officials said, without estimating the number. “There’s been a lot of cattle loss,” said Bryce Boyer, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of...