{"id":24774,"date":"2026-02-23T19:30:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T19:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=859264"},"modified":"2026-02-23T19:30:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T19:30:56","slug":"cattle-ranchers-search-for-feed-as-wildfires-burn-grazing-lands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/cattle-ranchers-search-for-feed-as-wildfires-burn-grazing-lands\/","title":{"rendered":"Cattle Ranchers Search for Feed as Wildfires Burn Grazing Lands"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/social\/opengraph\/ij-social-wildfire-1200x630.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2026\/02\/23\/859264.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2026\/02\/23\/859264.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p class=\"reuters\">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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-topics=\"catastrophe,natural-disasters,wildfire\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/southcentral\/2026\/02\/20\/858831.htm\">Texas Fire Threat to Worsen as Oklahoma Panhandle Burns<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrass is gone,\u201d said Collin Domer, 36, a volunteer firefighter for the Laverne Fire Department in Oklahoma who responded to the blaze.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s sand. Take a sand pit and cover that over 285,000 acres.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cattle Supplies Lowest in 75 Years<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Other fires have burned thousands more acres in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Some cattle perished, state and industry officials said, without estimating the number.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-topics=\"catastrophe,natural-disasters,wildfire\" data-revive-companies data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of cattle loss,\u201d said Bryce Boyer, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of hay loss. The ones who do have cattle, a lot of them don\u2019t have grass to feed them now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>U.S. cattle supplies were already at their lowest level in 75 years after high prices and a persistent drought drove ranchers to send more animals to slaughter, instead of keeping them for breeding. Last year, Brazil surpassed the U.S. as the world\u2019s top beef producer, according to industry estimates.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to lower beef costs for consumers. However, retail prices for ground beef set a record high of $6.75 per pound in January, up 22% from a year earlier, due to low supplies and strong demand from consumers, according to U.S. government data.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cattle Flee Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Farmers cut fences to allow cattle to escape the wildfire last week, though some animals died and others suffered burns after being caught, said Heather Lansdowne, spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Veterinarians were working with ranchers to determine the best care for hurt animals, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile they were able to save a lot of cattle, those producers now don\u2019t have anything to feed those cattle,\u201d Lansdowne said.<\/p>\n<p>Once the flames are extinguished, it may take longer than normal for pastures to be ready for grazing again depending on damage from the intense heat, said Michael Kelsey, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen\u2019s Association.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a long-term issue for some of those ranches,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got to give it a little longer to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, Domer was spearheading an effort to collect hay, feed and other supplies for ranchers. He said he received donations from as far away as Montana and Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>The Kansas Livestock Association was also coordinating hay donations and said it received offers from Kansas, Wisconsin and Illinois for local ranchers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe grass resources have been burned up,\u201d association spokesperson Scarlett Madinger said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got to have something to feed their livestock immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Reporting by Polansek; Editing by Emily Schmall and Rod Nickel.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"tagtag\"> <span class=\"tagtag\">Topics<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/catastrophe\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Catastrophe<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/natural-disasters\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Natural Disasters<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/wildfire\/\" class=\"btn btn-sm btn-primary tagtag\">Wildfire<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"859264\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! 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