To the ranch folks in CO/NB/KS

[Faster horses]

I was looking for something and I ran across this piece I saved when
SD was hit so hard with winter storms. I thought it might apply now.
I think it was written by Baxter Black, but there is no name on the
piece.

I think it is very fitting to post it here now because of what our fellow ranchers in Colorado and their cattle are going through. Call it a tribute
to the intestineal fortitude of those in this business, if you may.

HELPLESS
"I do solomnly swear, as shepherd of the flock, to accept the responsibility
for the animals put in my care; to tend to their basic needs of food and
shelter; to minister to their ailments; to put their well-being before my
own; if need be; and to reduce their pain and suffering, up to and including the final bullet."

"I swear to treat them with respect; to always remember that we have
made them dependent on us and therefore have put their lives
in our hands."

HELPLESS

The worst winter in South Dakota memory. Cattle losses already
predicted up to 50,000 head. And how did they die? From exposure
and lack of feed. Basic needs--food and shelter.
Do you think the Dakota ranchers said, "Well, I'll just close
down the store and put on the answering machine. We'll just
wait til the storm blows on, no harm done."
No. They couldn't...wouldn't.
"Charles you can't go out there. The cows are clear over in the west
pasture. You can't even see the barn from here."
But he tried anyway. Tried to get the machinery runnin', tried to
clear a path, tried to load the hay, tried to find the road.
These are not people who live a pampered life. These are not people who are easily defeated. These are not people who quit trying.
But days and weeks on end of blizzards, blowing snow and fatal
wind chill took their toll. Cattle stranded on the open plains with no
cover, no protection, no feed, no place to go and no relief from the
arctic fury, died in singles and bunches and hundreds of thousand
frozen as hard as iron.
Back in the house sat the rancher and his family, stranded. Unable
to do what ever fiber in his body willed him to do. Knowing that
every hour that he could not tend to his cows dimiinished him in some
deep, permanent, undefinable way. Changing him forever.
The losses will eventually be tallied in numbers of head and extrapolated to dollars, but dollars were not kept him pacing the
floor at night, looking out the window every two minutes, walking out
in it 50 times a day, trying, trying, trying.
Exhaustion, bloodshot eyes, caffine jitters, depression, despair...
knowing if he only could get to them, he could save them.
Then finally, having to face the loss. His failure as shepherd. That's
what kept him trying.
It is hard to comfort a person who has had his spirit battered like that.

"It couldn't be helped. There was nothing you could do," is small consolation. So, all I can say to our fellow stockmen in the Dakotas is...
"IN OUR OWN WAY WE UNDERSTAND".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And to our fellow stockmen in the states that got hit so hard with this lastest storm: "In our own way, we understand."

[katrina]

Bravo!!!!!!!! Well said!!!!!!!!

[Shortgrass]

Exactly right.

[Jassy]

Well written and so true!

[Tap]

Does anyone have an update on how things are going in the worst hit areas? I can't find much info about it.

My sympathy is with the ranchers that were hit hard in these last storms, but at least they are not faced with daily ground blizzards and 20 below zero weather. That would add insult to injury. But as Shortgrass said, they are not as prepared for these storms as those of us who are more prone to get them. Good luck down there.

I think Baxter did write that article FH. I kind of remember it from 1997. 96/97 was the last real winter we have had here. It was a doozy. We felt very helpless at times, although our cattle got feed all but a couple days when the blizzards were the worst. I can remember hearing of a few ranchers who were so effected by the weather, they fell into deep depression. One guy just sat on the floor of his living room and stared at the walls when he couldn't get out. It really hit him hard. His family could not get through to him. And that kind of weather lasted a few months. I hate to even remember it, as I thought maybe I should do something other than ranch, for a while. After the sun came out, and the snow melted off, I kind of lost that thought though.

[Tap]

And no, I was not talking about myself in my last paragraph, but it was close.

[Nebraska Sandhills]

I have family that was hit pretty hard in southeast colorado, as of saturday night they were still short some large groups of cows that hadn't been seen for 9-10 days. some of the cattle they found that had water available during the storm but no feed were doing ok, but the cattle that they could get some feed to but that hadn't had water were in pretty tough shape. As Tap stated, its been a blessing that the temperature has not been unbearable. That is one thing they were thankful for was the fact that they were able to keep their electricity throughout the storm.

Enjoyed your post faster horses. There is a lot of truth to that.

[WB]

The winter of 96-97 was a real doozy for sure. It started here about the 12th of Nov. and lasted till the last blizzard on the 7th of April. The last blizzard in April just about over the edge. I just felt so powerless fighting the weather. For those poor people affected by this latest round all I can say is hang in there and keep on keeping on.

[lazy ace]

Well said FH. I am quite sure Baxter wrote that. It is kind of a funny story because I think there was another verse to it but he didn't publish it.

That winter one night about 1.30 in the morning dad got a call and it was Baxter Black. He just finished that article and he said he had heard one rancher did end his life in South Dakota and he wanted to be sure it was true and not just rumor. He called Rodney Nelson and Rodney had not heard that and told Baxter to call Dad. Well Dad couldn't confirm it either and Baxter wasn't sure if he should put that part in. They visited awhile and then Baxter realized it was really late and apologized to Dad and said that he would mail him his latest book. The next day mom and I asked Dad who was on the phone. He replied it was Baxter, well neither one of us believed him. Dad said that he would have the last laugh when he got his free book. Months went buy and mom and I kept asking him if he was sure he wasn't dreaming the whole thing. We had him convinced that he had flipped his cookie. Well Dad got an autographed book about Christmas time the next year and Baxter had a note in there apologizing for how long it took to get there.

That was my first year out of Ag Vo Tech. I think I learned more that winter than I did in school.

have a cold one

lazy ace

[Jinglebob]

[lazy ace]

Yeah JB I saw some pictures from CO and they looked way to familier. We fed a lot of feed that winter and only lost one cow (it was a nice sunny day and she got on her back and melted down and couldn't get back over) We were lucky. The Black Hills Stock Show was my temporary vacation for a weekend.

For those people that are getting pounded with snow I wish you the best.

have a cold one

lazy ace

[Colo. Bill]

First time poster, but a long time reader.
Every morning I read ranchers with a cup of coffee. I'm a third generation rancher from southeastern colo. Turkey Track Bar your Dad and I are good friends, haveng served the same position in CCA,we had a pretty good time in Reno this summer didn't we?
These two blizzards that hit us were a real wake up call. We haven't had over 6" snow since the blizzard of 1997. It will be a long time before we know the loss of range cattle, cows are a lot tougher than most give them credit, still there will be a lot of dead cattle.
I lost 6 cows out of 12 that fell through the ice. There are some large feedlots here and loss will be in the thousands. This part of the state produces a lot of feed, but most of that went to Texas this summer during their drought. We are going to survive but sure don't need any more snow.
I enjoy reading ranchers a lot but won't do a lot of posting because I'm very computer illiterate, but will try to keep everyone updated on the blizzards.