Wildfires

Most of the time, I try to keep a little giggle in my posts.  Most of the time, I can find the humor in life.  As a farmer, this week has about drained the giggle bucket.  Instead my bucket is filled to overflowing with horror, grief, and painful empathy with the farmers in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas who have watched helplessly as their farmland was devastated by wildfires driven by heavy winds. 


You may have seen a short news report during your nightly dose of politics, weather, and mayhem.  Most may have thought since nothing more was mentioned of the fires that it was over and done with.  I wish.  The truth is that it will be weeks, months and even years before the ranchers, pastures, livestock, buildings, fencing and livelihoods are re-established.


I have spent days looking at reports and pictures from the aftermath of these fires.  Homes leveled, barns gone, miles of fences destroyed, and picture after picture of bloated, dead cows.  (Other livestock was lost..pigs, horses, chickens, sheep but this is predominately cattle country.)  As a farmer, my heart goes out to the people who are trying to deal with this devastation.


A farm is a business but so much more than that.  We are talking about families that have devoted their lives for generations to protecting the land and nurturing their cattle, all while they build for future generations. These states are now looking at about one million acres burned.  Another reported it as 1000 square miles.  Mind boggling.  That's a million acres that are now without grass to hold the soil, fences, buildings, trees, telephone poles, homes, barns, or corrals.  They are dotted with the decomposing carcasses of cattle, horses, dogs, cats, coyotes, deer, and all manner of small wild animals that were either trapped by the flames or overcome by smoke.  I'm talking thousands and thousands of animals.


All over the area, ranchers are riding their land searching out surviving animals.  Sorting them into those that can be saved and those that can't.  The ones too injured to survive are shot to prevent further suffering.  Nothing, however, keeps the ranchers from suffering.  Many a rancher has done his job with tears running down his face.  The livestock that can be saved is herded until a place can be found to care for them. With no fences and no corrals, loading cattle in open country is not the easiest job, so you see weary men gently encouraging a line of weary cattle down the roads to safety.


Gathering the cattle isn't the only challenge.  There is no grass and the carefully harvested bales of hay burned with everything else.  Also, there are calves that have lost their mothers that need to be bottle fed if they are to survive.  A daunting situation made bearable by the outpouring of donations coming in from the farmers and ranchers across the country.  Before the rest of us had processed the need, the farming community had started organizing help.  Tractor trailers loaded with round hay bales started arriving as soon as the news was out.  Donations of fencing supplies, feed, calf starter (powdered milk for the babies), and hundreds of other items were collected and loaded on trucks driven by volunteers.  Water, clothes, and household goods were added to care for those who had lost homes as well.


This much we can do, and we are doing.  However, only time will heal the land.  Within hours of the fires being put out, the wind had blown away the ashes leaving miles of bare dirt and sand.  Everywhere you look the wind is blowing this sandy soil into drifts and a blowing cloud of dirt.  As one rancher observed, it is like looking at the great desserts. 


So tonight when I look out over the greening hills of Kentucky, as I make my way to the barn to feed our two little bottle babies and watch the cattle graze in peace in the pastures I will say a little prayer for those families who have lost so much.  The tears on my face won't make their load any lighter but maybe they will know that we care.