Never knew those things were customary (of course I've only ever had to deal with one at a time). Scavengers gotta eat too. I'd say it's entirely too early to think about impacts beyond the short-term. Curious where you're getting your info? I haven't checked the Farm Bureau or anyone like that yet.
I think I've gone from heat-to-cool and v/versa 6 times so far this fall/winter. Will probably need the cool back on in the next few days. 80's here for the next few days at least, low doesn't get low enough to cool it off during sleepytime
There is a video interview with Farm Bureau at the link. Panhandle wildfires kills ‘staggering’ amount of livestock Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Disaster Relief INFORMATION FOR CATTLE RAISERS Requesting aid through the TSCRA Disaster Relief Fund Applications to request aid from the TSCRA Disaster Relief Fund for those impacted by Texas and Oklahoma wildfires will be available soon. Please check back for updates and additional information. Documenting livestock losses Cattle raisers are reminded to document livestock losses for recordkeeping and future indemnity program requirements with dated photos or video, if possible. Accurate inventory including the number and type of livestock before and after the natural disaster will be needed for a variety of relief programs. Beginning and ending year inventory are a minimum and should be supplemented with production records including: births, death losses, weaning numbers, purchase records, sale records, veterinarian records, inventory-related bank loan documentation, records assembled for tax filing, and other reliable documents that can verify livestock inventories at different points throughout the year. ********** For the cattle that survived, good - decent grazing land in that area is likely to be limited for the rest of 2024. So ranchers will be buying & feeding hay this Summer instead of having cattle grazing in pastures.
Operations map for the Panhandle fires: https://ftp.wildfire.gov/public/incident_specific_data/southern/Texas/2024_FIRES/2024_Panhandle Fires/Current Maps/trans_PanhandleFires_0303day.pdf Edit: That's the transportation map.
You are more optimistic than I am in regards to how fast burned pasture/grassland will bounce back and be usable in 2024.
I am. That's a total doom & gloom article (love the Tx Tribune, though) One major point, wrt food prices and beef availability, is that the fires spared the giant feedlots (for better or worse). Things will be bad for those folks in the Panhandle for a bit....we're already talking about amalgamating our leftover hay bales and sending them up....the shortage of input (wheat/sorghum/soy/etc...) is where the price crunch may show up (for me, not for yall). A "controlled burn" will grow back the next growing season...this was not that...it was so hot that it most likely "cauterized" the soil, so like you said it'll take a bit longer, depending on what and how they remediate it. If I had a crew I trusted, I'd be up there building fence (I imagine everybody like that around here will be gone for a couple of months...hope I don't need any work done), like roofers after a hurricane. "raising cattle is easy, growing grass is hard" is the old Hill Country maxim More thoughts later, here's some other stuff/places to keep track of: https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/ (this is the local "county agent" who you talk to for almost everything (even questions about your yard grass); it's their job to coordinate with the 5 below other agencies and make it as simple as possible...god bless the Aggies) https://www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offi...ural-disaster-areas-due-to-qualifying-drought (this was before the fires...you file every year there's a declared drought) https://www.texasagriculture.gov/Home/Production-Agriculture/Disaster-Assistance https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/disaster-assistance-program/index http://tscra.org/disaster-relief-fund/
Not necessarily relevant to this thread but a tornado in the central valley of California was a little unusual. Just had some hail out our house in the Bay Area, and wind speeds have hit 190 mph in the Sierra near Tahoe. Pretty ripping winter storm! Snowpack is going to be off the hook.
Meanwhile at Crater Lake, here's the current view of the visitor center cam and one without so much snow for comparison.
@rimrocker Beau making an observation that it seems like more and more fires are being caused by (improperly maintained) utility poles. Is there some truth to that?
