#NebraskaStrong
For the past several weeks Nebraskans have heard comments about the delayed return of the Sandhill cranes. I really don’t know the numbers but I know that people have been buzzing about the lack of birds flying north over the Platte River, and thus above my house, in the middle of March.
I think I now have figured why they are late in arriving. They have a better weather radar than all “The Weather Channels” on earth. We now know it was called a “bomb cyclone.” A mere two days after a storm that caused long-term, extensive damage to the families who produce food, the birds are back on track and headed north.
While that is just a little observation, the truth of the matter is that devastation from blizzards, flooding, ice wars, melting snow and more flooding is now taking its toll. Fortunately, we have minor issues and mud discomfort at our house and we are fortunate that we have not hauled our cows home from cornstalks yet as we are not expecting to start calving until next week. Thank you all for your concern but there are so many families that have much more significant losses and we appreciate your concern and assistance for all of them.
People globally are very interested in how this whole disaster came to be. As of March 11, we had roughly 2 feet of snow on the ground and 2 feet of frost in the ground. On March 12, we got above 20 degrees F for the first time in 30 days and in fact it was 43 degrees at my house.
At one point on March 13, my thermometer said 58 degrees and more than 2 inches of rain fell over a huge area. Most of the rivers, and for the record Nebraska has more miles of rivers than any state in the nation at 79,000 miles, were over half covered with ice. The warm rain and high temperatures caused that ice to break loose and become floating wrecking machines. They would float downstream, clog up at bridges and crossings, and cause dams that would send water out to places along the river never imagined.
To continue with Mother Nature hell week, on March 14, temps dropped back down just below freezing with blizzard like conditions and sustained 65 to 70 mile per hour winds for 24 hours. March 15 was the most calm, sunny and peaceful day you could imagine and that was the day ranchers were faced with counting the dead.
Yes, everyone knew it was coming but really had no idea what to do. Cattle were in pens and areas with great protection that had never before put them in jeopardy. Cattlemen simply had few options to provide additional relief and protection. It is absolutely not their fault they suffered death loss but as ranchers do, they are taking it personally.
Even cattle simply on corn stalks and grassy fields are now dealing with extensive mud bogs during a time that is historically one of the highest periods of calving for the entire year.
On March 17, I went to see my neighbor Mike Kaminski, who had contacted me about getting the story out to the public. Untrue stories start to float about as rapidly as the devastating ice chunks the size of vehicles.
As I was about to leave, I asked Mike if he was OK. His response sticks with me and keeps playing over and over in my head. “Yes, I am OK. I have Conrad.” Conrad is Mike and Whitney’s 10-year-old son. When Conrad and Mike were in the worst of the battle and dealing with all the carnage, Conrad had said, “Dad, we need to focus on the calves that are alive, not the dead ones.”
Many lessons come your way every day if you are good listener. As parents we tend to think that our job is solely to teach and prepare our kids for the world ahead. Our kids serve the same purpose for us if we are paying attention. Honestly, it may be the only thing we can truly “afford” at this moment, but the value will serve us a lifetime.
We will be #NebraskaStrong but that means being willing to accept the help we need to get back on our feet. If you need help, please reach out. And if you would like to help, please do. We all know that farmers and ranchers are the last ones to ever ask for help but we’ve helped our neighbors to the north, south, east and west and now they want to help us. Together, we are all stronger so let’s work together to show Mother Nature that she won’t keep us down for long. Thank you for all the prayers and those to come.
Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].
