Considerations for Managing the Cowherd, Before and After the Fire

Jason Warner, cow-calf specialist and AJ Tarpoff, DVM, extension veterinarian

Wildfires are undoubtedly among the most challenging natural disasters, and when they occur, they create immense hardship for our farming and ranching families and for rural communities. Here in Kansas, and many other areas of the central and southern Great Plains and western regions of the U.S, producers are generally accustomed to experiencing wildfires, particularly during late-winter and early-spring. However, the frequency and intensity of these fires seem to be growing each year. Likewise, more wildfires are occurring in many other areas around the U.S. that we typically don’t associate with uncontrolled fires. While the underlying conditions that influence wildfire occurrence and severity are complex, no one wishes them on their neighbors. We often don’t like to think about the daunting situations or the “What do we do if this happens” scenarios, as we have so many other positive things to be grateful for right now in the beef industry. However, we think it is good for all of us as we enter this time of year to keep the following points in mind regarding cowherd management, should we be directly impacted by wildfire.

Have Emergency Contacts Ready:

Make sure everyone involved in your operation has readily available contact information for those who need to be reached in case of an emergency. This includes spouses, children, employees, neighbors, and close relatives who live nearby. Do your children know the neighbors who live down the road and how to reach them in case of an emergency, and you cannot? Do you have the number of that young man who just moved back from college, that you’ve only talked to once, and he’s renting the section of grass right next to where you are wintering your bred heifers? Know who your designated emergency management officials are for your community and how to contact them. Everyone directly involved with your operation should know and be able to contact key folks such as an Extension professional, your nutritionist/feed service provider, and veterinarian, as those individuals may often need to be involved in making important herd management decisions during and after a wildfire event.

Know Your Inventory:

Inventory management of both feed and animals is one of the most challenging aspects of a cow-calf operation, regardless of size. Maintaining accurate pasture or group headcounts is always important, but it becomes even more critical when animals become scattered or comingled with other herds or are hastily relocated to a random location away from the direct path of a fire. Simply take time to ensure your headcounts are continually updated and accurate, so it is easier to reconcile differences in the event of an emergency. If fire occurs, it is helpful to know the initial hay inventory, the regular feeding disappearance, and differentiate between what was burned.

Document Losses:

Accurately documenting asset losses goes hand in hand with inventory management and is an important part of the process from a financial standpoint. For all of us, it is obvious when we lose an asset, but we must make sure we record and communicate that loss to those with whom we work. Video taken with your phone or trail camera, pictures, ear tags, and any other form of animal identification, as well as verification affidavits, are examples of documentation insurance companies and lenders will need when processing claims and verifying losses on assets.

Provide Care and Closely Monitor:

Just as the people who work to save and care for them, the cattle that survive wildfires have endured significant stress. As you work with these animals in the days, weeks, and months following a fire, avoid adding undue stress whenever possible. Take the approach of providing critical, compassionate care with low-stress handling techniques.

In emergency situations such as this, it’s important to focus on basic animal care: safety, water, and feed. Once cattle are moved or located in a safe location, they need an opportunity to rest, drink clean, fresh water, and then eventually consume feed. Keeping inventory of resources such as portable water tanks, refilling sites, and feed resources will help achieve this critical step.

Animals will need to be monitored very closely both immediately after and over the next several days post-event, as adrenaline subsides after this stressful time. Things to monitor are damaged eyes (similar symptoms to pinkeye), severe hoof damage or separation of the coronary band (indicating sloughing hooves), and secondary respiratory disease (pneumonia) from smoke inhalation. Triage may be appropriate for animals that need immediate intervention and for those under consideration for monitoring and treatment. Be prepared and plan accordingly to humanely euthanize animals if at any point they are in severe distress. Consult your veterinarian to develop a specific animal health management plan appropriate for surviving animals if necessary for your operation. It should be well outlined so you can act on and implement it when necessary.

Monitor young calves closely in the days and weeks after the fire. Many calves may need to be transitioned to a bottle if they cannot effectively suckle from the cow due to teat damage.

Reassess Your Culling Criteria:

This will certainly vary from one cowherd and situation to the next, but it is worth considering. In working with producers directly impacted by fire, my experience has been that there will be instances in which surviving cows are clearly injured to the extent they are no longer able to be productive and must be culled from the herd, and there will also be cases where only minor injuries occur, with resulting impacts to female productivity much more subtle. For example, if a cow sustains burn damage to two quarters of her udder but the other two function properly, is she allowed to remain in the herd if her feet and legs are still sound? Similarly, if a female has bad burn scars resulting in blindness in one eye, and yet sees from the other, do you give her one more year? If a bull had minor burn scarring on the scrotum, could it pass a breeding soundness exam? These are the types of decisions that may have to be made, often in that “grey space” with many factors influencing our judgement, including the genetic merit of the cows in question.

If you are directly impacted by wildfire, please remember that you are not alone and that there are resources to help, many of which can be found at your local Extension office. Two key resources for Kansas include the Kansas Forest Service Wildfire Response site (https://www.kansasforests.org/fire/wildfireresponse.html) and the Kansas Mesonet Fire Danger Forecast site (https://mesonet.k-state.edu/fire/danger/). Other states may have similar resources available. If we experience a wildfire, we need to remember that while taking care of everyone else around us, we also need to take care of ourselves in all aspects of life throughout the process. The overwhelming outpour of support always provided to those affected, and the way people from throughout the beef industry rally and come together during such events, are a testament to the strength of production agriculture and our rural communities. May we all support each other when needed.