Texas firefighters are making progress in controlling the massive wildfires.
The burned area is almost five times the size of Manhattan. The largest cluster of fires is called the Eastland Complex and is now 75% contained. The second biggest outbreak is known as the Big L fire and is 90% contained. The fires have burned 65,000 acres, including farms, ranches and livestock. Farm broadcaster Tony St. James, who is also a regular guest on the Market Day Report, shares the potential impact on the cattle industry.
“As far as the overall big picture, I don’t think it’s going to affect as much on the big picture side for the cattle industry. We mentioned earlier the weather-related events early this week with snowfall. It has knocked down from what I’m hearing, it has knocked down slaughter numbers, so that’s something to keep an eye on as we start moving more cattle off the pasture, having to go in the feed lots. Are we creating, have we created another bottleneck there with weather pushing down the slaughter numbers?”
He says recent losses from weather events have been absolutely devastating. He says insurance covers some losses, but not the damage to the heart and soul.
Browning Seed shared a photo on Twitter yesterday of a truck loaded down with hay. The company said the truck is headed to Carbon, Texas to help with the wildfire relief.
The governor of Texas declared the second disaster of the week from Monday’s tornadoes. The twisters hit 16 counties. The National Weather Service received reports of more than 20 tornadoes throughout Texas and Oklahoma. In Oklahoma, some outlets report the path may have been a quarter of a mile wide.
Related:
Texas Farmers Are Helping Farmers After Destructive Wildfires
Farmers Help Farmers Recover From Devastating Tornadoes
La Nina Could Be to Blame for Enhanced Tornado Activity in the U.S.
KY tornado outbreak could be costliest in history