After snowstorms and rain in many areas of the Midwest, at least 16 rivers are flooding—many of them breaking previous peak flood records. The worst flooding is along the Nebraska/Iowa border after record-breaking snow accumulations combined with frozen ground and sudden rise in temperatures.
Snow melt, ice jams, and recent rainfall washed away roads and bridges, hindering travel and isolating some communities. As of Monday, March 18, more than 100 people had been rescued and more than 870 were staying in shelters, according to Nebraska’s Office of Emergency Management.
Some of the flooding in the upper river basins is starting to recede, but other areas, especially from Nebraska City, NE, to St. Joseph, MO, saw flooding continue last week and into this week. All of those rivers flow east to the Missouri River and significant crests are expected on that river, down into Missouri.
Galen Erickson, Professor of Animal Science, Beef Feedlot Extension Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln says the greatest concern is human safety, and access to electricity and clean water.
“There are many stranded towns and rural communities—with roads and bridges washed out. The second concern is for livestock out on pasture; many cattle had to be moved to higher ground. Feed resources are essentially gone, in some places,” he told WLJ.
Livestock liabilities
“Some cattle on pastures have been isolated and surrounded by floodwaters. Many ranchers are calving now, and losing calves,” said Erickson of the flood’s impact on cattle operations in the area.
“With feedyards, runoff control is a challenge. Their environmental permits require them to control natural runoff. With devastating flooding, their runoff ponds may spill over. This is a big issue, in addition to the water and muddy pens,” Erickson added.
“It’s too early to tell what the total impact will be, at this point. The worst is north of us in eastern Nebraska. I’m not sure how we’re going to assess these areas because roads are impaired and traffic is limited to emergency personnel.”
Jerry Volesky, range and forage specialist at University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s West Central Research and Extension Center, says the western part of the state, all across the panhandle, had a lot of snow and wind, and eastern areas got a lot of rain.
“It was so cold earlier—all through February and early March—with sub-zero weather and frozen ground, so the water all ran off,” he said.
“We don’t know the final numbers yet, but livestock losses have been high. Some people were calving and there were calf losses during the blizzard, even before flooding began. The eastern and northeastern parts of Nebraska were hit hardest, since several rivers come together.”
Livestock losses in some parts of the states amounted to several million dollars. On the west side of the state, devastation was partly due to 70-mile-per-hour winds and a foot of snow with blizzard conditions. This kind of weather during calving is a serious challenge.
“Low-lying pastures that got flooded had losses if cattle couldn’t get to higher ground. There were also fences damaged—with trees and debris coming across those fields and pastures. Many ranchers lost hay; we’ve seen rows of big round bales under water,” Volesky explained.
Several feedlots have been impacted, and one of the biggest problems is mud after the water recedes.
“The wet and the mud reduces cattle gains and can lead to health problems. There’s also the danger of some of their holding ponds and water treatment areas overflowing, with subsequent contamination,” he added.
“In northeastern Nebraska some rural water systems were broken or damaged, so many rural areas are without water. This makes more challenges for residents, and also for watering cattle.”
Infrastructure problems
Roads and bridges have been washed out, making it impossible to travel to other parts of some farm/ranch operations, and hinders delivery of feed and supplies.
Ben Beckman, Beef System Extension Educator, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is in northeastern Nebraska.
“We had a lot of localized flooding; we are higher in the watershed and didn’t have to deal with the major events in some of the larger rivers. From a livestock standpoint, some herds made it through the flooding and some didn’t. Blizzards in the western part of the state had more widespread impact on calving losses. Here in our area, if the animals were able to get to higher ground, out of the water, they made it through,” he said.
“The big issues include loss of infrastructure. In Boyd County, there was a lot of damage on the Niobrara River due to collapse of the Spencer dam, and entire communities without water. Many livestock producers depend on public water for their animals, as well. Some areas have dugouts, but others are short on stock water,” he explained.
“Some folks were using a paddleboat to take hay to cattle that were stranded on what became an island, until the water receded enough that they could get the cattle out safely. There producers are dedicated, trying to make sure their animals are taken care of.”
Talia Goes, director of communications for Nebraska Cattlemen, says blizzards in the western part of the state and flooding in eastern regions created serious challenges.
“We don’t yet know the extent of damage in terms of homes destroyed or livestock losses. Many of our members have been impacted. Some have been using air boats and other means to get hay and feed to stranded cattle. There are recent reports that waters are starting to subside a little, but Iowa is getting the brunt of it right now. Farmers and ranchers in other states will also be impacted by this flooding,” she said.
Not only are current feed sources compromised (haystacks flooded) but some pastures have also been damaged.
“Flooding on the Niobrara River took huge ice chunks downstream, destroying everything in their path. Not only are we dealing with the water, but ice chunks the water left behind. One rancher’s entire hayfield is covered with huge ice blocks; a lot of damage has been done to fences and to the ground itself. It will take a lot of repair after the water is gone,” said Goes. She talked to one cattleman whose pastures were totally destroyed. He’ll have to drylot his cows this summer and find feed. — Heather Smith Thomas,WLJ correspondent
