Extreme Weather Causes Many Problems For Farmers
Last week a massive snowstorm hit New England and New York that caused major problems for many people, including livestock farmers, especially dairy, in that…
Last week a massive snowstorm hit New England and New York that caused major problems for many people, including livestock farmers, especially dairy, in that area. While everyone suffered in various ways, dairy farmers have many more problems than folks who live in town.
When a major snowstorm hits, livestock still has to be cared for, fed, watered and kept in barns or sheltered buildings. When one or two feet of snow and blizzard conditions pound an area, taking care of the cattle still has to be done. It is a priority.
Locally, we have had major snowstorms in years past. Most local farmers have had experience dealing with these emergencies. It can still be a struggle, no matter how much experience they have had.
Most farmers have some kind of equipment to move snow. It might be a pickup with a blade, but they have problems handling up to two feet of snow. Something bigger or different is called for.
Many farms have tractors with frontend loaders that are used for other jobs around the farm. This equipment gets put into use to move snow, pile it up or haul it away from buildings and barnyards. Or, some have what is called a skid loader with a bucket or blade on the front. These have four wheel drives and get called into service to help move the snow.
Driveways have to be opened up if employees have to get in to milk the cows. Whatever the weather, those cows have to be milked two or three times a day. In free stall barns, feed has to be mixed, usually outside or in a sheltered area, then hauled into the barn for the cows.
Stanchion or tie stall barns are different. Feed may already be in bins and small carts are pushed down the alley and cows fed. Hay may be in the loft above the cows or silage in the silo that comes down with a silo unloader.
On many farms, bunker silos or storage bags are used to store feed. Snowdrifts have to be hauled or pushed out of the bunkers so loaders and wagons can drive in and get the feed. On many farms, it is loaded into self-unloading wagons that go in front of the cows and feed comes out with a conveyer. Tractors and wagons have to fight snowdrift to get from the bunkers or bags to the barn.
Livestock waste has to be stored, either in a lagoon or in a pile someplace. It can’t be spread on the ground when it is covered with one or two feet of drifting snow.
Another major problem New England farmers may be having is loss of power. When that happens, everything shuts down. Cows can’t be milked, heaters won’t work and nothing can be done.
Most farms, however, have one or more generators that they can hook into their electrical systems. They start these up to do the critical jobs like milking the cows and cooling the milk.
On today’s dairy farms, milk goes directly into bulk tanks where it is cooled and stored until the bulk tank truck can get in to pick it up. Most bulk tanks have little excess storage capacity, which means it is essential for the milk truck to get to the farm on a regular basis. Roads are a priority to be cleared so the trucks can get to the farm. Driveways and access to the milk house need to be cleared so the driver can get his truck into the farm.
While we didn’t hear much about the problems New England dairy farmers had with this recent storm, they had to be serious. The product they are producing, milk, is an essential food and needs to get to market regardless of the weather. We should thank all dairy farmers, here and elsewhere, for their extra effort in getting their milk to market in extreme weather conditions.
Parker is an independent agricultural writer.
