Florida, Gulf Coast Cattlemen Face Challenges Left by Hurricanes

by Jill J. Dunkel

This fall’s hurricanes have long since disappeared from the weather radar and are now just a page in the history books. The mainstream news media detailed the destruction and heartache the storms caused many Americans. But cattle owners had to deal with more than just damage to their homes and businesses. Cattle still had to be tended to, and experts suspect the long-term effects of the storms may be felt for weeks, months, and even years to come.

“Surprisingly, I did not hear of very many cattle that were killed from the storms,” said Brad Etheridge, president of Thomas Cattle Company, one of the largest order buying companies in Florida. “A few head were hit on the roadways when fences were down and so forth, but very few were actually lost.”

Etheridge said many ranchers opened up their inside pastures, allowing cattle to roam the ranches looking for dry ground and places to graze. In some cases where fences were destroyed, cattle were mixed together among neighbors. But for the most part, those problems have all been resolved, he explained.

Unfortunately, fence problems were replaced by a marketing backlog that came to a head in October. The storms shut down all sales in Florida for three weeks, said Etheridge. And once the markets reopened, many people couldn’t get to their calves to ship them or bring them to sale barns, he explained. As the water receded, ranchers were eager to reduce their pasture burden, and many weaned and shipped their calves as soon as trucks could access their pens. This resulted in a large amount of calves coming to market around the middle of October, Etheridge said. “It is slowing down now, but I think the large numbers hurt our prices a little bit then.”

Once cattle were sold, truckers faced roadways that were under construction from water and wind damage. “I-10 just East of Pensicola was severely damaged,” said Etheridge. “Both the East and West-bound lanes are traveling on just one side of the Interstate. It is really slowing things down.” For calves leaving Florida and heading to Texas, what was already a long haul, just got longer. A typical 24-hour trip turned into a 26- or even a 28-hour drive due to the damaged infrastructure.

On the bright side, Etheridge said he hasn’t heard of any unusual health problems other than sore-footed calves. “The calves might be standing in water here in Florida and their feet get soft. So when they are unloaded on hard ground, they are a little sore.”

As of the end of October, Etheridge said the water was leaving really fast. “We are typically pretty dry in November,” he said. “So that should help give producers some time to get some things cleaned up.”
But Etheridge said the impact on the Gulf Coast’s cattle industry reaches much deeper than a low death loss and some down fences. “Cattlemen are already haying and feeding their herds because so much of their grass was lost to standing water. Most years we don’t have to start haying until much later in the winter. And many producers stockpile forages for winter feed. All that’s gone now,” he said. “I know of guys that have 200 pairs living on 25 acres of dry ground.”

And who knows what this will do to conception rates and weaning weights next year, he added.
“I know of several small producers who have thrown in the towel. They’ve started selling out since the first storm,” said Etheridge. “One guy was hauling pellets to his cows in a boat because that was the only way he could get to them. He was selling out as soon as he could get a truck in there. He said he’s had enough.”