A wet spring last year complicated matters by bringing a diarrheal virus that weakened calves. Then, an early blizzard in November forced ranchers to dip into their best alfalfa hay six weeks ahead of time. That put them short of feed almost immediately. Now, heavy snow and sub-zero winds are battering the herds. That forces farmers to increase the feed to help heal weather-related injuries.
Cattle often bleed from their noses and lips when the swirling ice crystals slice their faces.
Some cattle, trying to avoid the wind, wander away from the herd to stand by a snowbank, unaware that the rising drift from the blizzard eventually will suffocate them. Cattle require all the hay they can handle just to keep from freezing, especially those that are pregnant. The cold and deep snow contribute to weight loss, so they need more calories this time of year to offset it. The problem now is that many of the remaining high-quality hay bales are buried beneath snow so deep that trucks and tractors can't reach them. So ranchers must resort to low-quality feed such as oats and barley.