Cattle ranchers not significantly impacted by cold snap

Cattle ranchers not significantly impacted by cold snap
 
By Ryan Fitzmaurice
Lovell Chronicle
Via Wyoming News Exchange
 
LOVELL —As far as cold snaps that plummet beyond -40 degrees go, the four-day stretch between Dec. 20 and Dec. 23 was about as conveniently timed as a rancher could ask for.
That doesn’t mean that holding livestock in the weather was without real difficulties and cost, but long-term damage should be negligible, according to local ranchers.
“If it lasted much longer, it would have been bad,” rancher Casey Crosby said. “But, thankfully, it was cold for a week and it left.”
Bitter sub-zero cold is a double-edged sword for ranchers. 
According to rancher Matt Bassett, the cold weather spurs on cattle to eat more feed in order to keep warm, but since that energy is being used to maintain body temperature, it isn’t used to increase the weight of the cattle and therefore increase its value.
It raises the material cost for the rancher, while adding nothing to their bottom line.
“The longer it goes, the more stress cattle are under,” Crosby said. “It exponentially grows on them … they lose pounds. They don’t gain any weight and all their calories go toward keeping them warm. You’re not gaining anything for it. That’s not the business we’re in. The longer the cold snap, the harder it is to make money.”
The cold snap was not only short enough to not cause significant financial impact, it was well-timed, Crosby said. 
It’s not calving season, which would have required ranchers to be out in the conditions for significantly longer, and it’s also not crop season, meaning that there were no crops for the winter conditions to kill.
But still, Bassett said, there are definite annoyances and hardships. 
The four days of bitter cold did require his operation to use significantly more feed, and while they were able to winterize many of their facilities, the livestock water froze, requiring the Bassetts to set up heaters in order to keep the water supply for the cattle flowing. 
“The most adverse weather is when you’re out the longest. The excessive heat and cold is when livestock are impacted the most,” Bassett said. “On the sunniest, mild days, you’re not as busy as the very cold days. That’s the nature of the business.”
Crosby said in the grand scheme of things, he and other ranchers have been through much worse in the Wyoming winter, but he does hope this latest stretch earns local ranchers some reprieve.
“Since we’re having an early winter, I’m hoping we have an early spring,” Crosby said. “Darn it, we deserve an early spring.”
 
This story was published on Jan. 5, 2023.