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North Dakota blizzard hits during calving season

Spring 2022 North Dakota blizzard – Photo by Haley Robison-North Dakota Farm Bureau

A spring blizzard is dumping heavy, wet snow over much of North Dakota.  State Farm Bureau President Daryl Lies tells Brownfield the storm moved in from the southwest and isn’t expected to let up until maybe Thursday. “We’re hearing reports of anywhere from 12 to 20 inches of snow in that area down there. We’re already up to 15 to 20 in areas of central North Dakota and it’s still snowing in and still blowing hard.”

Lies says he spent an hour clearing a short path through 30-inch drifts to feed cattle, and the sustained winds are already blowing it shut.

He says it’s calving season, but producers prepared as best they could. “No matter what, if you even have calves that are a month old, this kind of weather is tough on them. You know barn space becomes an issue and calf shelter space.”

Lies says there have been some livestock losses, but since much of North Dakota is still suffering from drought, he’s hoping the snow melts and provides some much-needed soil moisture. “I’ll tell you what, it’s equally if not more tough to have to sell that herd if we don’t get some moisture, so it is a double-edged sword but it’s going to be a blessing at the end of the day, I hope.”

He says farmers and ranchers had a few days to move animals, feed, and some windbreaks, so they were as ready as they could be before the storm. “I’ve had producers say they’ve pulled their ice fishing houses next to their barns so they could use them as not only a place for them to sleep close to the animals but also as a warming room for the calves and they’re doing what they have to do to make the best of this situation.”

Before the storm, Lies says he traveled 40 miles to Minot for groceries before the storm, and he could tell everyone was stocking up before the storm and taking the warnings seriously. “The eggs were gone. The potatoes, there were no potatoes in the store. There were like five or six jugs of milk and I got one of the last ones there.”