News

South Dakota rancher battles April snowstorm

Another major snowstorm is creating challenges for ranchers across the High Plains.

Troy Hadrick of Faulkton, South Dakota says they had eight inches of wet, heavy snow overnight.

“It’s pretty wet, heavy snow, so it’s tough to get through and it’s piling up,” Hadrick says. “The challenge was trying to get these calves this morning—even the older ones—trying to find them. The ones that had laid down and were buried up to their necks in places.

“We just found another one that had kind of wandered off by himself and we got him put in the hot box and are trying to warm him up a little bit.”

Hadrick says they’re a little over half done with calving.

“The fortunate thing for us is we’re kind of in a bit of a lull. Our AI bred cows just wrapped up right now and so our cleanups won’t be trickling in for another week. So we really shouldn’t get too many calves in the next few days, which is a true blessing for us.”

Hadrick tells Brownfield the winds are expected to pick up this afternoon, creating blizzard conditions. Their forecast calls for up to two feet of snow.

Faulkton is in north-central South Dakota.