AUSTIN (Nexstar) — At least 3,000 cattle have died since Texas’ largest-ever wildfire ignited in the Panhandle last week, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said Monday, with the death count expected to increase by the thousands.
At up to $3,000 a head, the loss is a devastating financial strain to many farmers and ranchers. Cattle who survive are left with charred, barren fields unfit for gr azing and scarce drinking water. Others are so badly burned they will have to be euthanized.
“People up in this country have missed two cotton crops in a row, so they’re already struggling financially. Now, possibly, they’ve lost all their livestock,” Commissioner Miller said. “Hooves are burned beyond repair, their utters are gone, so they’re no longer be able to nurse their calves. It’s a real sad situation.”
Miller urged Texans to donate to the State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund — the STAR Fund — a privately-funded lifeline to help farmers and ranchers get back on their feet.
Texans can also find or donate hay at the Department of Agriculture’s Hay Hotline.
More than 500 houses and barns and 120 miles of electric lines have also been destroyed, rendering many ranches inoperable even for those that did not lose cattle.
“With no electricity, no water, no grass, it doubles the problem,” Miller said.
Farmers are at a heightened risk for suicide given the volatility of the profession and historic lack of resources. Miller urged anyone in need to contact Texas’ suicide hotline specifically for farmers.
The AgriStress Helpline can be reached at 833-897-2474.