60,000 to 70,000 cattle killed in storm in parts of Dakota, USA.
An unexpectedly early blizzard for the time of year hit parts of North and South Dakota and Minnesota hard. First there was rain, which softened the ground. It turned into snow up to 60 cm high. In addition, a storm blew with wind speeds of up to 150 km/h. Most of the animals were still on the unprotected summer pastures. They sank into the deep, sodden ground and the snow soon covered them. The icy wind deprived them of their body heat. The animals froze to death. Among them were valuable breeding animals. The carcasses are spread far and wide across the areas and only the snowmelt will reveal how extensive the damage really is.
The number of animals that have died sounds frighteningly high at first and is certainly a catastrophe for the individual farms affected.
If you examine the effects on the market, the dimensions are not quite so dramatic. The estimated number of animals is roughly equivalent to a weekly slaughter in the USA. In view of the temporal and spatial compensation possibilities in the beef sector, the catastrophe will only have a regional impact on the current market situation and will hardly leave any detectable traces on prices.
The restocking of herds in spring 2014 will be of greater significance. Normally, just under 100,000 cattle are needed for restocking. As many of the animals that died were in foal, there is not only a lack of calves, but also a lack of animals to replenish the dairy and suckler cow herds.
