County cattlemen launch benefit to help Kansas fire victims

By Brooks Taylor, Mt. Pleasant News

Just over three years ago, Henry County cattlemen sent $14,000 to western South Dakota cattlemen, who suffered significant losses when an early blizzard hit the state, just before cattlemen had moved their herds from the open pastures.

Now, county cattlemen are at it again, taking monetary and other donations, and having a raffle for two quarters of beef to benefit Kansas cattlemen who lost thousands of cows in wildfires in early March.

Henry County Cattlemen President Craig Grothe said the response thus far ?has been good. We have several loads of hay, money being contributed for fencing supplies, a load of dried distillers grain and a load of gluten pellets.? The latter two products are protein feed for cattle.

Grothe said he knows of 16 semi-trailer loads of hay taken to Kansas. In addition, several farmers took hay on their own.

The Kansas relief effort was announced last week by county cattlemen. Grothe said the Iowa Cattlemen?s Association has also planned some benefits, ?but they are doing theirs later and we wanted to do ours now.?

Wildfires hit southwest Kansas on March 8. The fires began in Oklahoma and quickly were spread to Kansas by 70 mile-per-hour winds. The fires, which were particularly devastating in Clark County, set a state record for the most widespread single fire.

Clark County rancher David Bouziden lost his home, his ranch and nearly all his cattle in the fires, he told CNN. ?I?d say we probably lost close to 150 head, maybe,? Bouziden said. ?That?s probably 90 percent of our cattle?It burned every acre of the ranch. There?s not a blade of grass standing out there.?

Bouziden nearly lost his life, too. He recounts to CNN how the smoke engulfed him, forcing him from his tractor to struggle through soot and ash. He could hardly see but managed to distinguish the outline of a hay shed where his pickup truck was parked. Once in the truck, he drove to safety.

In addition to the fires consuming his home, he also lost three outbuildings, hay barns and machinery sheds.

Some 548 square miles of land burned in Clark County and another 235 square miles in nearby Comanche County. Estimates indicate that in all, 1,000 square miles of Kansas land were burned by the wildfires.

Grothe said there would be a big push for fencing materials. ?They lost most of their fencing, so that is one of our major efforts. We also need people to pay freight or truck it down there. Some people have already done it on their own. Our goal is to receive enough donations to buy a whole load of barbed wire and send it out there.?

Kansas officials said close to 100,000 miles of fence were lost, and the estimated cost of fencing is $10,000 per mile.

The county cattlemen, Grothe said, hope to finish the drive quickly as not only is it calving season but soon farmers will be hitting the fields for planting.

Grass fires reportedly consumed close to a million acres in Kansas. As for cattle numbers lost, estimates are sketchy. Cattlemen say at least 2,000 perished in the fires but the number could rise to between 6,000 and 7,000.

Last month, Washington County farmers organized relief efforts for their counterparts in Kansas. A number of truckloads of hay were taken to southeast Kansas.

Unfortunately, it was a perfect storm that caused so much loss of land. Abundant precipitation in Kansas last summer produced lush pastures. Additionally, the fires were perpetuated by low humidity and heavy winds.

Grothe said that had their been sufficient time, the cattlemen would have liked to have hosted another benefit supper. ?There just wasn?t enough time to put it together quickly.?

Anyone wishing to donate should contact Grothe, 319-931-3992; Carl Lund, 319-750-6708; Lloyd Bank, 319-931-5028; or Thom Miller, 319-931-7293.

Tickets will soon be ready for the raffle of the two one-quarters of beef. They may be purchased from any of the aforementioned cattlemen.

Raffle tickets also can be purchased from Eric Rawson, Kenneth Campbell, Keith Denning, Wayne Fuller, Chris Kelly, Jeff McGohan, Ryan Meyer, Joe Miller, Mike Moothart, Adam Smith, Marcus Smith and Jason Campbell.

?It?s kind of neat ? farmers helping farmers,? concluded Grothe.