Porter, Texas — Hurricanes cause problems for everyone, but farmers face a different kind of problem.
Beryl was no exception. Last week’s storms damaged crops, soaked rabbits and chickens, scared goats, horses at risk of colic, cows in unfenced pens, and the ongoing power outages were particularly devastating for animal caregivers who urgently needed water, feed, and supplies.
But with trees down, power outages, gas shortages, and many local businesses temporarily closed, Houston-area farmers have had to rely on each other, their neighbors, and community resources to find ways to recover.
“We all take care of each other,” said Tracy Hoad, 57, who owns an equestrian facility outside Houston with her husband, Greg, and trains and boards horses. “The general public doesn’t know what it takes to take care of it. You can’t live without horses, you can’t live without livestock, so you have to keep moving.”
They had already driven into the city an hour each way this week, because they were in a hurry to get enough bedding, wood chips from the horse stables.
Extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and storms can be devastating for farmers, especially smallholders, and scientists predict that these unpleasant conditions will only get worse as a result of climate change.
In areas of Texas closer to the coast, there are more individual producers who operate relatively small farms, said Monty Dozier, program director at Texas A&M.&The Disaster Assessment and Recovery Unit of the Agricultural Extension Service, which checks on farmers after a devastating weather event.
Dozier estimates there are between 14,000 and 20,000 head of cattle in the Houston-Beaumont area alone.
So many livestock cannot be evacuated before a storm. Sometimes people move horses or other small animals, but otherwise farmers must prepare by moving their herds to higher ground and making arrangements for shelter.
Catherine Ward, owner of One Acre Farm, which provides youth education and autism therapy in Porter, Texas, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Houston, watched as the 88 animals on her farm reacted as strong winds bent, snapped and toppled trees.
“The goats were able to come into the shelter,” Ward said. “Every time I go to the back door and look, they all have this look on their face like, ‘Mom, please help me. I don’t know what’s going on.'”
After Beryl passed, Ward surveyed the damage and found trees had fallen on the roofs of chicken and rabbit coops, fences had been snapped, and metal sheets had been twisted and thrown to the ground. The farm was still without electricity on Friday, and the steady hum of a portable generator filled the air.
In 2019, the Texas Legislature funded Texas A.&Dozier said U of M will work with the university to create a system to help farmers respond to disasters after Hurricane Harvey hit the state in 2017.
Since then, the program’s 26 agents, sometimes assisted by more agents from the university’s agricultural extension department, have helped agricultural industry members respond to wildfires, tornadoes, floods and more across the state. Producers can fill out a damage assessment online to request additional resources, advice or in-person visits when needed.
Texas A&M’s response team provides animal supplies at pick-up points after the storm, but tries to move quickly once local operators are back in business. Dodger said it’s someone’s livelihood, too.
One such operator, Chuck Ridder, owns Knox Drive Farm. & He says he’s been eating and living here for about 20 years, and whenever something like this happens, he opens the door even without electricity.
“I know animals have to eat too,” he said.
Before Beryl hit, Ridder moved hundreds of bags to a storage area a few feet off the ground in case the warehouse flooded. Fortunately, no water entered the warehouse, he said. However, Beryl’s high winds damaged one of the warehouse’s metal doors. As the storm was still moving through Porter, the door had to be put back in place to prevent the feed supply inside the warehouse from being damaged by rain and wind.
Many Texas farmers are accustomed to bad weather.
“One of my producers said, ‘If you’re going to farm in Texas, you have to learn how to farm in a persistent drought interrupted by flooding,’” Dozier said. “That’s the mindset you need.”
It’s a tough reality that people need to trust each other in difficult times, and many people do actually trust each other.
Customers, neighbors and friends alike come through Ridder’s door knowing they will be able to get what they need even when the power goes out. One of Ridder’s close friends is Tommy Johnson, a longtime customer who keeps 14 South African Boer goats in a pen next to Ridder’s shed.
The leader said Johnson knew where the key to open the back door of his business was.
“Just leave a note whenever you need something,” the leader said.
The leader said that when he needed a chainsaw to cut down fallen trees around his store and home, Johnson bought one for him.
“We rely on each other and try to help each other as best we can,” Johnson said.
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Walling reported from Chicago. Follow her on X: @MelinaWalling.
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