Texas farms and ranches grapple with a winter storm, dumping milk and fearing a disrupted supply chain
After a winter storm swept across the nation, freezing temperatures and power outages have left some Texas farms and ranches in crisis, with pipes rupturing and livestock dying from exposure. Forced shutdowns of processing plants have disrupted the state’s agricultural supply chain. As a result, some farmers are left to dump milk valued at $1 million daily because it can’t be processed, reported The Wall Street Journal. According to the Department of Agriculture, Texas has the country’s largest population of cattle, with approximately 2.9 million on the state’s feedlots in December. Without access to natural gas or power, mills are struggling to produce animal feed. And chicken hatcheries are unable to deliver chicks on time due to impassable roads. “You just have this system that’s all based on time, deadlines, and cows that never stop milking,” said Rance C. Miles, chief executive of the Dallas-based dairy cooperative, Select Milk Producers Inc. “It’s just a disaster for the dairymen.”
