(Hurricane Florence Farm Flooding Aerial View)

Preparing Your Farm For Natural Disasters

Dr. Deidre Harmon and April Shaeffer (NC State University Animal Science Department)

Once again, we are entering that time of year when mother nature lets us know exactly how powerful she can be. Although storms are an inevitable part of our life, having an emergency preparedness plan for your livestock operations can make flooding, tornadoes or hurricane season a breeze. The following is a storm preparedness list that you can do right now to help you be more prepared for future storms.

• When disaster strikes, follow instructions of your local emergency management to keep you, your family and your livestock safe. Plan to stay if it is safe to do so, or leave if ordered to evacuate. Stay informed by having a weather radio on hand with plenty of batteries or a generator with additional fuel to keep your electronics or appliances functioning. Generators may be expensive but are a useful investment if storms frequently impact your area. Having a generator with an ample amount of fuel can be used to pump well water to cattle, run feed out of feed bins, power fence chargers, and prevent your family from being in the dark. It is also useful to have several power cords available.
• Keeping your files in a dry and secure area is a proactive way for you to be prepared to clean up after the storm. Keeping a record of important contacts, such as insurance company information, local FSA office, and veterinary support can make the disaster response less stressful.
• Some methods of storm preparedness may take place months prior to hurricane season. If your farm contains toxic plants that may become damaged during a storm, it is best to take care of the problem before it becomes a problem. In the summertime, mark any wild cherry trees or other toxic plants when they are easily identifiable. In the winter, when the leaves are gone, take time to remove those toxic plants from your pasture when they do not pose a threat to animal health. This proactive step will save you some time and worry during and after a storm.
• Prior to the storm, move livestock to interior pastures. Locating livestock in interior pastures will help prevent animals from escaping if trees fall on fence lines or if they are swept away by swift moving water. If possible, consider relocating animals from high impact areas prior to the weather event. This may include areas prone to flooding and areas where falling trees pose a safety threat to cattle.
• During storms, flooding and power outages pose major threats to the security of water and feed resources. Water can be stored for several days in plastic water totes for emergency use. Likewise, feed resources should be placed in dry areas that are not prone to flooding.
• Cattle should have a unique identification tag that can be linked to farm management records. Ear tags work great but could be paired with a permanent tattoo ID just in case tags become torn or lost. Having good farm management records prior to the storm can help identify missing animals after the storm and help with insurance claims. Horse owners can braid tag identifying information into the mane.
• Have a fencing tool kit prepared that includes t-posts, t-post driver, clips, barbwire, smooth wire, bolt cutters, fencing pliers, hammer, and staples. It would also be very beneficial to include temporary fencing in your fencing toolkit. Having a reel of polywire, step-in posts, fiberglass posts and a solar charger can help you quickly erect a fence to keep cattle from escaping a storm-damaged pasture. It is also useful when trying to exclude cattle from toxic plants (such as wild cherry trees) that were damaged/blown over during the storm.
• Keeping a well-maintained chainsaw will help you quickly get down-trees cut off fences. Check the bar and chain oil level often and have an extra bottle stored for emergency purposes. Maintaining a sharp chain and having an extra one on hand will make cutting more efficient and safer for the person running the chainsaw.
• Move tractors and other equipment to open areas away from trees, structures, and flood prone areas to prevent damage from water and falling debris.
• Maintaining an ample supply of tarps may be useful to help protect feed resources prior to the storm or quickly cover and temporarily repair damaged roofs, barns, or storage sheds after the storm.
• Unfortunately, in some scenarios, euthanizing of hurt livestock may be a necessary and humane mode of action. In your storm preparedness toolkit, make sure you have the ability to euthanize if necessary, and follow guidelines on the proper techniques of doing so.
• Lastly, the primary goal of storm preparedness is to make sure you and your family are safe. Create a storm toolkit for your family that includes any important documents including identification, insurance, deeds, first aid kit, storm-radio, flashlight, battery packs for electronics, blankets, medications, canned food, water, electrolytes, bug spray with deet, sunscreen, and any other consumables you deem necessary. A backup suggestion would be to upload your documents onto a google drive to access documents at any location if the internet is accessible. Also think about the safety of your pets that may need food, water, and a crate.

Dealing with weather-related disasters can be stressful. Having a well-developed plan for your family and your livestock operation can help ease some of the headaches of a natural disaster. For more information on storm-preparedness and cleaning up after, visit us at beef.ces.ncsu.edu and at cefs.ncsu.edu/extension-and-outreach/amazing-grazing/.

Additional Resources: NC Disaster Information Center