The fire came within a half
mile from headquarters and about a third of a mile from Robert Joe and Dena’s house, saved only by the huge amount of dirt moved by dozer operators and a set of culti- vated fi elds, some that were await- ing spring planting and others with wheat that hadn’t grown due to lack of moisture. Dena says, “We were loading
trailers when a sheriff deputy ar- rived with a 20-minute warning to leave before the fi re reached us. Then the wind changed directions and we were spared. Even though we’d spent a few days pushing fi re- guards on dozers, we knew it was risky because of dry hay we had on the ground up near the house, so I went ahead and moved the registered bulls and some of the registered replacement heifers.” Thanks to the generosity of
neighboring ranchers, the Jacksons evacuated them to the green bermu- dagrass horse paddocks of Strawn Valley Ranch, driving through the fi re as it burned on both sides of the highway. “We had a few wheat fi elds that
weren’t in great shape because of the drought, but they were just good enough to provide a bit of food and safety for the cows that we called up from the south side of the ranch.” In the midst of moving a set of
cows in the prime of calving season, the fi re was moving at a fast pace, and being chased by fi erce winds it jumped the highway. “One section (640 acres) burned up in a matter of minutes, but we were ahead of it and got them through the gate with just about 150 to 200 yards to spare,” says Robert Joe. The ranch has raised Hereford cattle since 1925 and Dena says “un-
KLD Herefords New • Surplus • Used Steel Pipe
• 4 inch to 42 inch • Culverts
“Thank you to our patrons who purchased cattle from KLD Herefords.”
Kirbie Day: 972-921-7773 Paul Day: 214-325-3860
Kirbie_day@yahoo.com pday658@yahoo.com 658 Angus Road Waxahachie, TX 75167
tscra.org
• Cattle guards • Casing • Drainage
15110 Hooper Road Houston, TX 77407 713-413-9120
cprause@trpipe.com www.NEWSTEELPIPE.com August 2013 The Cattleman 73
like the movies where you see cattle scatter and bust through fences in a panic, these Herefords followed right behind the feed truck and never made a break for it.” None- theless, their survival instinct was triggered and some of them left calves behind.
Damage and loss “We lost most of the calf crop
that year, and we’d already sold off some of our cows because of the drought, so our numbers were down a bit more than they had been historically. There was a slight set- back with our replacement heifers that year, too, because we crowded them up more than we should have just trying to save the herd. But they all made it and we are getting back on track. With the condition of some of our pastures we’re not in a hurry to grow our numbers right
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