AND LAW THEFT TSCRA Active in Winter Storm Recovery O
N DEC. 26 AND 27, 2015, THE TEXAS PANHANDLE AND eastern New Mexico were hit hard with a winter
storm that produced up to 20 inches of snow with 6- to 8-foot snow drifts in some areas. Thousands of stocker cattle in the Panhandle region
were displaced and were rounded up immediately after the storm. Through the cooperative volunteer effort of local ranchers, landowners and agencies, the cattle were secured behind fences and provided with feed and water. Days after the storm, death loss estimates showed
the dairy and feedlot segments had been hard hit with losses in the thousands of head. Feedlots suffered sig- nifi cant death loss, as did herds of stocker cattle, cows and calves. Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
(TSCRA) was actively engaged in the winter storm re- covery. TSCRA is the livestock law enforcement participant
in the state Livestock Emergency Response Command under the lead of the Texas Animal Health Commis- sion (TAHC). TSCRA Special Ranger Regional Director Scott Wil-
liamson was on-site shortly after the storm, conducting a visual assessment of needs. He was joined by Special Rangers Dean Bohannon, Harold Dempsey, Ben Egg- leston, Howard Brittain and Kenny Wadsworth, who went into the affected areas to assist with identifying the ownership of comingled cattle. Special rangers informed county judges and sheriffs
of their availability to assist with sorting and helping to determine cattle ownership. This service was also extended to the New Mexico Brand Board to help re- cover cattle that may have been displaced across the state border. TSCRA established a toll-free phone number to re-
port missing cattle with a corresponding email address to alert the special ranger team of new information on missing cattle. We created brand books for 9 of the affected counties
and distributed those books to special rangers and mar- ket inspectors, auction operators, feed yard managers, TAHC inspectors, Extension county agents and others to assist with identifying estray cattle. These brand books were posted to a special Winter
Storm Recovery page at
www.tscra.org, along with other useful recovery information. Throughout the Winter Storm Recovery process, TSCRA volunteer leaders and staff collaborated with
tscra.org Howard Brittain TSCRA Special Ranger Kenny Wadsworth TSCRA Special Ranger
other livestock organizations, agencies and government offi ces including the Texas Association of Dairymen, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Texas Governor’s Offi ce, Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and several agencies within the USDA.
February 2016 The Cattleman 39 Scott Williamson TSCRA Special Ranger Dean Bohannon TSCRA Special Ranger
Harold Dempsey TSCRA Special Ranger
Ben Eggleston TSCRA Special Ranger
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