COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has set up supply points in the Panhandle cities of Borger, Canadian, Miami, and Pampa to take in donated agricultural commodities for producers affected by the wildfires.
AgriLife Extension officials are focused on securing supplies such as hay, feed, fence supplies, cow feed, wildlife feed, and salt blocks.
U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show nearly 100,000 cattle graze in the Panhandle pastures of Carson, Gray, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Oldham, Potter, and Roberts counties. AgriLife officials have said the recent wildfires have burned as much as 50 percent of that area, and grassland won’t be available for grazing this season in the area where 85 percent of the state’s beef cattle herd lives.
AgriLife officials said Tuesday these effected pastures likely won’t recover for another 12-18 months.
While there have been significant amounts of cattle lost in the wildfires, A&M AgriLife Extension economist David Anderson told AgriLife on Tuesday that he doesn’t expect these cattle losses to affect beef prices and consumers. Anderson added it could be weeks before estimates for lost cattle are known.