‘Cattlemen Helping Cattlemen’ raises tens of thousands of dollars for Nebraska ranchers

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WILLOW LAKE, S.D. — Wildfires continue to burn in Nebraska, and cattlemen in South Dakota are working to help other ranchers in the fire’s path.

South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation launched the Cattlemen Helping Cattlemen effort where the organization matched community donations up to $10,000 to help cover the fuel costs for those transporting hay from South Dakota to Nebraska to support ranchers.

“We really truly believe, as most people do, that cattlemen across the country are neighbors, even if we’re separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles, so hearing about and knowing about what many people — some we know, some we don’t — are dealing with the almost 1 million acres of wildfire in Nebraska,” said Jared Knock, rancher and South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation board member.

Many of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s affiliates have offered to donate hay, fencing supplies and other things. But, it can be tricky to get all items those down to Nebraska.

“A lot of guys have never tried to ship a load of hay to Nebraska, across state lines, deal with those regulations. Many of us even if we have a semi, maybe wouldn’t trust it to put it on the road 500 miles away when we are typically hauling hay just a few miles away from our fields back to the homeplace,” Knock said.

That’s why this funding is critical to help cover some of the logistics of these donations.

“The funding of the fuel, because fuel has gone up a little bit and getting trucks that are certified to go across state lines and so we thought the best way that we could help our individual members, individuals affiliates across the state would be to offer a fund pool that just kind of covers some of those costs,” Knock said.

Knock is a cattle, sheep, hog and crop producer near Willow Lake, South Dakota. He said watching what is happening just a state away makes a producer consider what they would do if they were in that situation.

“It’s just heartbreaking and devastating for us and it makes you pause and think about what would and what could you possibly do to get through the day, to get through the month, to get through the year and in future years if something like that would happen in your backyard or on your operation,” he said. “So we are glad to be able to participate in a program that helps provide needed supplies, support and even just our sympathies and commonalities that we can offer to our fellow cattlemen, even if they are a state away.”

Within just a few days off announcing this program, they had already met the matching goal.

“We’ve been overwhelmed but the really instant response from people stepping up to make sure that we reach that goal and help get those supplies to those that are in need right now,” Knock said.

“Just the idea of thinking about OK, will there be moisture that follows, will there be grass that comes in the next few days, few weeks, few months to be able to recover that grass. But the infrastructure, right, the corrals, the haystacks, the fences, the windbreaks, all the things that could also be lost in that fire are really hard to comprehend,” he said. “It takes a lot of maintenance every year to just keep up infrastructure that took decades and decades to build. It’s just kind of overwhelming thinking about having to recreate a lot of that all at once.”

Even though the matching goal has already been met, they are still accepting donations for the cause. If you are interested in donating, you can find more information on the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation website at https://sdcattlemensfoundation.com/cattlemen-helping-cattlemen. Contact the organization at 605-321-7605 or Director@SDCattlemensFoundation.com for more details, or mail donations to 5013 S Louise Avenue, #116, Sioux Falls, SD 57108.

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