DENVER - A month after the first wave of devastating winter storms hit Colorado, some eastern Colorado ranchers still haven't been able to get feed to their cattle, a state official said.
With calving season under way, the damage is expected to get worse, state Agriculture Commissioner John Stulp told lawmakers Wednesday.
"They're starting to calve now. We're expecting losses," Stulp said.
"It really has been a continuing disaster, about 30 days in longevity. The real loss is still buried in the snow," he said.
State officials estimate that 10,000 cattle died in the storms, although some agriculture groups think the toll could reach 15,000 once all the carcasses are found.
Besides the problem of deep snow, there is also a shortage of hay, with prices doubling and even tripling - if ranchers can find any.
State Rep. Kathleen Curry estimated Colo. ranchers will spend $10 million to $20 million extra on feed this year and said the state must find a way to help struggling farmers and ranchers.
"It certainly isn't going to end tomorrow," she said.
Rancher Traci Eatherton said five snowstorms in a row have taken a toll, making it difficult to reach her animals to feed them.
With another storm forecast for this weekend, she said she and her neighbors are getting awfully tired of snow. On Tuesday, a neighbor finally got a delivery of propane and the truck got stuck in the snow.
"It doesn't even have to snow, it just gets blown in. It's supposed to snow again this weekend. It's becoming a four-letter word," she said.
The Kansas Livestock Association estimates well below 1 percent of the cattle in Kansas feedlots affected by the storms died in the weather - a relatively insignificant death loss. But the real loss, the association said, will be in production.
Many cattle that were market-ready before the storm lost weight they need to put back on before they go to market, said Todd Domer, an association spokesman. Weight loss in pregnant cattle could result in fewer births this season, veterinarians said.
Stulp said the state is still trying to get help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but it will only reimburse local governments and the state for rescue efforts, not losses suffered by farmers and ranchers.
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter is also seeking a disaster declaration by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, which would make low-interest loans available to ranchers, farmers, feedlot owners and counties.
State Rep. Cory Gardner said Colorado needs to set up an agricultural disaster fund to protect one of the state's biggest industries.
"It's not a handout. These do happen, and it will happen again," Gardner said.
Stulp said he hopes farmers and ranchers can survive until they can get financial aid.
"It may be a while in coming, but hopefully we can get them some reimbursement and keep them solvent," he said.
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Associated Press writer Roxana Hegeman in Wichita, Kan., contributed to this report.
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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) - President Bush said just what many Missouri farmers wanted to hear when in his State of the Union address he unveiled a plan to increase government mandates on ethanol and other alternative fuels.
Many producers attending the Northwest Missouri Corn & Soybean Growers Association meeting Tuesday in St. Joseph said they had already planned to increase corn production next year to take advantage of the ethanol boom. But that was before Bush announced a plan to require the annual use of 35 billion gallons of ethanol and other alternative fuels by 2017.
A poll taken by the Missouri Corn Growers Association found that 10 percent of farmers planned to boost corn production by 20 to 50 percent in 2007. An additional 30 percent said they would increase production by at least 10 percent. The rest reported that they would keep production at current levels.
Corn prices have been rising steadily for the past year and are on pace to reach record levels. Some analysts predict prices will eventually reach $5 per bushel.
Experts say corn-based ethanol alone is unlikely to cover the increase Bush is mandating. His proposal envisions more research into the production of cellulosic ethanol, made from wood chips, switch grass and other non-corn feedstock.
But Gary Marshall, chief executive officer of the Missouri Corn Growers Association, said he believes ethanol plants are being built fast enough to meet Bush's goals. Now it's a matter of developing the market against resistance from major oil companies, he said.
"The problem now is getting Big Oil to buy it," Marshall said. "You think ethanol is big? Exxon could buy the entire ethanol industry with its profits from last quarter alone."
Marshall said the current demand for ethanol is about 6 billion barrels per year. About 5.4 billion barrels - or roughly one-fifth of what Bush hopes to pump out by 2017 - are produced at 106 bio-refineries already in operation.
Commodity analyst Dan Basse, president of Chicago-based AgResource, says the near future will be the "Golden Age of Agriculture."
Basse said high crop prices could increase farm incomes by 15 to 40 percent. He also said the value of farm land could rise 20 percent to 40 percent in the next two to four years.
But Basse also warned farmers that the market could be fickle during this boom time.
"Be prepared for agricultural price swings not seen since the 1970s," he said.
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