Where Was the National Media?

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Two weeks ago, you'll recall we were forecasting a record early-season blizzard. Then, we followed up with links to outstanding stories about the unprecedented loss of cattle from the storm. I'm not going to link to all of these stories because there were so many of them.

Anyway, there is a fascinating blog link this morning about how the national media provided zero coverage. I learned how ranchers look at a loss like this.

In addition to the financial loss, when a rancher loses an animal, it is a loss of years, decades, and often generations within families, of building the genetics of a herd. Each rancher’s herd is as individual and unique as a fingerprint. It is not a simple as going out to buy another cow. Each cow in a herd is the result of years of careful breeding, in the hopes of creating a herd reflective of market desirability, as well as professional tastes of the rancher. Cattle deaths of this magnitude for ranchers is the equivalent of an investment banker’s entire portfolio suddenly gone. In an instant, the decades of investment forever disappear.  It is to start over again, to rebuild, over years and years.

You'll find it a very interesting piece.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 14, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    Interesting story but was on CNN (national media) web site: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/10/us/south-dakota-blizzard-kills-herds-cattle/

    Additional story on NPR today: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/14/233790772/s-d-ranchers-struggle-to-get-out-from-under-blizzard

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike SmithOctober 14, 2013 at 10:11 AM

    Thanks for the comment, William.

    As many as 70,000 cattle were killed. This is a giant economic loss. I believe it deserves for attention than web site articles more than a week after.

    ReplyDelete

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