‘It’s really bad’: Wildfires could cause Nebraska ranchers to lose livestock

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Over 100,000 acres of Nebraska farmland burned in April due to extreme heat and high winds, making planting season for some farmers difficult.

Cropland burned by wildfires isn’t a total loss, but farmers must put in extra work to re-till the land and add nutrients back into the top soil.

“I wouldn’t say it’d be weeks of work,” said the president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Chris Grams. “It might be a couple of days to a week just in preparation depending on how much ground they actually lost in the fires.”

This time of year is actually the most ideal time to have fires from a crop grower’s perspective, as planting season has just begun and there’s no crop to actually burn yet.

Ranchers, however, could see detrimental impacts if a fire hits their pasture, as feed for livestock takes months to grow back.

“You’re seeing some guys start to eliminate their herd and sell them out for the fact that they don’t have the pasture anymore,” Grams said. “They don’t have anywhere to go.”

If there isn’t enough land to feed livestock, there may be an increase in beef prices for consumers in the coming years.

“Pastures- it’s bad. It’s really bad,” he said.

Gov. Jim Pillen ordered a ban on all open burns due to the recent wildfires which is set to expire on April 16th.